Late 1850s Corset, Embroidered Chemise and 1860s Elliptical Hoops!

Good Monday to you all!  I hope you are all doing more than wonderful!  I am well, but life has become a little more busy than I like.  Fall means school and school means teaching, or making sure Colton gets his school work completed (as stated in my previous post, Colton is in a new homeschool co-op where "we" go to school all day Wednesdays then Mondays and Fridays for math...). This means earlier mornings (I'm a night owl, usually going to sleep at 1:30 a.m.) and sluggish feeling days.  All this translates into fewer sewing projects, which is just how it is going to be for a while!

BUT!!!  I have managed to complete a few things.  The hoops have been done for about 2 weeks, the same for the chemise.  The corset is a newer project.   Because of the way I have been feeling physically and other things that have been happening in my life causing me to want to hibernate, it has taken me this long to do a photo shoot with all the new items.  You know when you just feel off plumb and don't really feel like doing anything but sleeping and sitting on the couch, binge watching "Call the Midwife" and eating potato chips?  Yaaaaaaaaaaa....That's how I have been feeling lately.  I know that things will get smoother and I'll be back to my usual self, and I sooooo cannot wait for that!

  

So, on with the pictures of the new underwear items!

Elliptical Hoops

At some point in the hopefully near future, I really want to make two 1860s elliptical dresses....This one and This one.  I had in mind to make the half mourning one for my annual "All Hallow's Eve" mourning dress, but my mind changed itself for me and I will be making another instead.  In any case, the hoops are already made!  Huzzah!!

Pattern: TV 103 Elliptical Cage Crinoline

I thought it would be fun to make a colored cage, but in the end, white won out....

Late 1850s, Early 1860s Corset

I've been wanting a black corset for a very, very long time and since I will be doing the "Dressing the Victorian Lady in Mourning" at The Bishops House this coming Saturday, I thought I would make the corset for the event.  Well, plans fell through for the making of a new dress (oh how did God rescue me from a week of crazy,  out of my mind, working 24/7 on the new project! Thank you Lord for talking some sense into my crazy, OCD brain!!!)  I plan now on dressing in my 1840s Wool Mourning Dress and feel it will be a better thing to do anyway, so huzzah for simpler, non "are you out of your mind?" plans!!!

But again, I now have a new corset for when I do get my newest mourning dress made!

I really love this new corset and think it fits really well.  And....I did flossing on it!  I have never done any flossing except on the tips of the gussets for stability, and am super pleased with how the "tear drops" turned out!  You can't really see very well the color of the flossing, but it is a lovely robin's egg blue!

Pattern:  Simplicity 7215 (shortened by 1 1/4")

Fabrics: Dupioni silk

Cotton canvas

Love my new American Duchess Balmoral boots!

I'm one of those wear your chemise outside of your drawers kind a gal.  I have tried to wear the chemise inside the drawers and the feeling is just too uncomfortable.  I know that there are those who wear it in and more power to ya!  But this chick...chemise out!  

Embroidered Chemise

Ok, so I am super pleased with this chemise and really liked the embroidering so very much that I would like to make a set of drawers and corset cover that has been hand embroidered! Don't know if that will actually happen, but a girl can dream right?  

Pattern: Past Patterns 707

Fabric: Cotton 

The edge of the top looks puckered...I ended up having to take a full 6 strands of the embroidery floss and thread it on the underside of the scallops to "tighten" the top of the chemise up.  Without that tightening floss, it fell way down my shoulders and I really didn't like how it looked.  Also, I wish I hadn't added the buttons as it throws the "center" off a wee bit.  But, the pattern called for it and on one of the extant examples, it was the same way so....there ya go! 

Looking at these pictures, it's hard to believe that I actually embroidered all of that!  

Especially those teeny tiny eyelets!  ACK!!!

The sleeves are even embroidered...

Well, that's all for now....For the next two weeks, I will be slowly working on my mourning dress...This Glorious Work of Beautiful Art!!!!!!!!!!! 

