Halloween time!

Goal:


And what I came up with in a hectic week and a half...



This dress used to be a tablecloth. The sash is floral ribbon, cape is red floral wire, a single corset bone across the neckline, and mirror organza from ebay.
The cape just wouldn't stay up on its own, so the final product has it tied to the clip in my hair.


Yeah, bit patchy on the arms there... 100 applications, my ass... Ben Nye, you dirty liar.

And bonus pics of my friend Danielle, borrowing a costume from years past.

almost done

I love these black grommets... they blend so well. I just wish someone made black powdercoated busks.

Anyhoo... here is one panel, the right to be specific, with nothing left but the binding. Eyelets in, all bones in, so it's basically all set.

Which is very good, as I wanted to wear it tomorrow, and adding the binding will be quick My top stitching is pretty good so I don't think hand sewing the back side will be necessary, just a wee bit of hand stitching on the very end to keep it neat. I actually topstitched all the bone casings into the seams made by the panels, and they turned out rather good.

The back lacing panel is actually seperate from the rest of the corset- you can see the seam on the inside. But, that's because it'll be easier to take the corset in when I drop a bit more weight that way.
Here's the final fitting, before finishing it off. I took in the top a wee bit after. I'm also leaning to one side, for some reason.

Woohoo!

So I'd say I'm at about 80% on the corset. Bone channels done on one side, busk in, just need to do the eyelets and bind the top and bottom.
I'm particularly pleased with this:
The busk is in, and I think I did a damn fine job matching the pattern from one side to the other. Not on the curves (since, well, how?), but across the center? Golden.

I ended up backing the fashion fabric with twill since it's such a light cotton that it would have stretched. I've checked and rechecked the measurements, compared them to existing corsets, and still feel like it's way too small. But compared to what I own, and based on the fittings, it should be good. If not, well, I can drop weight. ;)

The quarter inch spirals I got seem lighter than the kind I'm used to, and a lot more flexable, but I'm not terribly concerned, as the half inch flats will take the brunt of the abuse and they're a good deal sturdier than anything I've worked with before now.

And, a bonus shot of the front pieced together ready to be sewn.

Corset fitting, number one

So I have the pattern drafted, decided against the sweetheart neckline and went with a more traditional cut.
Got the inner layer together today (I'm lazy, and I know my sewing errors. Yes, mockups are important, but when you always err to the side of too big they're not as important, so using one of your real fabrics just saves time and cash.)

Sewed the front up (although that'll come out, I'm doing a busk), added a bone to the front and each side, and lacing panels recycled off an old corset that has long since given up the ghost.
Rather bumpy and lumpy due to having, well, three 1/2" flats that are all too short and nothing else for structure, but otherwise I'm pleased. The length on the sides is just where I wanted it, and the waist falls perfectly.

Need to take in the front a bit around the belly area (a big shock there, but a few people told me I looked like I lost weight, I guess so), and I think I'll bring the sides in about a half inch on either side.

Part of my problem is that I underestimated how much I can lace down. I'd been thinking my favorite corset which is a tad too small for me now is a 32". A quick check once I'd wiggled out of this thing wondering why the lacing closed so easily revealed it's actually a 30" waist. And one I have that I can easily close is a 34". So yay. I'm still a lardbutt, but less so than I realized.

Construction details:
1890s pattern from little corset book
inner layer- poly/cotton non-stretch heavyweight twill
Outer layer and lining will be 100% cotton. Black liner, black outer, front panels and back panel by lacing in Alexander Henry Tattoo (black)

Eyelets will be either black or silver, haven't decided yet. I've got both, and I'll see how they both look against my print. I'm thinking black. Shame no one makes black powdercoated busks.

(oh, ignore the wonky red stitch in the front... the red so I can pick it out easier, and the wonky because I didn't bother to press the seam, so it changes the direction it falls in halfway down.)

Corset drafted. Used the 1890s pattern from the Little Corset Book as a basis. Tweaked a bit to make it a sweetheart overbust so I can wear it without anything under it. I think the measurements should be good, but if they're off it's by too big, so I can change them easily. I'm thinking I may end up needing to add a hip gusset, though. What with the hips that can birth the USS The Sullivans (sideways) and all.

money, money, money

So, not too long ago a friend asked me why I don't just quit my day job and sew full time.
Well, this is why.
See, I work in the magical world of IT sales. No, we don't have a pet unicorn (yet). But we do have people from all sorts of companies, everyone from the lowliest manufacturer of mouse pads to the most powerful manufacturer of, oh, I don't know, let's say operating systems wandering through all day. And they all want us to like them. And to sell their products. And to reward us when we do so we are inclined to sell them again.

So, thanks to various companies, I have been shopping over the last few weeks.

Finally got myself a copy of Corsets and Crinolines by Nora Waugh, something I've been wanting since the a.g.f. days, but couldn't justify due to it's $54 (for a paperback! seriously!) cover price.
So, thank you unnamed maker of networking gear for the home for the Borders gift cards, which coincided nicely with a sale. I suspect it won't contain anything I don't already have in a multitude of other sources, but having all the info one could ever need in a single text is beyond useful.

A kind maker of bags in which one can carry their laptop has managed to help me procure a couple yards of Alexander Henry Tattoo in black.

I've picked up a few of the Simplicity corset patterns on ebay (thank you, RAM manufacturer!). I like to have patterns on hand, if only to refrence, or for when I feel like doing something fast. I was going to go with Laughing Moon, until I saw a comparison on Farthingales site. The same person, on the same day, laced into four corsets made to the same measurements. Both the Laughing Moon, and both the Simplicity ones. (yes, Simplicity makes three, technically. But two are the same, one comes with a chemise in the pattern, the other with a hoop skirt. Comparing the line drawings, the fabric and notion requirements, and the measurements, I've determined there's no way the patterns differ in any significant way.). I think the waist reduction on the Simplicity ones is far more impressive, particularly when comparing the two gored corsets. In fact, I really prefer the overall line of the Simplicity- it's much more of a "corseted" look, less of a "bodice." Looking at the Dore, well, I couldn't even get into my Scarlet O'Hara costume with that under- she doesn't seem to have more than a minimal reduction. I can typically lace down 4" or more easily and six or seven if I'm feeling masochistic.

Can you see where this is going? :)

Also placed the first of what will be several orders over the next few weeks with Corsetmaking.com for preliminary supplies.

So hopefully I'll be done with the mockup by Saturday, or at least done enough to know what size bones to order. And hopefully I'll get them by Wednesday or so next week so I can actually, like, make this thing and have it for rockabilly night.

Oh, next paycheck I'm getting a camera. So I can get pics of this thing.

Also, will be making a zebra-stripe overbust with neon green bone casings for a friend in the next few weeks. Which I am SO FREAKING EXCITED about.

Never did upload those french seam pics, but maybe tomorrow.
I decided to take the day off since I'm going to see my beloved Dropkick Murphys at Thursday in the Square, and working until 7 means leaving at 3 would be just silly. And yes, I'm still sick, but fuck that, it's DM. (And OMG they did Flannigans Ball on the new album. There are no words for how much I have always loved that song!!)

Which means tomorrow, assuming I get up at a semi-reasonable time, will be a sewing day. Hopefully I can churn out a skirt for me, and put together a halter top I've already cut. And then I won't have to worry about having something to wear since I need to do laundry.