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.

Lace Tuckers, or What Exactly is That Thing?

When I started analyzing the portrait of Marie-Louise for my reproduction, I spotted something that I was unsure of. Around the neckline of the dress I noticed what I could only assume was a fancy chemise, so I started researching to fine out exactly what it was.

Details of the portrait of Queen Marie-Louise of Belgium. C. 1841

I wasn't able to find anything on fancy chemise's and eventually I posted my question on a sewing group on Facebook. Turns out, it's not a chemise, but an accessory called a tucker, which would be stitched straight into the dress, or in some cases be pinned into the dress instead.

A tucker would sometimes be unseen by being attached below the neckline, but in many cases they were shown. They had a drawstring around the neckline which would be tied to keep the neckline from gaping, and were often made of fine lace.

Below are some inspiration and examples of tuckers.

Portrait of Queen Victoria c. 1861. Via the Royal Collection Trust

Silk Gown C. 1865. Via

Portrait c. 1863. Via

Tucker's were most common during the mid 19th century, the 1850's and 60's particularly, due to the fashions of that time. However, tuckers can be seen throughout the 19th century and even into the early 20th century.

Making an 1841 Evening Gown | Bodice and Sleeves

Today I'm sharing the process of making the bodice of my 1841 Marie-Louise gown. I'm still in the process of making it, but I wanted to share what I have done thus far, mainly the bodice.

The pattern is self drafted, based off of a pattern from Patterns for Stage and Screen by Jean Hunnisett. To draft the pattern, I draped it on my dress form, patterned that, made a few adjustments and then went on to make one final mock-up before cutting into the actual fabric.

Speaking of fabric, the fabric I'm using is a faux silk taffeta from Bangkok Thai Silk. It looks more purple in the pictures, but it's a black-shot-red color.

I cut my pattern pieces out of both my fashion fabric and muslin and flat lined them by surging them together. Once that was done I stitched all the pieces together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, leaving the back open.

On the dress form, before any boning was added.

The next step was to add boning. I used single fold bias tape for my boning channels, stitched directly into the seam allowance.

After I added boning to the seams, I decided that it needed more structure, so I decided to add boning into the lining pieces of the front side pieces of the bodice. I cut my bodice pattern out of another layer of muslin to create the lining.

To add the boning to the lining, I cut out 2 more pieces of the front side pieces, surged the edges, and drew my boning channels. I originally thought that I would place the pieces against the inside of the bodice, matching the seams, but I quickly realized that if I did that then the boning would be at the wrong angle.

Instead, I still used the same pieces, but I ended up stitching them at a different (crooked) angle to my lining. Since it would not be visible once the lining was finished, I decided not to bother redrawing/positioning them.

My lining, with the additional boning channels stitched.

Next I stitched the lining to the bodice with right sides together, and stitching across the top with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I under stitched the lining before clipping the curved edges and turning it all outward.

Here's what it looked like at this point.

The next thing to do was the sleeves. These were also self drafted and based from the same book as the bodice. They were relatively simple to both draft and assemble. They consist of two pieces, the lining and the fashion fabric, which as you can see are quite different in shape and size.

Once the pieces were cut I surged them and ran a gathering stitch across the top and bottom of the fashion fabric pieces.

After that I gathered the top piece down to the measurements of the lining pieces. If I were to do this again and I would make the top piece a bit longer to give a little more volume, and I would center the gathers more towards the center instead of spreading it out mostly evenly.

Once I had the gathers pinned to the lining piece, I basted along both sides to hold the gathers to the lining. Then with right sides together, I folded it in half lengthwise and stitched with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, creating the sleeve.

After this, I attached the sleeves to the bodice by hand.

What the dress currently looks like (and also a more accurate color)

That's all for today's post. I'll have more posts soon about the bertha and eventually the skirt.

Marie Louise Gown | Progress Report

I have some progress to report on the 1841 Marie Louise gown. It's only a little so far, but it's progress none the less.

I started working on the bodice and got pretty far with it last week. I got it all stitched together, boned, and put the lining in.

Before boning...

And after boning. It makes a huge different  in how the bodice lays.

I started working on the bertha, and it came together easily and just needs to be attached to the dress now, as it's only pinned in the above picture.

The sleeves are about half done. I really like the way they look so far, but I need to add lace and finish the bottom edge of them still.