 I hope you are enjoying the fall weather if you are a place where the weather is actually changing!  This is my favorite time of year and I LOVE the colors of the leaves on the trees, especially the bright crimsons!  

Have a wonderfully blessed week my friends!

g

Teens Era Corset and Wedding Purse

Good Saturday to you all!  I hope your weekend is going well!  My weekend is sort of a lazy one.  I did have to take a break from my mine and edit photos for this post as my creative mind had taken my rational mind over and was holding it hostage.  As you may or may not know, I ADORE Victorian-1920s underwear.  I am utterly and completely twitterpated with them!  To that end, one of my goals is to have a suite of underwear for every silhouette change from the 1830s to the 1920s.  For some reason, this morning my mind focused all too sharply on that goal and it was screaming to make all the fluffy, white, lacy, simple things NOW!!!  I furiously researched patterns, extant garments, corsets, chemises, corset covers, combinations, hoops...etc, etc.  Finally, I had to put the phone (my main research tool) down and flee to my room.  That did NO GOOD whatsoever!  My eyes landed on a fabulous length of sheer, white with a narrow blue stripe fabric that I picked up Thursday at Hobby Lobby for an 1860s sea side ensemble.  My mind shifted its OCCD bent to all things Sailor/Seaside and the madness once again ensued.  For the LOVE!!!  I am in the process of beginning an 1850s gym outfit out of a most delicious cobalt blue fabric and there too began the mad research for all things sports.

To be very honest with you, I do not like it when my mind goes on benders like this.  I feel dis-jointed and un-grounded.  Like my thoughts are flying around like cotton wood fluff, in no particular order.  It truly stresses me out.  So, I finally took my shower, made myself be calm and started editing the pictures of my "finally finished" 19teens corset and the newly acquired wedding purse that Mom and I just received from England in the original box!

The Corset

Earlier this year, I started on the Truly Victorian 1913 Late Edwardian Corset.  I decided that since I had never had any trouble with the sizes of TV's faaaabulous patterns, I shouldn't have any trouble with this one and chose not to do a mock up.  BIG, BIG mistake!  Always do a mock up first!  I tried it on and found I had an 8-9" gap in the back!  Holy Monkey.  Happily, I was able to take the seams apart and sew them with a much smaller seam allowance and now there is a waaaaay smaller gap in the back!  Lesson learned...again.  Always, always, always make a mock up!

Anyhoo, I fixed the fit and am now super happy with my new corset!  I believe I will wear thing with my Ruth DeWitt Bukater Yellow Tea Dress....because it's yellow and I have a serious matchy-matchy issue.  This means that I am going to have to take out the pink ribbons in the rest of the underwear and put in yellow so it will match everything.  I have issues.

Here is the new pretty!  All the lace is antique and from my stash.  I had enough of the pale butter yellow silk left over from my 1884 Bee Fancy Dress and Rogelio Egusquiza Barrena painting dress to make this corset.  I have a wee bit more that I am trying to decide what to do with....

In doing research into the corsets of this era, I discovered something I had never paid attention to before.  Buttons on the lower pert of the corset.  I am assuming they are there to keep the front from splitting apart when it is worn.  Samples of extant corsets with buttons can be found here and here.  I totally forgot that I was going to add a large hook and eye to the front, so will do that when I remember again!

Aaaaah....smaller gap in the back!  Much more better!  Love this pattern by the way...after fixing my errors...it fits really well and is super comfy!

The Wedding Purse

Yesterday in the mail, came this darling little wedding purse from England in its original box!  Wedding purses were sweet things that money was put into for the bride and groom.  Other places state that it was used by the Bridemaids and filled with things to shower the bride and groom with.  These things would be rice, rose petals, confetti or grain.  (see here, here, and here)  I am still looking for actual antique printed word that shares what the wedding purse was used for.

Our sweet purse.  It is made of silk netting and a very sheer silk for the decoration and lining.  It is beginning to shatter so I will be putting it under a glass dome to keep it safe!

