theladyrebecca | Entries tagged with bustle

It's been about two weeks since I posted here (again - maybe I should just make that my thing?) but I don't think I've accomplished a whole ton since then, sewing-wise. Which is good, since my main machine has been sitting at the repair shop patiently waiting its turn for two weeks. And it might be another week till I get it back. I seriously do not understand why there aren't virtual queues or appointments made for sewing machine repair. Having machines just sit there for two weeks untouched is completely ridiculous.

Anyway, this is what I have done!
I went to the snow with Emily, and it was So. Much. Fun. Seriously. I wore my skating bustle, which turned out to be really good, because it meant that hiking/walking about 3 miles in the snow was no problem at all. And the place we went was freaking gorgeous. I've posted a few pictures on instagram already, but have way more to post, and I really want to go back and visit there again. I actually wound up vlogging the whole day, too, so that video will be going up a week from today.

I finished the Peppermint Bustle project. I'm not entirely happy with the hat I wound up making, and I'm a little concerned that the velvet ribbon I used is bleeding onto the white portions of the bodice, but overall, I think it still looks pretty great. And on the first clear day after I finished it, Emily helped me take pictures and video of it, and in doing so, I discovered a gorgeous beach park nearby, which I will definitely be returning to in order to take lots more pictures in other costumes. The only issue was that it was a very muddy beach, so now I have to figure out how to clean up my hem.

Instead of sewing in the last week, since I finished the peppermint project, I have been attempting to basically make all of my Feb videos. And as of yesterday, I have all but one Feb video filmed, edited, and uploaded, and the one left is a sewing vlog on my new/current project, which I hope to finish by the weekend.

And that project is the American Duchess 1790s Simplicity pattern! I used the pattern for a video on how to size up commercial patterns, and as part of the video, I fitted the whole bodice mockup, so I figured that since I've already done the hard part, I would attempt to finish the whole dress this week. At this point, though, I just have all the bodice pieces cut out. I'm making it out of the sheerish white on white cotton stripe that Joanns had a few years ago, which I made my 1910's dress out of. I'm hoping that I can maybe get the skirts cut out today, but I'm not sure I'll have time. I also have to figure out what petticoats were worn in this era. I'm cheating, and making it to go over my Regency stays currently, since I don't have 1790s stays yet. Those will have to come later.

In other youtube news, I passed 15k subscribers a couple days ago! It's insane how much my channel has grown in the past two months, and it's honestly really exciting. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can make "career plans" or whatever, other than being stuck in my no-growth job. Which, I mean, I'm still happy in my admin job, but it's always been disappointing that there's no growth opportunities. So somehow doing youtube actually makes me feel like more of an adult with aspirations and all that.

The peppermint bustle is (basically) finished! I have to try it on so that I know where exactly on the shoulders the velvet bows need to go - they're already assembled and pinned in place, but I want to double check that they're in the right place.

Also, my trip to Joanns totally struck out. No wide red ribbon and no more velvet ribbon, so I have nothing available to add to the skirts. Which is a bummer. So I'm not sure when I'll be able to put anything there, but I really hope I find something eventually (it just won't be in time for a photoshoot within the next week).

I still have to do the hat. I think I have a straw base that may work, so I'm going to play around with it a bit today and give it a go, and if that fails, I'll make one out of buckram.

Tomorrow, though, my friend Emily and I are going to get dressed up and drive up to the pass to go play in the snow in costume. I'm really excited about it! I'm planning to wear my skating bustle, so I don't have to worry about hems dragging. And I'm going to try to get some fun footage recorded/take pretty pictures while we're there.

And then next week, I'm going to start working on my 1890's teagown. It will hopefully be a fairly close reproduction to the antique one I have in my collection, except out of light blue wool instead of tan linen. I'm using the Truly Victorian teagown pattern as a base, but altering it to have a yoke neckline and 1890s sleeves. I'm hoping it goes together relatively easily!

I'm still working away at my Peppermint Bustle. It's almost done -- I'm not super happy with how the sleeves fit, but I don't feel like going off in search of more fabric to redo them, so it will have to just be fine as is. Today, I'm hoping to make some velvet bows to go on the shoulder, and then go to Joanns and find some additional ribbon and trim to match my existing stuff, since I wound up running out. Whoops. But other than the bows, I just need to bind/trim the bodice hem, put some bows on the sides of the skirts, and make or decorate a hat. I'm kind of hoping that I have a hat blank I can decorate, but tbh, I don't think I have anything 1880s shaped.