The bodice looks like it's closer to done than it really is because I only have the bertha pinned and I still need to finish the center back closure. I've been procrastinating because both of those mean a lot of hand sewing.

But I'm really happy with how it's looking so far and I'm hoping to have it done before the Christmas season is over so I can get some festive photos.

Costume Spotlight | 1898 Jacques Doucet Ballgown

This week's Costume Spotlight is an original 1898 ballgown by Jacques Doucet. Doucet was a French fashion designer in the 19th century and early 20th century. His designs were known for making elegant gowns using translucent fabrics and pastel colors.

This particular dress is from 1898-1902 and is made of silk, metal, and linen. The cut of the dress is typical of the era, with a narrow waist, small bustle, and flared skirt with a slight train in the back.

via Met Museum

via Met Museum

via Met Museum

From the Met Museum, "the material used is of the finest quality, extremely delicate and dramatically embroidered. The cut of the bodice is quite seductive, enhancing the silhouette." 

What do you think?

Rate between 1-10 in the comments and let me know your thoughts.

"Portrait of a Lady" 1870's Costume | Halloween 2017

As promised in my last post, here are the photo's of my Halloween costume this year.

Yesterday I attended a Halloween gathering with my family and friends and debuted my costume. I usually tell everyone what I'm dressing up as, but this year I wanted to keep it a secret and for the first time I actually succeeded. Ha!

For lack of a better name, I'm calling this outfit "Portrait of a Lady". I'm not sure if I'm unintentionally plagiarizing something famous, or if I actually came up with an original title, but that's what kept coming to mind when I was wearing it and it seemed like an appropriate title.

 

Photo's courtesy of my sister, Sereina.

I love this concept for a costume because it can be used to turn any historical costume into a perfect Halloween costume. :D

Skirt - this is the skirt from my 1871 dress I made last year, but with the train bustled.
Blouse - cotton shirtwaist drafted by myself with a pattern from Period Costume for the Stage and Screen as a reference.
Sash - self drafted and made from an upholstery velvet.
Wig - heavily modified wig from Arda Wigs. This is my Christine Daae wig I made several years ago and I'm so glad I finally got to wear it after putting so many hours into it!
Boots - Funtasma via Amazon

This is actually a dream costume of mine. I've always loved the 1860's shirtwaists and how informal and casual it looked. The dress the skirt was original made for was less than perfect, and at one point I almost threw it out all together, but then I came up with the idea of bustling the skirt and wearing it with a shirtwaist.

I had attempted drafting a blouse several times before but it wasn't until now that I was actually able to figure it out. I'd still like to go back and make a nicer blouse and add more details to it, but I love the way this looks.

Fashion Evolution in the Early 20th Century

Fashion has changed a lot over the last several century's, but the changes of the early 20th century was such a huge shift compared to previous fashion trends. Skirts got more narrow than ever before and shorter styles started becoming normal.

But what exactly caused this drastic change of fashion? Women in particular were affected by the new fashions. Showing so much as your ankle's was considered immodest for the majority of the 19th century (with exception of the 1820's-40's where skirts were relatively shorter, stopping right at the ankle), yet soon, skirts began to rise.

Let's start with what fashion looked like at the end of the 19th century, specifically the 1890's. Starting with the undergarments.

Clothing starts with the undergarments, which help to create the right silhouette (shape) of the garments worn on top. Women's undergarments during this time usually consisted of a chemise, drawers, or combinations which is a single piece with both the drawers and chemise sewn as one.

On top of this would be a corset, bonned with either whale bone or steel boning. Next a small bustle could be attached around the waist. The bustle was a popular style from that lasted from the end of the 1860's through most of the 1880's, and by the 1890's it had shrunk to a much smaller size.

After this a series of petticoats would be put on, completing the undergarments.

c. 1890's Combinations, corset and bustle. From the V&A Museum Collection

Dresses for this era had large skirts that were wide at the bottom and narrow around the top, and bodices were long with large, puffed sleeves and high necklines.

c.1894-c.1895 Tea Gown

Around 1905, the skirts started slimming and continued to become more slim until WWI in 1914. The undergarments were similar to that shown previously, although the shape and fit had changed. But women still wore a chemise, drawers, and corset underneath all of their clothes.

