Attacking the UFOs

The last time I had posted, I discussed the start of an overskirt for a ball gown that I have in the closet but have just never gotten around to finishing. I was all ready to get started on it, and then this funny little thing called life happened.

I had more setbacks with my long overdue bonnet project. Mother's Day popped up and I found myself wanting to make things for my awesome mumsy. I had project materials finally come in so I could finally finish a few things. Best of all, I get to go to my best friend's wedding in October! Her wedding theme is Alice in Wonderland, so I've been starting to put together costume ideas in my brain that could work and have been spending a lot of time looking at pictures from the recent Tim Burton film version.

Any who, that's another post for another day.

With all the UFOs (Un-Finished Projects) laying around, I decided to put aside my Black and White Challenge and make a list of the UFOs that needs to be tackled. 

• Wedding samplers for friends
• Regency Ophelia bonnet
• Late bustle evening bodice
• Black skirt from Vogue
• Petticoat to go under a Natural Form (1877-1882) period dress
• Calico Garibaldi blouse

Mind you, these are just the projects that are sitting out immediately in my living room. I'm sure there's more buried in my room.

Today was a good start to tackling this list. I finished my long overdue cross stitch piece, at least one of them.

Now to head off to the framer!

The petticoat should be fairly easy. I pulled out my favorite petticoat pattern from Truly Victorian (TV170) which covers almost the entire Victorian Era. With the exception of the bottom hem piece and the waistband, everything has been put together.

I'll be off in a couple more days so I should be able to get the last row ruffled and hemmed, and the waistband added.

Collapsible Bustle Panel Tutorial

Okay so I'm finally getting around to this. One of the things I have done with my recent bustles is I sew a laced panel into the inside of the garment which allows the bustle to then collapse for easier storage (because while we all love big bustles, they do need to go somewhere when not being worn).

To start, I would like to say that I do not know how historically accurate this method is. I know some bustles had tie tapes on the inside and others have the flat panels (which this is an adaption of), but you just don't see the inside of that many bustles - outside of the wire ones - to know what the heck is going on in there. I know that the Laughing Moon Patterns uses a similar method for their bustles, but there are no notes about authenticity in the pattern packet.

 For the adaption, you'll need grommets (I use size 00), a grommet setting device, 1/4" white steel boning or industrial size plastic zip ties, and 2-3 yards of lacing ribbon.

To begin, take the inner support panel from your bustle pattern and mark the exact center.

From the center, add 1 3/4" and mark this new spot.

Now this is the tricky part. You must change the pattern piece to allow for a gap between the two panel pieces once they are laced together. Depending on how much of a gap you want, this will affect your next measurement. For a 1" gap, measure 1/2" from the center. For a 2" gap, measure 1" from the center. Just remember that whatever measurement you choose, it will double the actual gap between the panels.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND LEAVING OUT THIS CENTER GAP SINCE IT DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE PANEL TO BE ADJUSTED ONCE TIED.

Once you've selected the size of your panel gap, move your center line to this spot, making sure to also move the added 1 3/4" on the side. This is your new pattern piece. To retain the original, trace over it using pattern paper or my personal favorite - wax paper.

Cut two pieces from the pattern, one for each side of the panel. Start by zig-zagging, overlocking, or serging the top and bottom edges of the panel pieces.

Along the center, fold the fabric over 1/4" and iron. Fold over an additional 1 1/2" and iron again. All folds should be made toward the inside, meaning the inner area of the bustle.

 Pin the material in place and stitch 1/8" from the inner edge, then stitch 1/2" from the outside edge. This creates the boning and grommet channels.

Fold up the bottom 1/2 " edge of the panel to the inside, iron, then stitch along overlocked edge.

Repeat these steps on the other panel piece.

With both panel pieces, place them side by side and space out the grommets along the grommet channel (this is the wider one at about 1"). Keep in mind that the top of the panel piece will also be folded over 1/2" as well. My spacing recommendation is about 1"-1 1/4" between each grommet. Mark then attach the grommets using your preferred method.