On the plus side, if I have to make a hat, that is what this week's vlog will mostly be filled with, and then I can do a separate video on getting dressed/the final reveal.

Youtube-wise, things are going quite well. In the last 1.5 months, I've gained close to 10k subscribers, and I'm now able to make actual money from youtube. When my roommate decides to move out, I won't have to replace her, and until then, it will pretty much all be able to go into my savings. When I got my Dec youtube payout last week, I literally put $1000 of it directly into my savings, which was such an amazing feeling. I know it won't be that often that I get videos that perform so well, but my corset video has over 115k views (and a super high cpm, which means I make actual money from it), my Bridgerton video has about 95k views (though a super low cpm, so I really don't make much money from that), and my plus size costuming video is over 30k views at this point, I think.

I also launched a Patreon about 2.5 weeks ago, and I have 10 patrons now! It feels both really cool and really awkward that people actually want to support me in this way, but I'll take it! My next step is looking into PO boxes, because I've had a few people ask. For some reason, that just feels like something only fancy people have.

Whoops. I guess I went on another posting hiatus. For the last week, that's because I've been completely slammed at work, to the point where I've even been taking shorter lunches. Things are finally starting to slow down today, which is a relief.

I've been sewing quite a lot, though. After finishing the three plaid skirts at the end of December, I started in on what I'm calling my Peppermint Bustle - a red and white striped 1880s dress which is kind of a mishmash of a few fashion plates. The skirts are completely done at this point (I just released the first youtube video on the skirts this week), and I fitted the bodice mockup yesterday, so I can start cutting out the actual fabric today.

I'm a bit torn on what my next project will be once this is finished, though. I had almost jumped into a Featherington-style dress from Bridgerton, but the fabric I bought for it just isn't enough yardage, so that is going to get returned. And I'm falling out of love with the idea of doing a Regency dress out of crazy non/ha fabrics. Part of me wants to do a nice h/a Regency dress, but I have a ton of them. Then that part of me really wants to do 1790s, which is the only decade between the 1770s-1910s that I haven't done. But because I haven't done it, I don't have transitional stays. Also, 1790s doesn't really tie in to Bridgerton.

So if I don't do Regency stuff, I'm planning to either return to Daniel Deronda, or make an 1890s tea gown. I fitted a mockup for the Daniel Deronda bodice yesterday (I cut out the mockup in April 2020, I believe), and the neckline needs definite help, so I'll have to recut a couple pieces there. But also, I can only really start on this if Fabric.com is able to fulfill my wool order from that fiasco they had with the wool bolts, where they sent everyone yards instead of bolts. So once they're able to send me the bolt of slate wool that I ordered, that will be used for this riding habit. If they don't send that to me by the time I finish the peppermint bustle (which I don't think they will, since I'm pretty sure I'll be finished by the end of next week), then I guess it will be either the tea gown or 1790s, depending on which side of my brain wins.

In youtube news, my corset video from last month hit 100k views yesterday, which is so crazy! And I released a video about Bridgerton about a week ago that has over 60k views, though the comments on that one have been so obnoxious for the most part. I also passed my one-year youtubeversary over the weekend, by which point I had over 8k subscribers, and I think I will hit 10k today or tomorrow, which is amazing. And I launched a patreon along with my one year anniversary, and have six patrons already. Also, between last month and this month, I think I'm going to be able to live on my own once my roommate decides to move out, which is a real relief. It means I won't be moving (guess I didn't need to paint those cabinets, which I have now finished), but it will be so nice (and a little weird) to live on my own. I just hope my youtube continues on this trend!

As usual progress and pictures and stuff can be found on my instagram and my youtube. :)

Oh, and instead of doing a year in review and 2021 plans post here, I have two videos covering all that on my youtube, if you want to check it out. :)

I'm actually on here twice in one week, so I feel like I ought to post, even though I haven't done much since my last post.

So 1888 Daisy Dress -- I finished all the binding on the bodice, which means neckline, armseyes, and hem, plus finished the last couple hooks and bars. I'm honestly not sure why I bound the armseye, since the bodice does have a little drapey sleeve thing, but whatever. I still have to figure out said drapey sleeve bit, but it was too cold in my sewing room yesterday to take off my sweater and try on the sleeve mockup. Hopefully today?

