theladyrebecca | Entries tagged with corset

Today, I worked from 9:30am-6pm, returned a bunch of stuff to Target, went grocery shopping, came home and unpacked everything, rode my bike to the Ballard Locks and back again (meeting a large family of Canada geese en route), made dinner (I never cook - but I made fish, for the second time ever!), finished my Regency corset, uploaded pictures to facebook, and watched a movie. I don't know when the last time was that I felt like I did so much!

And so as a reward, here are some pictures! I haven't done a photoshoot of the finished corset on me, but here's a couple on Antoinette. When I take some with me wearing it, I'll do my HSF entry, since this is my "white" project.

And a couple pictures of my new bike! I'm really liking having a bike, but geez - even the shallow hills are tough (especially on my knees)! Please ignore the disaster-zone of a living room.

And because that wasn't enough, some wildlife friends for you. First, one of the goslings I met today (I'm naming him Ryan), and second, my Squirrel friend from the Ballard Locks park a couple weeks ago.

The binding is done! No new pictures yet, though. And I've decided to look through some of the stitches on the machines at work, so the decorative stitches should be done by tomorrow evening. And then all I'd have to do are the eyelets on the straps. Maybe it will even convince me to do the eyelets on the 1780s stays straps too!

In any case, it's very wearable. Now I have to figure out what to do next - 50s Cinderella, 17th c orange gown, curtain-along (which I still haven't decided if I want to do a caraco or a pierrot!)? Or do something I don't necessarily have to do right now, and make a Regency dress (and petticoat) to go with my stays. It's probably a bad sign that I'm leaning towards Regency, since I'm not even planning on wearing it to CosCol!

And on an unrelated note, my new bike arrived today!! I haven't really ridden a bike since... I was maybe 13 or 14? But I'm excited! Of course, I rode it home from the shop, and everything was going just fine until I entered my neighborhood. Even the shallower slope to get to my street felt huge. And by the time I walked it up the road to get to my driveway/my driveway, I was absolutely exhausted (I think it's like a 19% grade?). But I'm looking forward to improving my stamina. And the bike is so pretty! I haven't taken pictures of my actual bike yet, but if anyone wants to see what it looks like, you can go here (it's the teal one). Now I need to don a 50s/60s beach dress and do a photoshoot!

Skipping yesterday's photo in favor of the ones I took today! At this point, the binding is about 1/3 done on the top (and not at all on the bottom), but that's pretty much all that's left to do. I also am putting decorative stitches in the gaps in the cording on the front, but I haven't decided on what stitch (I might do it on one of the machines at work). I also need to do eyelets to connect the straps to the front. But then again, I "finished" my 1780s stays (and have worn them multiple times), and there are still no strap eyelets on those either.

But here's some photos. After I had finished all the cording, boning, and eyelets, I put it on, and found that I could close it all the way in back. So I took a 1" pinch down each side, and while it still closes all the way at the very top, the rest has a gap. (All my corsets close at the CB top. I must have a very narrow upper back.) Oh, and I'm pretty sure all the wrinkling is just because I hadn't finished off the ends of the boning channels yet.

The back before I took out the extra 2", and after.

And a close-up of the cording. I wound up using 100% cotton yarn, doubled in each channel. I fed it through by poking open a tiny hole with an awl, and then using my turner-thing-a-ma-jig (that you use to turn tubes) to thread the yarn through.

Maybe the picture will work today? Of course, this is yesterday's picture, and I have since done all the boning channels (and got my boning!), and done a little over 1/3 of the cording channels. Next, I'm going to insert the cording on the channels I have finished, to make sure everything works, before doing the rest of the channels. And the eyelets. And the binding. But it's coming along!

So here's yesterday's pic:

Now the question is, do I do my eyelets H/A, and have them spiral lace, or do the crossing laces, which are way easier for me to do up by myself...?

All my pieces are together, so I took a fuzzy phone pic! Still needs cording, bones, eyelets, binding, etc, but I'm liking it so far. I did find a local source for boning, so I'll hopefully be picking that up by Monday. And I tested the yarn-as-cording today, and I like it! Thanks everyone!

Ok, the pic is not working. I'll try again tomorrow.