The purse came with a lovely handkerchief.  The lace around the edge looks to be hand made and it is a very fine hand.  I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and see the bride that used this on her wedding day! 

Inside of the original box it came in.  It has paper doily edging all the way around.  There is a sweet little tassel at the bottom of the purse.  I am so happy that this sweet thing has come to live at my house!!

Well, today I finish cutting out the rest of the pattern for my 1850s gymnastics outfit and laying it on my screamin' blue fabric that I found at Goodwill to see if it will all fit!  Hopefully it will...

Be blessed everyone!!

g

1890s Wedding Corset and Dainties Planning

Greetings and Salutations to you all!  This week for me has been a very long week.  It all started on Monday when I was waiting for my corset steel to come in.  I was at Wal-Mart purchasing embroidery floss to use on the wedding corset that I had started on when I got a call from my sweet Mama informing me that her sister, my Aunt LaVonne had just passed away.  We knew she was very sick, but the suddenness of her passing left us all in shock.  I spent the rest of Monday with Mama, just being with her.  Please keep her, and the rest of my family in your prayers if you would please!  

Thursday was my sweet Colton's 14th Birthday!  I cannot believe that this wonderful young man has been entrusted to the care of my husband and me...he is truly a fantastic blessing and I love him dearly!

In between Birthdays and comforting the grieving, I squeezed in bits and pieces of time to make my wedding corset.  It is 99.9% complete, the only thing remaining is to add some beautiful lace to the top.  I loved the look of the corset from Simplicity 7215 when I made it for my 1840s mourning ensemble and so thought it would be fantastic for my 1890s wedding ensemble.  I was right!  The hip and bust gores made for lovely curves and made my geeky heart sing!  I found the fabric for it at an antique store.  It is a silk/synthetic blend that is probably from the 1950s or 1960s...I couldn't find any fabric in a silky hand anywhere local and truly hesitate to purchase online, so when I saw this, I gave a little squeal of delight!

Now, I know and totally understand that there are thousands of extant white corsets that are not "wedding" corsets, and that corsets of all colors were worn for weddings.  However, since this corset will be a part of my "Dressing the Victorian Bride" underwear presentation, I chose to make it white (ok, off white).  Plus, I "needed" an excuse to make a new corset!

This is the first time I have corseted my pillows and found it quite jovial!

The inspiration for this new corset came from Fripperies and Fobs.  I have no idea if it is truly a wedding one, but I loved the shape and color.  I will wait until I have all the rest of the underwear completed before I don it and take pictures.

I had been wanting an over the top, gorgeous petticoat to go with the ensemble and my prayers were answered one day while perusing eBay.  Thankfully, no one else thought that this petti was as impressive as I did and I won the bid!  It is the most incredibly beautiful petticoat I have ever seen!  And the lady who wore it must have been at least 5'10" tall!  It is 41" long....WOW!  It is dripping with beautiful lace and the fabric itself is nice and crisp.  I believe it may have been starched because of the way it sounds when it is "swished".

The flounce is super deep and the hem is really wide.  The strips of fabric that go between the lace are tapered...I have never encountered this before.

I love the bows in the lace...so lovely!

Another thing I have never encountered is an under flounce of fabric and lace followed by...

A lower underskirt of a ruffle flounce!  It is really full and fluffy!

The drawers and corset cover I plan to make will be made from Folkwear 203.  I love the pin tucks and use of insertion lace.  I have some lace coming to me that is the exact same lace as the petticoat lace!  Huzzah!!!

Source:  The Met

I love this pink corset cover and think the Folkwear pattern will be a perfect choice to make something similar...in off white of course.

For my chemise, I plan on using Truly Victorian's TVE02 Edwardian Underwear.

The chemise that is featured in the TV pattern is almost exactly like the one in this image from flickr.  The one I am specifically interested is the one right under "Ladies".  Again, I will be using lace that is exactly like the lace in my petticoat.

My sweet Colton and my wonderful Daddy yesterday at Cabela's, one of Colton's favorite places.  Happy Birthday my son!