So instead of trying it on, I decided to start on both the overskirt and the daisies. The problem with starting the overskirt is that I'm still waiting on half the fabric to arrive. I only had enough voile left for two skirt panels, and the three extra yards I ordered should be here Friday. In any case, the back panels of the skirt are together and gathered.

Then I moved on to the daisies. I did a test daisy out of organdy, and it seemed to work well. Each daisy around the skirt hem is made out of three layers of organdy. The organdy is cut in a 9.5" diameter circle, and the circle is folded up in half a bunch of times, and the petals cut, kind of like making a paper snowflake. Then the three layers are laid on top of each other, with the petals slightly off from the layer below, so it looks like lots of full petals. I basted around the inner circle, then realized I would have to have a line of stitching down the center of each of the front petals as well, so that the petals will not all fall when they're attached to the skirt.

I haven't figured out the inner portion yet, but I'm picking up seed beads from Joanns today, and I plan to glue the seed beeds to the center for texture, and paint the centers yellow. Then I'll tack the flowers onto the skirt.

I'm not sure how many daisies I will need to make, but I think it's at least 16 or so for the skirt, plus one slightly smaller one for each shoulder, one to hold, and one giant one for the hat. I have cut out enough circles at this point for 11 of the skirt flowers, plus the shoulder flowers, and have used up a fair amount of my organdy scraps, which is nice. I'm hoping I can maybe avoid cutting into my legit organdy yardage, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough scraps.

Oh, and in non-daisy news, we're having a little Spooky shoot at the Old Tacoma Cemetery on Saturday, since last year's turned out so great. It's going to be quite cold! If I can find more of the wool from my skating bustle, I hope to make a detachable pleated tier to add to the bottom of the skirt, in order to make it regular length. If I can't find that wool, then I think it will actually be cold enough to wear my green winter bustle. Not quite as spooky, but it should coordinate well with any leaves that have fallen.

The velvet dress is not done. The bodice is complete, but the overskirt still needs bustle tapes and the sash. And half the sash still needs to be hemmed on the sides, which I honestly think I might leave for backstage sewing on Friday night. Part of that is because I ran out of velvet ribbon on Friday, and the new spool came Sat night, which was after my sewing time. But the other part is just that I'm super slow at hand-sewing. It does have all the velvet ribbon on it now, though, and both hems are pressed and pinned in place.

While waiting for the ribbon to arrive, though, I did start the chemisette. I found some lawn or batiste in my stash, gathered up the front piece, cut a neckline, and cut the back pieces and the neck ruffle. The backs are attached to the front, so I plan to try it on today and mark where the side hems should be, and where the bottom should end. I think I'm going to do 1-2 buttons and loops at the back towards the top, plus the drawstring around the bottom. It's a back-closing chemisette, though, so it seems kind of weird.

The funny thing is, in last week's youtube video, I mention never winging it for a project, and then I totally winged it on the chemisette. Here's a link to the youtube video.

Anyway, other than doing whatever machine-sewing I can on the chemisette today, I'm probably going to switch projects and start on the Tissot bustle, and leave the remaining hand-sewing on this project until the weekend.

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/329131.html

The bodice is basically done! I made the cuffs yesterday, which are velvet with canvas inside, with more of the velvet ribbon trim around the top of the cuff. They did make the sleeves a bit tight at the bottom because yikes that is thick. But I think/hope it will still work. And I set the sleeves into the armseyes. Picture here. I hope to try on the whole bodice either tonight or tomorrow so that I can make sure it's all good. If it is, then all that needs to happen with it is that I need to tack down the inside edge of the cuff and stitch on some lace to the ends, which I'll do backstage tomorrow night.

Then tomorrow I will add more bustle tapes and make the sash. My plan is to take one long piece (or multiple pieces sewn together, really) of the silk, flatline it with the supima, put all the velvet ribbon on, and then hem the edges by hand, and tack it on to the skirt. I'll do the hemming backstage, but the tacking will have to be on the form.

Honestly, other than the chemisette, which I still haven't checked if I have fabric for, I think I will finish this whole dress by Saturday night, if not earlier. Then it's on to the Tissot bustle and all the pleats. That is, assuming I have enough velvet ribbon left...

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/328842.html

On Tuesday, between work and rehearsal, I took 15 mins and sewed together my sleeve pattern to test it, even though I had made notes on it previously about what needed changing (but I apparently never made a new sleeve pattern that included those changes, or if I did, I can't find it). And yeah, the sleeve head is way too tight/small for my shoulder, so I am going to have to do a full mockup.