Once the grommets have been set, take the white steel boning or industrial zip ties and measure then cut them to fit the length of the boning channel. For the zip ties, round and smooth the tips to keep them from poking through the material.

Insert into the channel, fold over 1/2" toward the inside and stitch in place the top of the panel pieces.

 This forms your two panel pieces which you sew into the seams following your regular sewing instructions. Once the bustle is finished, lace the panels together as closely as you desire. When you are ready to store the bustle, simply unlace it.

For larger bustles, you may choose to make two sets of panels to be laced and adjusted separately.


NOTE: Red fabric is from my 1880s Bustle, and purple fabric is from my early 1870s bustle. Some of the photos taken were easier to do with the red bustle.

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Feel free to leave any questions you might have and I hope this proves helpful for your bustle projects!

Saga of a Bodice

So before starting a project, it is advised that you check your fabric stash rather than assuming you have what you think. Why? Because "I'm pretty certain I have almost two yards" quickly becomes "Crap, I only have chunks of fabric that are maybe a yard."

Remaining chunks of flocked taffeta from the prior projects

Yeah, and the brown shantung fabric that the fabric store usually carries? Guess what they discontinued a couple months ago? So all I have is maybe 2/3 of a yard that is going to have to be used very wisely. So for now, my modifications to the existing unfinished bodice are going to have to wait. Grrrrr.

However, the crafting gods were on my side and answered my pleas in the form of Etsy. While browsing for other stuff, I found someone selling a 1 1/2 yard remnant of the blue flocked taffeta. I quickly bought it and once it arrived and I was able to ensure that the fabrics matched - they did! - I got started with drafting.

My go-to pattern is 1885 Cuirass Bodice (TV460) from Truly Victorian since it's easy to adapt and make adjustments to. The modifications I made this time was to make the bodice back-closing and with a rounded neckline. I also extended the length of the front bodice point.

The mockup went together easily, and from there it was just making adjustments to match my waist and lack of bust. The back pieces I reused from prior projects and are therefore already adjusted to my measurements.

If there is one thing I have discovered over the years, it's that mockups are important. Because of my chest measurements, I usually end up having to take the bustline in 1"-2". Since I'm dealing with limited quantities of fabric, there really isn't a lot of room for a fudge factor.

Remapped my changes...

Rulers everywhere!

And hopefully I'll only have one more mockup to do before getting started on the project. Down to the wire now since the challenge is due Saturday.

Bodice Challenge Research

So I started out the new challenge with a bit of research on the type of bodice design I would like to make. As mentioned in a previous post, the bodice I currently have is more of a dinner style bodice. To allow for more use and opportunities, I want to make an evening bodice. About two years ago, I made a bodice with small pouf sleeves using the Truly Victorian 1885 Cuirass Bodice (TV460).

I never really finished because the sleeves were very tight and I just wasn't too keen on this bodice going with my Alexandra dress. I've looked through a number of fashions plates and I just can't seem to find anything with this sleeve style. Initially I was thinking of taking this bodice apart and trying to use some supplies from the bodice for a new one. However, after going through my books, I'm thinking I might be able to redo the sleeves, do some add-ons, and make a different bodice with the brown shantung as the base.

For example, I found these ideas in my Bustle Fashions 1885-1887 and Directoire Revival Fashions 1888-1889, both by Frances Grimble.

From Bustle Fashions 1885-1887 by Frances Grimble

From Directoire Revival Fashions 1888-1889 by Frances Grimble

From Directoire Revival Fashions 1888-1889 by Frances Grimble

Right now, I'm liking bodice #2 with the lace and ribbons because it's something that I can work into the existing square neckline and I can make new sleeves that will easily attach to the existing bodice.

Now onto the the actual evening bodice that I wanted to make. This one I was a bit torn on. These are my fabrics (the blue is actually darker) - a chocolate brown shantung silk and a dusty blue taffeta with flocked brown polka dots.

