February 2014 - Project Update

Okay, so I'm a few days late...I'm trying! :)

So here's what I've been up to:

I finished the aprons for my father and brother.  Papa will wear his, my brother probably won't, sadly.

Finished Clifford the Big Red Dog apron!

 I started my new leggings, but haven't finished them yet.

As for my Regency underthings, I did purchase bust enhancers but they didn't fix the stays issue.  They were too big, so I took them in (now they dig in on my ribs) and now they fit much better, and put things where they belong! I'm totally still using the enhancers for a little extra oomph though :)  And it took a bit, but I finally just made myself finish the petticoat. I think it's too short, so I'm not 100% happy with it, but hopefully it'll look okay under the ballgown I'm working on.

Finished Regency underthings - chemise, short stays and petticoat with straps. HSF Under It All challenge.

Speaking of my ballgown...I took my measurements over the Regency undergarments, ironed the fabric (which sucked!) and got everything cut out the week before my friend visited from out of state. The past week has been working on it a little pretty much every day.  Right now, the bodice is complete (except for the sleeve hems) and the skirts are put together (I cheated and finished the skirt seams by machine, I was out of patience for hand finishing), so tonight will be attaching the two together! Once the dress is finished, it'll be time to make a pattern for my open robe. I am definitely NOT cutting into my sari until I test out my ideas first!

Ballgown ticket! I'm going to the ball!

While I was still in the mood to not sew Regency things, I got the muslin for my airship corset cut out. I have an awesome idea, fingers crossed it all works out!

The 18th century stays along with the Regency underthings have been posted in the HSF sewing group, but as you see, I haven't gotten around to blogging about them yet.  It's on my to do list, I promise!

Finished 18th century stays - HSF Pink challenge

Sometimes You Just Need a Break

Dear readers,

Have you ever just needed some time off from sewing? I rarely do, but this weekend was not a good weekend.

First of all, I was supposed to go Friday night, wearing my new 18th c stays with a cream linen petticoat over a bum pad and matching little shrug I made last minute. But it was snowy and I didn't have a ride, so I stayed home. But I was halfway dressed when I made the decision to stay home, and it wasn't very pretty. The stays don't quite fit correctly, the straps cut in at the shoulders. Part of it may be that they weren't laced properly so fingers crossed that fixes the problem. Also, the bum pad's ties leave an unsightly bulge on my stomach when the petticoat is on and tied. Needless to say, I was okay not going when nothing seemed to fit right!

Secondly, since I already had on my Regency chemise, I decided to try on my short stays and almost finished petticoat, so I could (1) get the strap length for the petticoat straps and (2) measure myself so I could cut out the proper size for my ballgown. And I couldn't get the stays to work. I'm not very well endowed and instead of lifting, the stays just seem to flatten everything.

After TWO bad experiences, I decided to take the weekend off from historical sewing, even with my ballgown / open robe deadline looming over me. So I quilted and I brainstormed the corset I need to make for Symposium to go with my airship uniform (the black and gold natural form-esque outfit) and I finished my cousin's pj pants. I meant to finish my father and brother's aprons and make a pair of leggings (cut out last week), but spent almost the entire weekend with a close friend, bc it was her birthday.

So, this week's goals:
1. Finish the aprons
2. Put together the leggings
3. Buy some bust enhancers for the Regency stays (I'm going to cheat!)
4. Take measurements over Regency undergarments
5. Iron fabric and cut out ballgown
6. Cut out a muslin for the airship corset (gonna have to basically make my own pattern)
7. Take pictures and write a blog post about my stays for HSF

And this weekend will be pretty sewing free because my friend Laura is visiting! :)

Oh, I also went fabric shopping on Friday! I got black linen for an 18th c petticoat, blue taffeta for an Edwardian corset, black denim and white denim for corset interlinging, and cream linen and cream lace for a shrug and mask that ended up not being worn Friday since I stayed home. I also picked up a few notions for projects. 

Current Projects - December 2013

Just a few pictures of projects I've started recently:

Cut out my first pair of 18th century stays a couple weeks ago. It took a while: There's eight of each piece. The outside is a green and pink home decor print in heavy cotton, interlining is black target, and lining is green cotton.

Regency shift, using Sense and Sensibility's Regency Underthings pattern. Once the basic construction's done, I'm going to start on the short stays.

Regency spencer, from a coat I made for my former beau. I drafted my own collar piece while looking at pictures of a spencer I liked online.

And my quilt that I'm hand quilting. Definitely a long term project.

First Project for 2014 is....

REGENCY!

Is anyone else surprised? Because I kinda am. lol A friend (Dixie, you all know her!) wanted to start a historical costuming group and I said I was down, so we started one. Central Ohio Costuming Society, you can find us on Facebook. And then I read on one of the blogs I follow (The Victorian Needle) that there's a Regency Ball in Michigan in March 2014. I asked Dixie if she was interested and bam! I'm making an outfit in the one era I thought would be the last I tackled. I did a little research, and I could get away with a redingote or something (the ball covers 1790 to 1825, so I do have a little leeway) but I found and fell in love with the open gown so full on Regency it is! Albeit early Regency.

So, my to do list:

1. Regency undergarments: Short stays, chemise and a bodiced petticoat. I already have fabric for the short stays -- white 100% linen and 100% cotton canvas that I found in the remnant bin at Joanns. If I can get on it, I'll do the stays for the HSF 2013 One Metre challenge, if not it'll just go with the rest for the HSF 2014 Under It All challenge.
2. A gown, this will be in white as it seems to be the most common. Plus it'll be easy to dress up or down.
3. And an open robe, probably in pink (for the HSF pink challenge!) in a sari if I can find one I like.

I'm planning to purchase Sense and Sensibility's Regency underthings pattern as well as her Elegant Lady's Closet pattern for the gown. I'll use her tutorial to make the bodiced petticoat based off the gown pattern. And I'm not quite sure on the open robe yet. There aren't a lot of patterns for it out there, so I may have to learn to enlarge and or drape patterns. Eeep.

I also plan to make:

4. A spencer, by cannibalizing the aforementioned Joker coat. It's corduroy which I know they had, but I doubt ladies spencers were a common thing to make from it. But I really love the color so I'm doing it anyways. Since I'm re-using fabric, I'm doing this first to get it done for the Make Do and Mend HSF challenge. I'm going to use the Simplicity Regency dress pattern I have and figure out a pattern for this.
5. A sleeveless spencer, out of some turquoise dupioni silk I have. I don't have a lot left, but it should be enough for a cute little bodice to fancy up my white gown.