Honestly, I really want to do a one-piece sleeve because the pattern matching on the velvet ribbon is going to be next to impossible with two seams, but I can't really find any evidence of a long-sleeve one piece sleeve anywhere in the Victorian era, so two-piece it is.

Anyway, since I now have to do a full mockup, plus fitting it (preferably with my corset on), and then make the actual sleeve, and put the velvet ribbon on it, and do the cuffs, and set it, and all that, I've come to the conclusion that that will be a project for tomorrow, when I have the whole day to sew. But since I want to be able to do hand-sewing at rehearsal tonight, I'm going to bind the neckline and hem of the bodice when I get home from work, so that I can stitch down the binding while I'm bored for 2.5 hrs at rehearsal (have I mentioned that I have almost nothing to do in this show)?

Ideally, by Saturday morning's rehearsal, I will also be able to do my skirt hem or something like that. Except of course that I would have a ton more velvet ribbon to lay down by then... So, maybe not. Maybe I'll bring headphones and spend Saturday's rehearsal editing the youtube video I plan to shoot tomorrow.

Oh, and yesterday I made the skirt for my etsy order after work and zumba. My alterations commission has no rush on it, so I think that's going to wait for a bit.

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/327391.html

I think I briefly mentioned in my goals post that I started the burgundy velvet 1874 gown! The overskirt needs a hem and for bustle tapes to be added (or whatever I'm using to bustle it). The underskirt is fully assembled, but is now getting all the velvet ribbon trim added to it. I ordered 60 yds of 3/8" wide velvet ribbon from Amazon, which arrived yesterday. It's not as close of a match as the velvet ribbon I had previously purchased, and a little narrower than I had wanted, but beggars can't be choosers. I'm hoping I estimated correctly, and that 60 yds will be enough, but if not, it seems to be readily available on Amazon, so I think I'll be okay.

So far I have 5 or 6 strips of ribbon sewn down onto the underskirt. I'm sure I'm going way higher on the skirt than I need to go, but whatever. Basically, the underskirt is poly taffeta, with silk taffeta flatlined over the bottom 25" of the skirt, so that everywhere the overskirt shows up will show the silk with the velvet ribbon (even though it probably won't be pulled up more than 20").

I also tweaked my go-to Victorian bodice pattern a bit for the right hem and necklines (hopefully, anyway), and I started cutting out the mockup for that. This weekend, I have to clean my house, do interviews for a new potential roommate, and do an ushering training session for the theatre that gets all the touring productions, but the rest of the time, I hope to spend sewing. By Monday, I would really love to have the bodice to a point where it needs hand-sewing, because I think I am called to rehearsals most nights next week, and I have almost nothing to do in this show, so I know it's going to be a lot of sitting around, and I want it to be productive sitting.

We also have snow in the forecast all next week, so who knows - everything could just be cancelled anyway, and I'll be stuck at home with lots of sewing time! That would be nice. :)

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/326711.html

All the wide lace is sewn on! That took soooo much longer than I had anticipated. And the sash is about 1/4-1/3 attached. My 1840s pattern also said it arrived in a city 10 mins from my house this morning, so I'm hoping that will get here soon. If it does, I will switch to that for now, but I'm not holding my breath. Otherwise, I really really hope to finish the gala gown tonight.

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/318814.html

*Sigh* Still working on the dress. I am apparently the world's slowest hand-sewer, so although I worked Wednesday night, Thursday evening/night, all Friday, and Sat afternoon, it is still not finished. And yet, for most of that time, it has felt so close!

I made and attached the last ruffle on the skirt train, sewed on 25 hooks and bars, tried it on, took in the back a little more (again), moved about 8" on either end of the bottom two ruffles .5" lower to fix the hem length, finished the sleeve hems, and made and attached my two pleated sections for the side-fronts of the bottom of the skirt. And then for the past 2+ days, I've been sewing on the lace everywhere.

I have most of the lace sewn around the front opening/neckline, about 3/4 of the lace sewn on the hem, and about 1/2 of the vertical lace pieces where the front skirt meets the back section. All of that lace has to be carefully pinned in place and hand-sewn on either side, which I've been doing while it's hanging on the form. I still have to add the narrow lace on the sleeve bands and across the front of the neckline. And I still have to make the sash that goes around the knee-level, which is also edged in lace, plus the bow for the back.