This is the second time I've tried to buy boning from Pacific Fabrics, and the second time they haven't had the lengths I needed. I have one other local place I could call tomorrow in the hopes that they carry boning. But if they don't, I might have to use cable ties again. But ugh! I really want to use steel boning!

Most of the pieces are put together. I just have to put the four bust gussets in one of the front panel layers, and attach that panel. The rest of the panels and gussets are already together. And I bought some slightly stiff-ish cotton yarn today, so I'm going to try some cording with it tomorrow.

I went all over looking for cording for the Regency stays today. I was hoping to find some 1/8" hemp cording, like in

jennylafleur's tutorial. I found 1/8" poly cording, but nothing else in that size (everything else, in both cotton and hemp was either very thin beading cording, or about 1/4" thick, including what I've found online). I wound up buying some jute cording, and playing around with it, but I'm worried it's going to be too thick. Here's a picture, with my sanded down busk ruler and fingers for scale.

Has anyone used jute before? And/or, if you've made Regency stays, what kind of cording did you use (and where did you find it!)?

Because I was messing with finding (or trying to find) cording today, all I managed to do was cut out the rest of the pieces. Though I did also run a bunch of other errands. And I bought a bike! I'm so excited for it to arrive. The bike shop said I should have it by next Tuesday.

On Saturday, I finished up my paper mock-up of my Regency Stays, so yesterday, I cut it all out in my mockup fabric. Today, I sewed it together, and it fit almost perfectly. I think I'm going to put the placement of the bust gussets slightly closer to the CF, like in the original pattern, but that's the only change I need to make. And of course, now that I ordered the 18" ruler, it looks like all I need is a 15" busk anyway.

I started cutting out my cotton twill today, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to finish my cutting and sew it all together! Of course, I still have to buy boning and cording, so I'm definitely not finishing this anytime soon!

In other news, either Weebly fixed their upload settings, or my internet is running faster (knock on wood), because I was able to upload some new (read, from like 2 yrs ago through now) pictures to my website! I haven't had time to do descriptions yet, but I've uploaded new pictures to my 17th and 18th c pages.

So despite the fact that it's not on my to-do list for CosCol, since there is no regency corset class this year, I've decided to dive in to making one myself. I'm using the pattern in Period Costume for Stage and Screen. So far all I've done is drafted out the pattern, but I'm excited to try it out.

I do have a couple of questions for the LJ hive mind, though. Firstly, does anyone know where I can find a busk appropriate for my 17.5" front length? I bought a 14" wooden busk from Lacis last summer, but I think that's just way too short for me. Also, is there any evidence of colored regency corsets? I was thinking about making it out of the same dotted pink fabric I've used for my Elizabethan corset, 1780s stays, and pocket hoops. It's worked well so far!

In other news, on Monday, I finished the 2nd and 3rd projects for the kids class for work. (I did the first one on Saturday). I made a cute springy elastic-waist skirt, a reversible tote bag, and a little monster stuffed animal. And other than $2 of elastic and felt , everything came from the stash! I'll post pics if all three projects sometime in the next few days.

Here are the pictures I promised, of both the finished corset, and the in progress skirt. I have since taken the skirt in where I had it pinned in the photos, and it's ready to be bound at the top, hemmed, and have hooks and eyes put in at the side front. I have decided to put large black and silver buttons down the left front seam as a decoration. I plan to wear it with a black velvet ribbon belt at the top, but all I had on hand at the time is my 18th c burgundy one. And you can see the old navy shirt. Obviously, I will be wearing different undergarments with it, but for the pictures sake, you get the purple dress underneath.

The teens corset is completely done! No pics yet, as I haven't had a chance to try the finished corset on. And I'm still debating about adding a waist stay tape. Can someone remind me of their benefits again?

I also whipped up the bulk of a teens "corselet skirt." It's based on a picture of a 1911 skirt diagram in The Cut of Women's Clothes, but after drafting that one up, I realized I only had about 2 1/3 yds of fabric (the leftover blue dyed linen from my "medieval" outfit from last year). So with about a half hour wasted, I then spent about 45 minutes (granted, a rather distracted 45 mins, since I was watching GCB) trying to figure out how to fit a 5 gore skirt in the limited fabric I had. In the end, I think I made it! It needs pressing, a hem, closures in the back, and some form of binding on the top. And I have to figure out how I want to decorate it. But I'm having trouble finding a lot of inspiration images online of basic corselet-style skirts. But we'll see. I just wanted something nice and quick to go together, just in case the 1912 evening gown gives me trouble.