Evening Dress, c. 1903-1912. From the V&A Museume

Dress, c. 1910-1914

When WWI began, it effected every aspect of life. During this time fashion became more simple and women's clothing started to be designed for movement, freedom and functionality. Some styles even began imitating men's styles.

Day Dress c. 1915. From the Kyoto Costume Institute

This was also when the Women's Sufferage became a mass movement. Women didn't have the power to vote at the time and had considerably less rights then men, and part of that inequality came through fashion. Up until then most fashion designers were men, which meant the fashion standards and idea's were largely decided by men. Women designers like Coco Chanel began gaining traction with their designs after the turn of the century, which would change fashion forever.

In the 1920's women's fashion began to change far more than it ever had. When most people think of the 20's they think of the classic flapper girl, although this style didn't come about until 1926 it still remains an iconic style. Fashion in this time was very loose and not nearly as restrictive as it had been. Skirts were shorter, necklines lower, and undergarments were lighter, though corsets and new versions of corsets were still worn through the 1950's.

Flapper Dress c. 1920's

Women's corsets from 1924 through 1956

Skirts were still fairly long through the 30's, sitting around the ankle or mid calf, until WWII began and fashions changed once again, however that's whole other post in itself.

Women's Suite c. 1938 from the MET

I often hear people say things like "Why can't we wear clothes like that now?" or "This should never have gone out of fashion", and as much as I wish we still took the time to look our best and take pride in how we presented ourselves, it wouldn't be practical in the modern day we live in. Between the hectic lives we live and our modern way of living, it would take way too much time, space and money.

Technology also had a big impacted fashion. With the invention of the automobile, it wasn't practical for women to wear skirts made of yards and yards of fabric, or large skirt supports like bustles and cage crinolines that were needed to support them. And in this day and age it's pretty much near impossible to live without a vehicle of some sort.

Fashion is both a reflection of the times as well as a result of the age we live in. Events often dictated what come's into style, which sometimes lasts and sometimes only stays for a short while before changing once more.

The Ugly Puffer

January came and went and I barely did any sewing, which isn't the way I had hoped to start the year. I worked on a few mock-ups, sewed a few 18th century petticoats, and made an ugly puffer.

What might you ask is an ugly puffer? It's this thing.

It lives up to it's name; it's ugly and it's puffy. But it works beautifully!

I'm not sure how historically accurate it is (full quilted petticoat's were worn in colder months, but I haven't seen any half petticoat's like this before), but it gets the job done. I first came across this wonderful little piece of fluff from Lauren at American Duchess, but I decided to make one after a fellow costumer on Instagram suggested it to add some volume for my petticoats. The Ugly Puffer is great for a ton of era's: 18th century, 1830's, 1840's, etc...

Here's a before and after the Ugly Puffer with my 18th C. Petticoat. I have two petticoats, both made of cotton and roughly the same same size each pleated onto waistbands and worn over a bum/hip pad which I'll post about at another time. As you can see, the Ugly Puffer adds a lot of volume. It also makes me wish I had made the petticoats just a little bit wider...

It was a cheap, quick piece to make that adds a lot of volume. I purchases 1 1/4 yards from Joann's which ended up costing under $10. I sewed it the same why I did my 18th C. petticoats with side slits so I could reach my pockets still and it closes with a drawstring. You could make it a little less ugly and finish all the seams, but I didn't bother since it's never going to be seen (though it's kind of starting to bother me that I didn't finish the seams and I may end up going back and bind the hem with bias tape).

2016 Review & 2017 Plans

I feel like I have the unpopular opinion that 2016 was actually an amazing year. For me it was a year of growth, change, learning, and new adventures, which I hope will all continue in 2017. With that said, it's that time where I review my year in costumes and go over my plans for the new year.

This year I really got into the historical side of costuming, which is something I've wanted to do since I started sewing all those years ago, and it turns out I really, really love it. The reason it took me this long to get into it is because it intimidated me. But between having already started m first Victorian dress at the beginning of the year and going to Costume College I got quite a bit of historical sewing in this year.

I'm not going to go through my costumes in date order because quite frankly, I don't remember what I made when and because I've been horrible at blogging (something I want to work on next year) and I really don't know which pieces came first.

So with that said, let's get started.

2017 Review

I completed my first Regency dress, and I loved it!