What I couldn't decide on was whether I wanted to make a brown bodice with blue accents, or a blue polka dot bodice with some brown accents. A lot of the fashion plates I was looking through had solid colored bodices, not prints. Then I found this little gem:

From Victorian Fashions and Costumes from Harper's Bazar by Stella Blum

Yay polka dots on an evening bodice! I pulled out my sketchbook and did some rough (I am not an artist) drawings on what I would like to accomplish. 

 

I've done my measurements, and I think I have enough of the fabric for an evening bodice. The shantung is something they readily carry at the fabric store and I will need to pick up more later this week. If I don't have enough of the blue taffeta, I may look at doing a bodice with some panels of brown on the side, similar to how this one has been done.

From La Mode Illustree by JoAnne Olian

In the meantime, I'm going to start looking at trims to use for the dinner bodice neckline and doing some pattern drafting for a back-closing evening bodice.

New Challenges and Projects

As I wrap up my latest HSF project challenge, I already have to start looking forward to the next few projects. Although I'm only doing half of the challenges, challenge #4 - Under it All, aka any type of underwear/unmentionables, gave me some inspiration. I may not actually complete a piece for the challenge, but I'm going to use it as a jump point to start working on a pair of Regency stays.

Last spring, I made made a pair of half-stays to go under my first Regency dress. I had to do a lot of modification for my lack of cleavage as well as I didn't have a complete understanding of how Regency stays were supposed to fit (I'm used to my corsets). So the end result was a half-stay that worked/didn't work. 

Ignore the quality. Bad cell phone selfie.

The one thing I couldn't get used to when wearing the half-stays was not having my mid-section covered as well by the stay/corset. Naturally I'm not a very svelte individual to begin with, so the silhouette of the Regency dress I wore did not work out as well either.

Again, no time to actually finish a new Regency stay before the March 1 deadline. However I have started to pull together some images of originals on Pinterest for inspiration and I purchased Laughing Moon's Regency and Romantic Era Corset pattern.

Regency Corset via Pinterest

Early 19th Century Stays via Pinterest

Laughing Moon's Regency and Romantic Era Corset pattern

Challenge #5 - Bodice I already have something in mind for. My late bustle Alexandra Polka Dot dress was made a few years ago and it's probably one of my favorites.

The original bodice that I made is for daytime/dinner type of functions. To allow for more functionality, I've always wanted to make an evening bodice to go with the skirts (Also making it more period correct by having more than one bodice). I made an attempt at this about two years ago, but wasn't happy with how it turned out and scrapped it. I still have extra fashion fabrics and the pattern, so it's just a matter of sitting down to redraft some changes, then put everything together. We'll see how it goes!

Portrait of a Lady review

It has been forever since my last post. The holiday season is upon us in the retail world, and it just keeps on getting crazier and crazier with each passing day. My days off have been recently spent traveling and trying to finish some cross stitch projects (more on that in another post), but I did finally get around to watching a costume drama piece that has been on my watch list for forever (not kidding on this one).

The Portrait of a Lady is a film adaptation of the same book, written Henry James, and is directed by one of my favorites, Jane Campion. After waiting nine months (yes, nine) for a copy to come in at the library, I rushed home to watch it, only to be very disappointed.

It's very rare for me not to like a costume drama, and I had high hopes for this one since Campion was directing and it starred Nicole Kidman, who is also one of my favorite actresses. The story itself though was downright dull, none of the characters were likable in the least, and the overall pace was about as fast as my shower drain with a giant hair clog.

While I have not read the original book, I read through the synopsis via Wikipedia and it seemed like a fairly close adaptation of the original content. Supposedly James' story is supposed to examine the themes of "betrayal, personal freedom, and responsibility." About the only the only thing I got out of the 2 hours and 20 minutes I spent watching this film was some finished cross stitch.

And then the costumes. These are the main reason I sometimes watch my costume dramas. Lighting was often so dark it was hard to get a glimpse of what the dresses even looked like, and the few you did see had maybe less than a minute of screen time. For example, the lovely confection on Kidman here:

Was visible only long enough to make me want to know more about it, for the simple reason that I couldn't see enough of it! In my attempts to discover more, I have found there are very few movie stills from the film to be found. Unless of course you're searching for the image where it looks like Kidman is fighting a massive migraine.