Well, I hope you all are having a really lovely weekend.  Give your loved ones and hug and let them know how much you care about them!

Blessings!

g

1840s Mourning Gown, Planning, and Step 1 Complete!

Another of my "goals" in Historical Dress reproduction is to have a mourning gown from every era from the 1830s to the 1920s.  (this last date may go later, like to the 1950s, we shall see....)  It was going to be that every October I would work on a mourning outfit to wear on All Hallow's Eve and take photos at one of the surrounding cemeteries, but so far, that has only happened every other year or so.

This year, my mourning dress will be of the 1840s persuasion.  After watching many of the Jane Eyre movies (1983, 1996, 1997, 2006, and 2011) I fell in love with the somber look of Jane's clothing and the beauty of her black dresses.  I can't explain why I love this look.  There is just something about the movie, the setting, the clothing, that lends itself to sadness and mourning.

About 5 years ago, Greg and I went to Vancouver, BC and I was in a fabric shop called Dress Sew (if you get to Vancouver, this is a MUST GO shop!!!) and I found some light weight black wool for 9.00 a meter.  I purchased 9 meters thinking I would use it to make an Edwardian mourning dress.  Then I started watching the Jane Eyre movies and my mind was changed for me!

I am going to be sharing my inspirations for the dress, bonnet and underwear in this post along with the completed corset!!

The Dress

Obviously the movies are a great inspiration, but also too are the wonderful dresses that were part of the "Death Becomes Her" exhibit at the MET last October (No I did not go.  Yes, I am still mourning the fact that I didn't.)  The two dresses from the 1840s totally take my breath away with their simple elegance!!!

Source:  The MET

I would totally give my eye teeth for that charcoal on black pashima shawl!!!!

Source:  The MET

I so love how shiny this silk is!!!  It is a gorgeous dress and what I will be patterning my dress after.

So yes, my dress will be second mourning as I don't own a mourning pashima shawl, but have a most gloriously colored one (here is the post about mine.)

I also want to wear a gold tone watch chain and a fabulous antique hair mourning brooch...sooooooooo, second mourning it will be!!

The Bonnet

My lovely friend Kat sent me some real silk crepe a while ago and I have been saving it to make a mourning hat or bonnet.  I found the perfect 1840s bonnet from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  There is another lovely example from Whitaker Auction site.  I will be using one of Lynn McMaster's patterns for mine!

Source:  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

LOVE the crepe bands on the bonnet!

The Underthings

For the underwear, I have already made a new corset that is suitable for the 1840s.  After doing some research, I discovered that loop and stud busks weren't used until after the era of my dress so I used a wooden paint stick for my busk.  I did have a lovely "real" wooden busk that I ordered online, but we won't discuss what happened to that one...it has something to do with a jig saw and a splitting in the total wrong direction.

The inspiration for the corset came from several different sources.  Below is the one I attempted to copy to the best of my ability.  It is from The MET.  I love the stays that are placed on the angle.  I haven't gotten to the flossing on mine as my fingers and hands are severely angry with me at present.  Another inspiration is from Abiti Antichi. That one has shoulder straps, but since my shoulders and straps are not good buddies, I am opting for the strapless examples!!!

Source:  The MET

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this corset!  If I were a thief, and if I were to steal something from The MET, this would be one of those things.  Buuuuuut, I'm not a thief and I won't be stealing anything from The MET, so there you have it.

I found this on Pinterest, but can't find where it came from.  It shows closed front corsets from the 1840s.  Huzzah!!!

My 1840s Corset

I have had this on my "to make" list for quite some time, but it really frightened me as it was a two piece with gore pieces pattern.  It is Simplicity 7215.  I did away with the stud and loop busk, placing the front pattern piece on the fold and just placed the boning like it appeared on the original from The MET.  I think it came out rather well!!  Please excuse the differing laces... I don't have one long enough to lace all the way!