I'll try for some pics of both the corset and the skirt tomorrow.

The teens corset is almost done. The bones are in the channels, but I still have to do the horizontal lines on either end of the bone to hold them in, and I have to bind the top. I'm also debating on a waist tape. And I have to re-lace the back, since the ties at the waist should be one eyelet lower. So a few pictures!

But I also have a pretty major problem. I thought I had sufficiently curved the edges of the busk, but apparently not. As I was wearing it around for a bit tonight, I noticed the edge of the busk poking a corner out at the bottom. How on earth am I supposed to fix it, now that the corset is pretty much done?! Please help if anyone has any suggestions at all. Here's a very bad pic where you can see it starting to poke through the fabric.

The teens corset is pretty close to being done. All the pieces are together, all the boning channels are sewn, and the busk is in. I need to stick the bones in and bind the top and bottom, and I need to do all the grommets. Unfortunately, the grommet pliers that I bought online arrived today, and doesn't appear to work. It didn't come with instructions, but I've tried it every way I can imagine, and it refuses to clamp down the back of the grommet. So I think that has to go back.

So the question is - should I reorder one of the hammer style tools (I have a larger one that I bought a while ago at Joanns, but I don't like that grommet size for the corset, and I don't think I can even buy grommets that small at Joanns anymore), or should I just go ahead and do machine-bound eyelets for the lacing? Or, has anyone here bought or used the C.S. Osborne grommet pliers, and could tell me the correct way to use it?

I also bought two other kinds of shoes from Bedford Fair. Whoops.

On Thursday, I drafted up the pattern that was posted by Bridges on the Body (the post Edwardian long line corset), and on Friday, I made my mockup. It fits perfectly, though I only stuck in one bone at the CF and one on either side of the lacings, so it felt really weak on (which I'm sure wasn't helped by me wearing a t-shirt and jeans underneath, but my mom was in a rush and I needed her help lacing). I'm going to go buy another layer of fabric tomorrow, and use my mockup as the lining layer, since it feels too thin by itself. The mockup fabric is just a hideously ugly khaki green canvas that I think I picked up during the Bargain Basement at CosCol, so I think I'm going to use either ticking or a prettier canvas on top. And while I originally thought I might create the boning channels on the outside, I've changed my mind (post-mockup, as you can see by the red bias tape), and I'm just going to do boning channels in between the two fabric layers.

I also managed to cut down the 15" busk I bought years ago and never used. I was hoping to cut it to 12", but that would have put it basically in the middle of one of the hooks, so I went with 13". I hope it will work, since it is definitely longer than I originally wanted. I filed it down a little, and then dipped the ends in several layers of nail polish, so hopefully it won't tear through the fabric.

Today, I went to the White Elephant Sale in Oakland. Everyone that I've met in the last year has told me how wonderful it is, but frankly, I found most things to be pretty overpriced (yes, I know it's for a good cause, but I'm on a super tight budget). I did, however, find a nice (and huge!) jewelry box for $10, and 5 pearly buttons for 25c, plus a couple board games.

I also threw my sari and some chiffon I had bought in anticipation of the sari's arrival onto Antoinette so I could get a very loose idea of the gown. Clearly, I bought the wrong gold chiffon, so I'll be headed back to Fabrics R Us at some point to get a more muted gold. The sari border will go around the top of the bodice and the hem of the overskirt. I plan to buy a gold liner fabric to be seen underneath the chiffon.

The cage crinoline is finished! I need a longer cord for the lacing inside (which is why the sides look a little wonky right now), but this one is all I have at the moment. I took what I had done with the pattern from Jean Hunnisett, and cut off the ends of the top 5 hoops, so that it could lace around the inside of the back, like the TV pattern. The pad is stitched in to the yoke, and there's about a million and a half intersections that I painstakingly stitched together. If you remember, I started this around Christmastime, spent most of January and February not sewing, but I slaved over it all day today (thanks Oscar Sunday!) and it's finally finished.

So here's a few pics!