I (finally) finished my 1871 bustle dress and got to wear it to Costume College. I'm still adding things to this costume (it's currently hanging on my wall waiting for me to finish sewing more trim) but I'm very glad that I wore this my first time attending Costume College.

I actually ended up sewing quite a few corsets (and stays). Firstly I finished up my blue corset, which really didn't fit well but it did it's job for a while. I made a pair of Regency half stays, 18th century stays, and a new Victorian corset (which fits and is super comfy, for a corset).

   

This year I had the opportunity to work on several fun short films, two of which were Star Wars films. I learned a ton about working wardrobe and had so much fun on these projects. Set days are seriously the best.

This next one isn't something I made but I feel is worth mentioning because it's impacted my sewing a lot, but I got a real sewing form! I love working with it and it's a million times better than my home made form. It served it's purpose for the time, but it was time to upgrade.

This year I discovered one of my now favorite era's, the 1840's. I think it's all of the petticoats used to create such a full skirt silhouette that I love so much. But it's really a fun era and is actually pretty simple compared to a lot of other era's.

And my last one is something that I haven't blogged about yet, but if you've been following me on Instagram then you know about the 1780's Polonaise I'm currently working on. I started drafting the mock up (which is getting close to finished), have the petticoat close to done, and have already ordered my shoes from American Duchess. I'm so excited for this because it's an era I've wanted to venture into for a long time but never got around to.

Plans for 2017

This is the part of the blog post where I usually list out half a dozen or so costumes that I'd like to do in the new year but usually don't actually make. This year I'm going about my 2017 plans a bit differently. I'm not going to make a list of costumes I hope to make but instead list out some more general area's I'd like to learn and expand on.

Technical skill - I want to learn how to drape in a more professional way and eventually be able to create costumes for any size. I've already begun learning some basic draping skills and this is something that I really want to learn this year.

Victorian - I really love this era of fashion (all 60 years of it) and want to make more garments from this piece of history. I really need to make a new set of undergarments (drawers and chemise mostly), which I'll probably end up working on this year.

18th Century - I'm finally delving into this era and even though I'm only at the mock up I'm having a ton of fun with it!

Edwardian - I already have some mental plans for an Edwardian ensemble and I've just barely begun the mock up for the corset. Hopefully this ends up being an era I get to work on this year.

Regency - I may end up making another Regency dress this year as well, I really like wearing this era.

Film - I'm not sure what's in store for me in regards to working wardrobe for any films next year, but I'm hoping I'll have some opportunities again. In any case, I'm going to continue learning the skills that are required for any future costume design rolls I may get; concept sketches, drafting, construction, etc.

Cosplay - I really, really, really need to make my Rey costume (still). The fabric is literally sitting in my closet. I'd also really love to do a Jyn Erso cosplay, but that one's a little bit more complex. Those are really the only two I have in mind at the moment.

Goodbye 2016, it's been fun. Hello 2017, I'm ready for you.

1840's Cap and Bonnet

Today's post is about my cap and bonnet I made and wore with my 1840's dress. I pulled both of these together in a couple days before I wore the dress for Halloween. The cap is completely hand sewn and I really love how it turned out! The bonnet was something that I thought of making about a week before the party, which was too late to order a base online so I went shopping at my local thrift stores to find a plain straw hat to modify. I ended up with one for a couple of dollars from Value Village and it turned out great!



The bonnet is made from a plain cotton fabric I had in my stash, trimmed with lace (also from my stash) and ties in the back with ribbon. I drafted the pattern using this tutorial and sewed it all in a couple of hours. Overall, I really like how this turned out, however I will probably make another one in the future and make the back piece just a little bit larger (I think my measurements were off just a bit).

As I said already about the bonnet, I started off with a plain, modern sun hat. I tranformed it by cutting off the brim then pinning it to the styrofoam head in the shape I wanted and trimmed any excess away. To save time, and my sanity, I used hot glue to re-attach the brim to the base and then covered it with ribbon (also hot glued on). I pulled out my ribbon stash and played around until I found a combination that I liked.

The ribbon ties were hand sewn onto the fabric piece that sits around the crown of the hat (part of the original hat) and then I hot glued a piece of bias tape over the section where the brim and crown piece met just to make it a little more tidy.

You can see here a small portion where I didn't end up covering.

When I started the bonnet I didn't have high hopes for it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the end result.