Yeah, I would probably look like that too if I had to watch the movie again.

Movie - 1.5 out of 5

Costumes - 3 out of 5

And Only To Deceive book review

So a long time ago my mom sent me a couple of books. "Here, you'll like these. They're mysteries and they take place during the Victorian period." And they sat on my shelf, for forever.

Well I finally decided to get around to reading them recently, only to discover that it was a SERIES of books and that I had #2 and #3, but #1 had disappeared somewhere. Lucky me, the library had an electronic copy available for lending so I got it, started reading, and was finished five days later. The last time I read a book that quickly was before I got a full-time job and had endless hours to burn, so that says something. So what is this great book?

Let me introduce you to the Lady Emily mysteries, written by Tasha Alexander. And Only to Deceive is the first in the series, but based on this book alone I'm ready to jump headfirst into the rest.

Amazon.com

The story is told from Lady Emily Ashton's point of view. A widow after only six months of marriage, she is finally emerging from her deep mourning period and has reentered society, only to find herself embroiled in a mystery involving museums, art forgeries, and the black market for stolen antiquities.

While the mystery is not a very deep one, Alexander does a wonderful job of keeping the plot twisting and turning to the point that even I wasn't quite sure where it would end up.

What particulary interested me though, was the accuracy in which Alexander portrayed Lady Emily's emotions and actions as an upper middle-class Victorian woman. Her thoughts of marriage as any easy way out of dealing with an overbearing mother and of seeing widowhood as a way to finally be independent, were very realistic views that some woman had during this era. I've read other Victorian inspired historical fiction pieces before, and it's obvious the author has taken someone with modern view sets and plopped them in a Victorian world. Alexander's Lady Emily however, is a Victorian woman who is completely at home in her late 1880's time period.

Due to similar names, the side characters were sometimes confusing, but this is made up for by each of their historically matched development and attitudes. History buffs will recognize some of the names (Renoir, with whom Lady Emily has a painting done by), and a number of the locations mentioned in the story.

In addition, the costumer in me was secretly drooling over the fact that there are several mentions of Lady Emily visiting with and receiving dresses from the House of Worth. Alexander mentions that she thoroughly researched her material and based on some of the dress descriptions, I would love to know if they are real Worth dresses (I suspect at least two are from originals) and if there are any made up from designs or other existing dresses.

After glancing through the other books on my shelf, I suspect that these are not heavy duty reading, and fall more into the category of a great afternoon read. Although this is only my first foray with Lady Emily, I greatly anticipate the next outing.

Overall rating - 4 out of 5

Copper and Ripper Street Reviews

There's been a whole lot of other things going on, and unfortunately not much sewing. In case it hasn't been mentioned yet, I also do cross stitch and I've been working on a couple of projects instead. I have been watching a few of my costume dramas though.

Copper
I watched the first season of Copper when it first came out on DVD earlier this year. Now that the second season has started up, I've been doing a bit of catch up (I don't have cable, so I watch them when I can online). Copper airs on BBC America and is the first scripted show made exclusively for the channel.

Image Courtesy of IMDB

The show centers around the Five Points area of New York starting in 1864 and focuses mostly on Kevin "Corky" Corcoran, an Irish immigrant who works as a police detective. Other characters that come into play are the men on his police force, some of the...ahem "ladies of pleasure" the men see frequently, and a few benefactors and other side characters.

While there eventually is an overarching plot that comes to light, it comes across as just another crime show for me, just in a historical setting. There are a few costumes that pop up on some of the female characters, but they are very far and few in between. Right now, the story has me intrigued enough to keep watching as the episodes come out, but not enough that I eagerly anticipate each new one.

Show - 3.5 out of 5

Costumes - 3 out of 5

Ripper Street

When I first heard about this show, it had already aired so I had to wait for it on DVD, then wait for it to come in at the library. As a result, I was only able to watch it just last week.

