Attaining that Edwardian Silhouette

It's been a while since my first post about the pretty pink Edwardian dress, but I've been making lots of progress on the project! I've been posting about it on my Instagram stories, so go take a look at my highlights if you missed them!) and taking lot's of pictures along the way, which I plan on using to make a couple of in-depth posts in the future.

Today, however, I want to show how I am attaining that ever so iconic Edwardian S-Bend silhouette, as well as a quick update on how the project as a whole is going.

The undergarments I'm using start with the corset. I made my corset from the Truly Victorian pattern a few years back. While it isn't particularly well made, it serves it's purpose.

Included with that pattern is a small bum roll and bust pads, which are all worn underneath the corset. Well, when looking at the silhouette, I decided it just wasn't s-curve-y enough. I'm pretty petite as it is, and I'm pretty much the opposite of curvy, so I need all the help I can get.

I was able to get a wonderful silhouette with adding one simple thing: a basic bustle/bum pad atop the corset.

The pattern was simply draped, and I made a quick tutorial which you can find on my YouTube channel.

Here's what the corset with all it's padding looks like from every angle. And below that is a before and after with the additional bumped underneath two petticoats. The difference is subtle, but I'm very happy with it. It still has a natural look to it even though it's definitely a very exaggerated silhouette.

After the undergarments were taken care of I was able to start on the actual dress! I started with the lining. I used the skirt pattern from Butterick B5970, which I also used for the main skirt but heavily modified. It's actually a great skirt pattern, so if you're looking for a classic Edwardian skirt pattern, this is a great option.

The pattern for my bodice is self made, mostly through draping, but I will talk more about that in a later post. For now, here's a peek into what the dress currently looks like.

Overall, I'm happy with how this is coming, even if my fabric wasn't quite what I'd hoped (but I guess that's what I get for ordering online from a fabric outlet). I have hit a bit of a block however with trim around the neckline. My original plan didn't work out the way I'd hopped, so I'm currently searching for inspiration.

In which I learn to Floss...

... My corset, anyways.

A few months ago I started up a dance night with a group of friends, and several of them have been trying to convince me that I need to learn to floss, which I steadfastly refuse to do. Then last week I wasn't feeling well, and instead of laying around doing nothing I decided to take that time to finally floss my corset.

When I finished, I shared pictures online toting that I had learned to "floss". Anyways, I thought it was pretty funny. But here's the end result.

This is my 1880's corset made from the Truly Victorian pattern. It's the most comfortable, though not the most technically well made, corset I've made yet. And now now it's the prettiest corset I've made.

For anyone who doesn't know, flossing is used to hold the bones in place from moving around in the boning channels. Plus it's an extra way to add some decoration to your corset. I played around with a few different styles with the help of some tutorials I found on Pinterest. There's a surprising amount on flossing info out there.

Completed 1914 Corset and Chemise

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and happy new year. As promised in my last post, today I'm talking about my recently made 1910's corset. I finished both the corset and chemise just before the end of the year and it made a nice final project of 2017.

As I mentioned in my last post about this corset, the pattern is from Bridges of the Body. I really liked the pattern, particularly because it fit quite well without any modifications and was completely free.

The chemise is made from a book I've had in my library for many years and was printed in 1917. This was gifted to me by a friend of my mom when she learned that I was interested in historical sewing and I've been waiting to use it ever since.

The book is Practical Sewing and Dressmaking by Sara May Allington. It's filled with instructions on how to draft patterns for everything from skirts and blouses to jackets and night gowns. It even has some adorable children's clothing instructions in it too.

The pattern for the chemise is actually based off of the shirt waist pattern and has a modified neckline and is lengthened. So I drafted the shirtwaist pattern according to the instructions and made the alterations suggested for a chemise with a gathered neckline.

I didn't bother to pattern the chemise part, but I want to note I made it 36 inches in length, which sits right at my knee's, and that I added perhaps a little bit more fabric into the neckline than I would do in the future, but it still turned out nice.

The book

Drafting the Shirt Waist

Kitty Baby decided to keep me company and eat my supplies

What the Shirt Waist draft looks like

The examples of the two variations using the shirtwaist as a base for a chemise

I like the simplicity of the pieces and it's a very comfortable corset. Strangely enough, my dimensions are still pretty much the same as my non-corseted measurements with this, even though my body shape is altered a bit.

1914 Corset Beginnings+Inspiration

My sister and I recently started watching Downton Abbey together (this is my second time going through the series and her first time), and I've completely fallen in love with the clothing from the later war years. It's both elegant and practical at the same time, which really appeals to me.

I've been slowly coming around to the idea of working in this era, and watching Downton Abbey was the the final straw to break me. This weekend I started working on a new corset for the era.

The pattern I'm using is from Bridges of the Body, and it's been a great pattern. I had some difficulty with getting it to the right scale (as I do every time I try to scale up a pattern), but I was able to get it close enough and made a few adjustments once I had it printed out.

The mock-up came together quickly and surprisingly easily. My first attempt I was completely over thinking it and tried changing some of the dimensions because the original on the pattern were just slightly smaller than my usual corseted measurements, but that only ruined the lines and ended up being too big anyways. I ended up adding seam allowance to the original pattern and it fit perfectly, despite being printed slightly smaller than it was supposed to be. Go figure.

Corsets from this era are, to me at least, a little weird. The silhouette of the period was so long and slender, with far less emphasis on the bust and bum than was popular in the early 1900's. The corsets from this era usually sit with a low bust and extend past the hips and are *so* long. But it's slowly growing on me.

In case you're unfamiliar with the era, I thought I'd leave you off with some pretty 1910's inspiration. You can check out my Pinterest board for more WWI era goodies too.

