Monday, November 22, 2010

Christmas and Ohayocon Prep 6

Hello my dear readers on this lovely Monday morning! Its warmed up here a bit, so much nicer than the chilly-ness of recent days.

First of all, I purchased fabric for my brother's pajama pants. I plan to wash it today and get those finished this week.

Secondly - My HQ Corset: I pinned and sewed all of the lining together. I did a quick fitting and it fits pretty well. I need to put the zipper in (which I bought yesterday) and put on the undergarments that I'm most likely to wear with it to get a good fit before I start pinning and altering the corset. The interlining was pinned and basted to the diamonds, so its all set to go!

Thirdly - My HQ Bustle: My first step was the lining. Part of the bustle (which is a 45 inch square) was lined in left over diamonds and the rest with white sateen. Basically there's a wide strip of sateen down two sides. I purchased some petticoat net for the inside (it gives the bustle more body and ability to drape pretty) and sewed that to the wrong side of the lining, then sewed the lining to the outside. I sewed all four sides of my square except for about nine inches which I left open to turn it right side out. Then I pinned and topstitched all the way around, closing the turning opening. I went to iron the square and fold it to form the bustle shape I wanted and realized that I had messed up -- the lining and the outside weren't the exact same size (despite my efforts to make them so) so the bustle would not lay right.

As you can imagine, I was quite perturbed. Instead of crying (which was my immediate reaction), I tried a few fix its and when none of them work, I grabbed my scissors. I cut along the diagonal crease where I had attempted to iron it straight and then ironed each piece from the sewn edges towards the open end. With all the extra fabric at the open edge, I basted the opening closed. My plan is to sew the two together and then use bias to conceal the raw edges. This will also give me the waistband that I need for hooks and eyes so that the bustle can attach to the skirt. I also trimmed the edges with some white lace (from the stash my beau's mother gave me) and plan to tack on some red ribbon by hand. I plan to repeat this trimming of lace and ribbon on the apron and probably on the corset as well.

All in all, not a bad weekend. Oh I also cleaned my chamber at the Companions' Shuttle so that I can decorate for the holidays. Which I plan to do this evening when I get home!

Update on my to do list --

Christmas
1. Parents' aprons - DONE!
2. Stacey's pajama pants - DONE at least til she can try them on
3. Cliff's pajama pants - fabric purchased, needs washed and sewn

Harley Quinn
1. Petticoat - DONE!
2. Bustle - need to sew the two pieces together, add a waistband, sew on red ribbon trim and sew on hooks and eyes
3. Corset - need to tack the zipper in so I can properly fit the lining, then start constructing the corset including boning
4. Underskirt
5. Jacket - I'm changing the pattern because I realized that another pattern already in my stash works better than majorly changing the same pattern I used for my polanaise. It is the right length and already has a peplum instead of me having to add a peplum from another pattern.
6. Top Hat

And...
1. Steampunk Joker for my beau - vest, jacket and pants, maybe a tie
2. Steampunk Catwoman for Miss Dashwood - bustle, utility belt and shirt
3. Helping with Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze - whatever they need

A bientot!

Miss Leah J Wilde

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