Image Courtesy of IMDB

Matthew Macfadyen of Pride and Prejudice stars one of the key characters, Edmund Reid, an investigator looking into a variety of killings and other cases following the final Jack the Ripper murder in 1889. Despite the title, there is little mention of the Ripper cases themselves, aside from a couple of murders that resemble the original Ripper murders. Instead, the cases that Reid investigates are in and around the areas of the murders in the East End of London.

There are some great costumes though that pop up throughout the series. One in particular, worn by Amanda Hale, I'm absolutely in love with (hm, new dress possibilities?).

Best image of the dress

Show - 3 out of 5

Costumes - 4 out of 5

In watching the two shows though, the one thing I've come to find is that they are so similar, it's almost as if I'm watching the same thing. The location, time, and characters are different, but overall concept of the character types and how they relate to each other are just too similar. Although it was not intended this way, just check out the above photos.

I'll probably keep watching both shows to see if they get any better (Ripper Street was left on a bit of a cliff hanger). Thankfully there's enough of a gap between the two shows airing that I can separate out the differences.

Weekend Wrap-up

I've been working so I'm just now getting a chance to post this.

I was able to sit down this weekend and crank out a bunch of sewing, resulting in these lovely new frillies.

Underthings 1850s-1880s

The chemise is made using the Truly Victorian 102 pattern, as originally planned. During one of my ventures to the fabric store, I poked through pattern books and ended up coming home with one of the Simplicity Martha McCain historical patterns (9769). 

I used this instead for the drawers and am very happy with the results. Rather than worrying about redrafting a pattern, I sewed this one and it was an absolute breeze. Not only was the pattern easier to put together, but it fits more smoothly than my original drawers from the TV pattern.

Also in my fabric store wanderings, I found a lovely eyelet trim that worked perfectly for the edge of everything.  

I also managed to finish out my corset with all the extra lace and trims and it's gorgeous!

So now that I'm finished with my foundation pieces for under my 1850s-1880s dresses, I'll see about jumping on the 1910's slip next.

I did start one other project and I'll leave you with this little hint - Kate Winslet wore the original in Sense and Sensibility.

New Corset

Once upon a time I decided that I needed a new corset (amongst a few other things, more on that later). I had bought one a few years ago at the local Renaissance Faire that was intended for being worn on the outside of clothing and then it ended up on the inside of most of my outfits after being bitten by the Victorian sewing bug. At the time, it was my first corset so there were a lot of things that got overlooked in my excitement. For starters, it didn't fit exactly (liveable at the time), but had great support (wow, there's no such thing as slouching in this thing), and did exactly what it was supposed to do (yay, my waist is eight inches smaller!).

Fast forward to about two years later. I've had dabblings in corset making at this point, seen a few originals for reference, and while my original corset has become well seasoned, the bones were starting to come out and the whole not fitting exactly thing is starting to get to me.

I ended up purchasing most of my materials and fabric in the summer of 2012, but only got around to sewing it this spring after it was determined that I would need it for attending a conference and for properly fitting some of the new dresses I would make. The end result though was I had a corset that was halfway finished when I went to conference. Out of time and running on only a couple hours of sleep, I simply wore it as is.

Now I've been home for about three weeks and it sits on the top of my sewing pile quietly calling, "Finish me!" All right I will, you demanding little thing.

The corset I made is inspired from an original 1880s corset in the Kyoto Costume Institute collection made of blue silk satin with lace and embroidery work. The pattern comes from Truly Victorian and has minor alterations to better fit my body (because no matter how much I want to try, I will never have Victorian lady curves).

KCI 1880s Corset

While the finished corset will be decorated, it will not have as many frothy frillies as the KCI original. I found some lace at the local fabric store that I liked against the blue and as soon as my bias fabric is sewed down completely, I will work on adding the lace as well. 

My corset in it's unfinished glory

 

Lace to go along edge

Perhaps the only thing I am not looking forward to is the task of hand sewing the lace on. I've examined all sorts of possibilities, but this seems to be the best method for attaching and making sure it lays correctly at the same time. For the official record, I hate hand sewing. There may be some mumbled curses coming out of northeast Ohio over the next week or so.