Update - March 27 2012

I finished embroidering the last skirt gore that my mother had, and started putting the skirt together. All the gores are together, and the waistband is halfway finished. I started pinning lace along the hem as hem tape -- I can't find my horsehair braid and I don't want to shorten the skirt more than necessary.

So I need to hand stitch the waistband in place, put on a closure, maybe tack down the sides of the back opening, and finish the hem.

As for the petticoat, I finished the waistband and pinned the hem, and finished two of the inside seams with bias. The third I want to finish with wider bias so I have something to sew the black ruffle onto. Oh and my papa graciously washed the lace for me to get rid of the bleach smell.

I need to - sew on a closure, put wide bias on the bottom ruffle, hem it, add the lace, add the bottom ruffle.

I didn't touch the basque or the playsuit.

Week of March 19 ....

I didn't get too much done, honestly.

I did rinse and dry my bleached lace, but it really needs washed to remove the bleach smell. And it hasn't been applied to the petticoat yet, petticoat hem is about halfway done so once that's finished and the lace is washed, it can be put on.

I did put the waistband on, but it needs the hand work (folded over and attached) as well as the hook and eye closure.

As of this moment, I'm probably going to leave the headscarf untrimmed. If everything else gets finished, I'll trim it in some black lace.

I have not started putting the basque bodice together. Or checked my button stash for buttons for the basque.

But I did cut out the lining for my playsuit. But I didn't check to see if the playsuit does in fact match my clockwork skirt. However I know that I do not have a zipper, but I didn't get a chance to look for thread, I probably have something close enough that I can use. I obviously didn't start putting it together.

Weekend to do list:

• I'm going home to my parents, so first up is finishing the crazy quilt gore my mother has so that the crazy quilt skirt is ready to put together.
• Work on the petticoat - at least get the waistband finished and the hem pinned. I'd also like to finish the inside with some bias to prevent fraying.
• Start pinning the basque bodice together.
• Wash the petticoat lace.
• Start pinning the playsuit together, or at least read over the instructions
  

March / April To Do List:

• Gyspy steampunk by April 27th for Steampunk Empire Symposium
• Paris steampunk by April 27th for Steampunk Empire Symposium
• Playsuit / skirt combo by May 3rd for Florida trip

Current progress:

Gypsy Steampunk:

• My skirt gores are embroidered and two are basted together. Mother has two skirt gores done. I'll be getting them from her no later than Easter.
• The petticoat is mainly done. Three tiers have been gathered and stitched to a yoke.
• The headscarf is wearable unless I decide to trim it.

Paris Steampunk:

• The bodice is mainly cut out.
  
• The overskirt is finished.

Playsuit:

• The outer fabric is cut out.
• And I'm thinking it'll match a skirt in my wardrobe, so no need to purchase more fabric.

What I still need to do:

Gypsy Steampunk:

• Skirt: Put all the gores together, add a waistband and a closure (probably a hook and eye, center back closure). Hem it with polyester horsehair braid.
  
• Petticoat: Rinse and dry bleached lace, then apply to tier #3. Add a waistband and side seam closure. Add the last (black) tier and hem it.
• Headscarf: Trim the black lace triangle with black lace trim if necessary. Otherwise, it's currently usable.
  

Paris Steampunk:

• Finish cutting out the bodice lining.
• Put the bodice together.
• Check my button stash for buttons.
  
• I'm probably going to need to purchase a few things, maybe buttons or snap tape...
  

Playsuit:

• Cut out the lining. I'm going to use white cotton, since it's already in my stash.
  
• Check to see if it does in fact match my clockwork skirt like I think it will.
• See if I have a zipper and thread that I can use, purchase them if I don't

Week of March 19, 2012 To Do List:

• Rinse and dry bleached lace, then apply to tier #3 of the petticoat.
  
• Add a waistband and side seam closure to the petticoat.
  
• Decide if I'm trimming the lace headscarf or not.
• Start putting the basque bodice together.
• Check my button stash for buttons for the basque.
  
• Cut out the lining for my playsuit.
  
• Check to see if the playsuit does in fact match my clockwork skirt like I think it will.
• See if I have a zipper and thread that I can use for the playsuit
• If I can, start putting the playsuit together

No rest for the wicked!

Progress Update - March 19 2012

Cut out the rest of the bodice: I did what I could. I cut the cuffs and collar out of the Paris print, and cut what I could out of black broadcloth for the lining. Beau is borrowing another piece of black broadcloth I have next weekend, so once I have that back and wash it, I can cut out the rest of the lining.

Finish gathering tier 3 of the petticoat and sew it onto tier 2: Done! I checked the length by pinning the petticoat to my dress form and then pinning two gores (basted together) over it to see how everything looked. Which is so far, so good. Right now, the petticoat is a couple inches longer than the skirt. My current thinking is that I sew lace to the bottom of the petticoat, and then add the black ruffle (attaching it to the seam where tier 3 is attached) so that it comes to the top of my boots. Another idea: I add a narrow ruffle of eyelet and attach it as well as the black ruffle to to tier 3...


Petticoat on my dress form.


Skirt pinned over the petticoat, I'm thinking I'll need to wear a net petticoat underneath for more fullness...


Length of skirt versus petticoat.

Of course, I don't have 10 yards of white lace in my stash but I did have a massive amount of a cream lace. So it's currently in a water and bleach bath in an attempt to lighten it. We'll see how that turns out.

Check the lilac linen: DONE! Not only did I have enough linen, but I washed (light), dried (low and only for 40 minutes) and ironed (linen setting, sprayed with water as I went along) it! Then I cut out the pattern.


Laying out the playsuit pattern...

I didn't start putting the bodice together, mainly because I really didn't feel like it.

Progress and Update - Saturday March 17

Happy Saint Patrick's Day my dearest friends!! I'm wearing a green tshirt in the spirit of the day. (It's an All American Rejects shirt lol)

I finished basting the interlining, but haven't worked on the bodice otherwise.

I have worked on the petticoat! Tier 1 and 2 are gathered and sewn together. Tier 3 is half gathered. I stopped, because I got tired of the gathering -- Tier 3 is afterall 360 inches long.

I also went through my fabric stash. I have some things that I'm offering to friends, probably for a small payment. I also threw out a bunch of fabric scraps. As well as reorganized the stash so it makes a little more sense, including separating out a few things that will work if my brother's spawn is female.

And I figured out how the skirt gores go together. They're pinned, haven't decided if I want to stitch them now or not though.

What I'd like to do tomorrow: Cut out the rest of the bodice. Finish gathering tier 3 of the petticoat and sew it onto tier 2. Check the lilac linen. If all that's done, start putting the bodice together.

Final note: I found a triangular piece of black lace that I think will work much better for my gypsy steampunk. I may need to edge it in some black lace trim...

Weekend to Do List - for St Patty's Day

What I've done this week: Finished my portion of the embroidery for the crazy quilt skirt. Realized I messed up my gathering stitch on the petticoat so it'll have to be redone. Worked on basting the interlining and satin for my basque bodice.

This weekend I'd like to: Finish basting the interlining and cut out the rest of the bodice. Work on the petticoat. See if the lilac linen is possible for the playsuit. Start putting together the bodice. Go through my fabric stash and weed it. See how the skirt gores go together and stitch them.

Gypsy Steampunk: Crazy Quilt Skirt Progress -- Almost there!

I finished my last gore last night! And my mother finished her second! That means that the skirt embroidery is 5/6th of the way finished!


My third skirt gore.



Mother's second gore.

Only one more to go! I'm planning to baste my gores together to see how they're going to look.