Costume College Corset Class

I love taking corset classes because every time I do, I learn something.  Everyone has a different method or a new insight or, sometimes, just a plain easier way to do something.   This is the corset that I made at Costume College.  It is only one layer of coutil and does not have the quantity of bones that I have seen used in previous corset classes.  This class was given by Barbara Muran. She had a couple of amazing corsets on display and walked us through this hands on class.


Next up - the 3-in-1 petticoat.

Success! A little bit at a time

We had a Sewing Day yesterday.  Our plan was to work on Elizabethan corsets.  We also had some odds and ends that needed both brains.  It was a resounding success.  Corsets are hard.  Especially if you are not already thin and firm.  The goal of a corset is to nudge your shape into the 'fashionable' form of the relevant period.  In order for your 'out' to 'fit' you need the inner 'you' to be shoved into shape.  In this case, it's Elizabethan.  We have most of our underthings made, but cannot progress on finishing until we know what our corseted shapes will be.  In addition, we can't move on to our dresses for the same reason.

In my case (Lisa), not only am I bigger than average, I'm also much squishier.  This makes it difficult to know if the pinned corset is actually correct.  In fact pinning the corset on me is quite a chore.  Robin is a bit easier, but it's still not easy.  Aside from basic fit, there's also a lot of decisions around what kind of fabric to use, and how many layers.  We each made a muslin for fitting.  Muslin stretches.  Once we each got a muslin that fit, after at least three iterations, we needed to use the muslin as a pattern to make sure that we accounted for stretching.  We also wanted to keep the layers to a minimum.  We expect to wear these costumes in very warm weather.  We ended up with coutil and linen.  It feels amazing.  The picture at top is Lisa's corset, with both layers cut and the first bone in it's channel.  That's what we wanted to accomplish, and we did.
Here are a couple fitting pictures to illustrate the challenges of fitting:

In the top picture the fit looks like a traditional corset fit.  WRONG.  The instruction clearly state that there should be a 2 to 4 inch gap of the same width all the way down the back.  Do-over!  the lower picture shows a 2.5 inch gap all the way down.  This is the correct fit.  It also demonstrates how hard it is to pin correctly.  As soon as I let go to take the picture, the back slid down, distorting the view.  Also, if I didn't pin very closely, there were nasty pulls that made the the fit look wrong even though it was actually really good.

Oh, I want to DO this!

I took this right off their page and this sounds like something Lisa and I have been batting around for a while as we discussed Edwardian Tea Dresses and traded pics of them.  Can't wait to see what additional patterns they put out. Maybe we can find a little time in between the Elizabethan projects to make some Edwardian as this is a special year for it. 

"Historical costumers and those who just love sewing vintage and antique patterns may be interested to learn about the Vintage Pattern Lending Library’s (VPLL) The 1912 Project.
The 1912 Project will reproduce approximately 150 patterns from the 1912 issues of the French fashion journal La Mode Illustrée by the end of 2012. The patterns that will be transcribed include not only women’s fashion, corsets, and lingerie, but also garments for men, children, and babies. And the VPLL needs sewers to help test the transcribed patterns and share their experiences working with and sewing them. Test sewers will receive the patterns at no cost as they are transcribed from the magazines.
The project is just one of many programs and events organized among costuming and vintage sewing groups to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of Titanic on April 14-15, 1912.
Participants in The 1912 Project will track their own progress in sewing the patterns they receive by posting monthly updates and photos on their own blogs or by sending the VPLL photos and comments on their progress, which will be posted to the VPLL’s blog, Vintage Fashionista. The patterns will also be available for purchase on the VPLL’s website. To get involved, visit The 1912 Project or email the VPLL at vpll.librarian@gmail.com."
http://vpll.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/the-1912-project/#comment-93

The Turtle Seamstress Progresses - R

After a lovely trip to the Denver area (where I could not sew and had no hand sewing I could bring with me), I came home to a jam-packed schedule for the next two weeks.  I'm going to be sneaking in bits and pieces of sewing where I can.  Last night I sewed the knobby part of the busk into the corset.  It always scares me to punch holes in perfectly good fabric hoping I've marked it properly.  This time, I marked, checked, checked again and finally punched the holes, inserted the knob busk and sewed it up.  It looks pretty good.

On a side note, I ordered some Victorian boots, had to send them back for a larger size, and just got the new ones today, and entire size larger than I normally wear. I'll be wearing them around the house to mold the leather to my feet for the next couple of months.  Cute, huh? They'll be hidden under the 1860's outfit but will look fabulous with Steampunk.