And of course Emma is too emaciated to look good wearing my corset.  Poor thing.  I need to fatten her up!

Simplicity 7215

A very lovely corset to put together.  I just had to make the bust and hip gores smaller.  Other than that, it was a breeze!!!

I also plan on making a new corded petticoat (I already have one for the 1830s), one very similar to the very first image on Jennifer's Historical Sewing post on Corded Petticoats.  Also, if you have never made a corded petticoat, would really like to and are intimidated by them, I strongly suggest Jennifer's Corded Petticoat Workbook.  (I am in no way reimbursed for advertising about the workbook...it is just really that fabulous!!!)

I may or may not make a new chemise and drawers for the 1840s outfit before I need to wear it on All Hallow's Eve, but I do know I want to make a new set of first layers!  

Ok, up next?  The corded Petti and 2 new full petticoats!!!

Be blessed my friends!

g

Good Use of Down Time...

Well, here I lay in bed still....it has been a week and two days since my back decided that it wished to visit unimaginable pain upon me.  There is significant healing and I am finally seeing the bend in the road that leads to healing....I can sit up for longer (10-15 minutes!!  Whoot!!!) with out pain remembering to inflict itself, I can walk a bit faster (still have my sideways "S" bend going on....not as sexy as the Edwardian "S" bend but very entertaining....), I am sleeping more.  So, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and my attitude and emotional state is improving!!  Still very sad that Costume College is just a lovely dream (Josie you will text me pictures and fun anecdotes of the days there correct?)

 

Here you can see my sideways "S" bend....currently I am listing to the right!!!  Oy Vey!!!  The only good thing about this unwanted occurrence is that I have lost weight!   I had a lady tell me that pain is a form of stress and therefore induces the fight or flight syndrome causing weight loss!  Whoot!!!

During my time in bed, to alleviate my boredom, I have been thinking about the future and what sewing projects it will hold!  I have so enjoyed this years adventures in eras never traveled.  Therefore, I think I would greatly enjoy exploring other eras.  I have been watching a lot of period movies on Netflix.....Thank God for Netflix!!!  As I lay here in my bedroom, I can't help but think of the ladies in days of old who were plagued with consumption, pneumonia, TB, a weak constitution, even those who were paralyzed!  What did they do without Netflix?  I know they surely read, but there is only so much reading day after day that a body can endure!  God bless those ladies!!  And yes, I know I am spoiled!!!

But I digress....as I said, I have been watching many period movies and I have fallen in love with the 1840s....

Jane Eyre

 Jane Eyre

The Mill on the Floss

Nicholas Nickleby

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer

Bleak House

These movies are not only great watches, but the costumes in them are drool worthy!  Especially Jane's wedding dress!  Swoon!!!  

I have planned on making a corded petticoat to go under an 1830s dress that I wish to make (Oh!!  That's another era that I plan on exploring!) so I'll already have that particular piece of underwear.  The next thing of course will be an 1840s corset/stay.  Some ladies can wear their Regency/Romantic era stays for the 1840s, but since I look like a sausage in mine, that just won't do for the more hourglass shape of the 1840s.  I haven't been able to find many examples of this era which has been frustrating.  I did find a couple of examples on Pinterest...

Unfortunately, no site reference is available for this....

I really like the top corset.

This corset is from the ebay store Time Travelers Antiques....I am loving the shape of it and the fact that it has a wooden busk and the nice amount of boning.  Not sure if I will add shoulder straps though...It also looks as though the grommets are metal.

After much deliberation and anxietizing over having to purchase another corset pattern, I decided to use the Simplicity 7215.

Oddly enough, view "B" looks very similar to the extant corset!!!  Just take out the metal busk and it is a pretty good match!  

I also found a couple of blog entries where the lady seamstresses had taken out the busk, making the corset one piece and more era correct for 1840!  

Anachronism in Action

Corset Makers Live Journal

Stitches Through Time

These corsets turned out most lovely and quite era correct looking for the 1840s!  I am so excited to start this project!  

Here's to healing and planning!