Corset C. 1914 Via Bridges of the Body

Corset C. 1912-14 from the Kent State University Museum

Catalog C. 1916. I'm in love with each of these outfits

Late Victorian Corset

Next up on my catch up posts is my new Victorian corset. After wearing my old Victorian corset (which I made at the beginning of this year) a few times this year I was ready to make a new one that fit better.

The pattern I used was Truly Victorian #TV110. I used duck canvas for the main layer, left over satin from my graduation dress for the outside, and the inside is lined with cotton broadcloth. I re-used the busk from my original corset I made a few years ago and the lace was some that I already had on hand, so all the materials were from my stash. #score

I really only used the pattern for the pieces; I didn't follow the instructions at all and made up the boning pattern myself. I've learned enough from my previous corsets that I didn't feel I really needed the instructions. I can't really rate the pattern because of this, but overall I feel like it's a good pattern. I ended up cutting the final fabric one size smaller than I originally had in the mock up and I get a 3" waist reduction when I lace it tight and have a perfect 2" gap!

Even though the corset is technically done I still want to floss the bones, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. It's on my list but will probably remain there for a long time.

Never Before Photographed Projects

Over the last year and a half I've had a lot of projects that I never got around to photographing. Until now. If you follow me on Instagram that you know that I just got a new, processional sewing form (!!!). Today I was taking photo's/video for a review I'll be doing of the form and ended up getting pictures of some of my projects that I haven't gotten photo's of yet. I still have more to photograph, but they needed to be ironed so I'll be doing those on another day.

I'll talk more about the sewing form in my actual review post, but I just wanna say how awesome it is! Not only is it going to make my actual sewing easier, getting photo's of my projects will be a lot easier!

First off, my Victorian corset. I started this one near the end of 2015 and finished it early this year. The pattern I used was from Period Costume for the Stage and Screen by Jean Hunnisett. I used duck canvas from Joann's for the base fabric and flat lined it with this pretty blue fabric I found at a garage sale (I'm not sure what type of fabric it is).

While I really love this corset, I did make a few fitting mistakes and will have to make a new one. But I'm really hesitant because this one is soooo pretty...

Next are my Regency Half Stays. These came together really quickly, I think over the course of a day or two. I also used a pattern from Period Costume for the Stage and Screen. The pattern I used was the Regency corset pattern but I modified it by basically chopping off the bottom half to make half stays instead.

I also used duck canvas from Joann's for this with hand stitched eyelets and ribbon for the lacing.

And finally, my Sontag shawl! I posted at the end of 2015 that I was working on this and I finished it early this year but never got around to getting pictures. I found the pattern on Ravelry for free and it was a good, easy project. This would be a perfect project for a beginner/intermediate knitter.

That's all I've got for now, but I'll be posting my review and more projects that I hadn't gotten either any or any decent photo's of (such as my green Regency dress!).

Sewing Haul!

I had the day off work yesterday, so my mom, sister and I went out to do a little shopping. We went to JoAnn's to take advantage of their Presidents day sale, and although I didn't buy a ton of stuff (okay, I did buy a ton of patterns), I did get some awesome deals!

Simplicity patterns were on sale for $1 each, so I picked up a bunch. I don't know about you, but that's the only time I ever buy commercial patterns. ;)

I picked up this petticoat pattern, mainly thinking of the pattern in the upper left corner for my graduation dress. I could make my petticoat without a pattern, but I figured for a buck I'd pick up the pattern.

This one is also for my graduation dress, which I just realized I never shared here on my blog Oops! I'll make a post on that soon. But anyways, I picked up the pattern for the single shoulder dress pattern. The top of the dress is a separate piece from the skirt, so it should work nicely!

Another corset pattern. I realize I have yet to use a corset pattern that I've bought, but I had to picked it up. I've heard good things about this pattern.

Not sure if these tops will really work with my trousers, but I need a new top for Historic Flight events.

I've also been wanting to make a 1940's dress, so I knew I had to get this one!

Okay, so I've seen these patterns online and was really surprised at how accurate they are to the movie. I wasn't even thinking about these when I entered JoAnn's, but then I saw it sitting on the table and jumped to grab it.

I picked both patterns up. I have not idea if I'll make any of these anytime soon, but I'm ready now! :)

I'll have to look at the patterns a little farther, but I don't see much modifying that would need to be done on these patterns other than moving the leg slit on Elsa's dress to the right side, fabrics, and the capes on Elsa's dresses.

There was ribbon for $.50 and I picked up some of the super thin stuff to replace my yellow ribbon drawstrings on my petticoat and chemise (finally!).

And last but not least, muslin. I have about 2 yards left of my last bolt and have been needing more but haven't ordered it because it's been on sale online and I like to use a 50% off coupon to get a better deal. They only had 17 yards, but I ended up getting it for a super good deal! I have no idea what happened, but I ended up only paying $8 for it somehow.

Victorian Undergarments

I (mostly) finished my Victorian under garments. YAY! I'll probably need another petticoat and I still need to get some longer ribbons for my chemise and 2nd petticoat drawstrings. But I'm off to a good start!

So the last few weeks I've been working on a second petticoat for over my Truly Victorian bustle. I drafted my own pattern based on Truly Victorian 107, which surprisingly turned out really good since I pretty much drafted the whole thing with math (which I'm not very good at).

The chemise and drawers were drafted with a tutorial from The Sewing Academy. I ended up putting a drawstring neckline thought so I could adjust it for the Wishing Dress neckline.

I also finished my first corset! I drafted it with this tutorial. Over all I think it turned out pretty good for my first completed corset. The back has a bit of space but I think that's because I laced it myself. I could definitely get it tighter if someone else was doing the lacing.