I'm going to take a quick look at the petticoat that I started nearly two months ago, and then put aside, and see if it will be a quick finish. If not, I'm going to put this whole project on the shelf for a month or two, and move on to my teens stuff, which I have yet to start. I'm still debating about a corset. I'm thinking I might make do with a victorian one, since making a new Edwardian one would require the purchase of a busk, and I don't think I have time to wait for one to arrive. (Unless anyone has any suggestions?) Plus I've been itching to start draping the dress.

2011 was a pretty productive year for me, especially in the first few months.

January: Pre-Raphaelite-inspired linen dress and bodice (which I still haven't worn for anything)
             Chemise a la Reine, with short-sleeve shift, and matching sash and petticoat

February: Fully boned stays, which had been a ufo before this because I had never finished the binding
               My 1660s Restoration gown, with accompanying 17th c chemise
               Two pairs of crocheted mitts
               18th c floral striped petticoat
               Refurbished 17th c shoes

March: The beginnings of a hand-quilted petticoat, which I never really worked on again after that month. Maybe someday.
           Petal-shaped bum pad
           16th c escoffion
           Chemise-dress (faire-wear) commision
           I think I also made my short-sleeve chemise blouse in March, but since I never blogged about it, I can't remember.

Nothing in April, since I was busy moving across the country.

May: Floral robe a l'anglaise, with matching floral petticoat, and belt

June: Burgundy 18th c petticoat for the robe a l'anglaise,
        18th c hat (from scratch!)
        18th c cap, fichu, and pockets

July: Finally finished the 1950s Jean Desses cocktail dress, with matching shrug
        1940s romper suit w/ skirt
        Jacques Doucet-inspired early Edwardian chiffon and lace gown

August: Late Victorian walking skirt for my mom, w/ shirtwaist blouse
            Huge Edwardian hat
            Laughing Moon corset, started in the class at CosCol
            Short bustle, for Jane costume

September: Petticoat and skirt for Jane
                  Commissioned fish doublet and collar, with matching pants
                  Spats for Jane

October: Jane bodice, with detachable collar and tie
              Dyed the umbrella for Jane, and stitched eyelet lace to the edges
              Refurbished Regency-style shoes
              One black velvet muff and one white furry muff

November: 1860s black lace and ribbon cap

December: Pagoda-sleeved bodice for my mom for Dickens, with matching ruffle and trim added to her skirt from last year

Overall, not too shabby. Tomorrow, I'll post my list of everything I want to make for 2012. Happy New Year!

I finished the Victorian corset today. The fit is definitely not perfect, since it still feels a bit too big in the bust, but the waist and hips feel really nice, and at this point, I feel like it's good enough as is. I think for next time, I would probably wind up using a more sturdy boning than the 1/4" flat steel - it just doesn't feel strong enough. And I would probably use cotton canvas, not coutil. The idea of having a fabric with a little stretch in it for a corset seems strange. And a longer busk, too, but that wasn't my fault. Still, for my first adventure in Victorian corsetry, I'm pretty content. I also plan to add flossing eventually, but for now I'm moving on to other projects.

And my tiara came in the mail a few days ago! I'm quite happy with it.

...what do you do? I got to an "almost finished" point on my corset from the Victorian Corset Workshop class from CosCol today. Everything was going together really well, and I was trying to decide where to add more bones, so I tried it on. And it's too big. The hip area fits just fine, but it closes all the way up from the waist to the top, and the top is still a little gappy, too. Would it work to just take a big dart out in the back panel (where I do not yet have any bones) from the top edge to the waist? Or is there no way to go about making it smaller besides taking the entire thing apart?

By the way, this is the laughing moon pattern (the one without the bust gussets).

Thank you for your advice!

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Rebecca Maiten

Lady Rebecca Fashions

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I feel so productive!
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Regency Corset Update
Boning ugh...
Cording Help!
Regency Stays
Regency corset advice
Picture Time!
It's Finished!
Almost done!
Teens Corset Progress
Teens Corset Mockup
Finally!
2011 Year in Review
Finished corset
When a corset is too big...

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Diary of a Costumer

Entries tagged with corset

I feel so productive!

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

Regency Corset Update

Boning ugh...

Cording Help!

Regency Stays

Regency corset advice

Picture Time!

It's Finished!

Almost done!

Teens Corset Progress

Teens Corset Mockup

Finally!

2011 Year in Review

Finished corset

When a corset is too big...

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March 2021

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