I was really hoping to accomplish all that by last night, so I'm definitely off-schedule. I may have to skip dance classes this week to make up for it. On the other hand, I ordered the new 1840s McCalls pattern last Wed morning, and it still hasn't even been marked as shipped, so that may not be able to happen at this point. (It was supposed to arrive sometime Wed-Fri of this week). At this point, I'm going to keep working on the gala gown, and also make a chemise for it -- ideally, I'll finish both by tomorrow or Wed. I also have to make a bib at some point, since we decided to make those for Maggianos this year.

If the pattern hasn't arrived by then, I may just try to make my own 1840s dress, and not use the pattern. I can probably use my go-to Victorian base pattern, with a shirred-front bodice and a straight-panel skirt, and then I would just have to figure out the sleeves. Honestly, that might be easier than using a new pattern anyway. And if I run out of time to finish that, then I think I might bring my old LWD Regency with the red velvet spencer, since I haven't worn the spencer at CoCo and the dress has had a couple changes since the last time I wore it there.

So this is my potential line-up:
Thursday night: LWD Regency with spencer; If I finish the 1840s dress, then I will wear my cotton 1910s dress here instead
Friday day: Anna Frozen Fever
Friday night: Fairy Godmother bustle
Saturday day: Plaid bustle
Saturday night: Natural form bustle
Sunday: 1910s cotton dress; If I finish it, I'll wear the 1840s instead. Either way, I probably need to bring an apron for the 18th c hair products class.

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/318456.html

*Sigh* I wrote out half this post and then my computer crashed and didn't save the draft....

So, as per usual, my sewing did not go as planned yesterday. Of the 2+ hours after work that I was supposed to be hand-sewing, I wound up spending about 1.5 hrs working on putting together my set for my two 4th of July gigs tomorrow. Finding an hour worth of singable pre-1965 patriotic music is hard! So I only wound up hand-sewing just over half of my hem facing, and that's it, which was a bummer.

On the other hand, after tap class, I came home and made the probably stupid decision to stay up late and sew. I finished pressing the 2nd row of pink pleats and sewed it onto the skirt.

It was at this point that I looked at the taffeta remaining, did all the math, and realized that while I have just over two yards left, I need about 3 yards to do everything left in the pink (sash/bow around the base of the bodice, side front pleats, and one more skirt ruffle). Shoot.

So now I have two options:
Option A: I could nix the 3rd pink skirt ruffle, and either undo the 2nd one, turn under the top with the serging and reattach it; or cover up the serged edge with bias made of the stripey fabric (though this second choice would mean that the top ruffle would probably look slightly wider than the bottom ruffle).
Option B: Face the sash and the side front pleats with organza, which I will probably dye to match first. This should save me nearly a yard, and I think I can eek the rest out of the other two yards, if I have a smaller seam allowance on the top ruffle and put the bow on the lengthwise grain instead of across grain.

Any opinions? I'm leaning towards Option B myself. Assuming I go for option B, I may try to dye the organza today, but that is the only sewing work I would wind up doing, since I'm having a game night tonight and have to clean the house after work.

In other news, I checked at Joanns again yesterday for the new McCalls pattern, and not only do they not have it in yet, it's not on the Joanns website, which means even their corporate whatever hasn't gotten it in yet, so it could be weeks or more before it gets to stores. And then today, it went on sale for 3.99 on the McCalls website. Since I am already clearly fixating on this project, I decided to order it directly from McCalls, even though with shipping it was nearly $9 (I never spend that much for patterns, especially not a big 3 pattern!). It says 5-7 business days, so that should mean somewhere between Wed-Fri next week, which is definitely cutting it close. But hopefully by then, I will have the gala gown and a new chemise done. And hopefully the pattern fits well and goes together easily!

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/318132.html

The ruffles are going sooo slowly. Or at least, that's what it feels like. For the bottom silk organza ruffle, I had to rip nine 8.5" tall strips of the organza, join them all together, press them in half the long way, run them through the ruffler foot, and apply vintage lace to the bottom edge with about a 1/8" or less overlap, press the whole thing so they'd look more like messy pleats, and then serge the top edge. The three taffeta ruffles are the same, minus the lace application (plus they're only 5 pieces joined together, since the fabric is wider). And then of course, I have to mark where the ruffles are going on the skirt, and sew them onto it.

All this to say that I have the bottom two ruffles currently sewn to the skirt, and the third ruffle is half pressed. I'm glad that I haven't ripped the silk for the top ruffle yet, because I think I actually want it to be narrower. The three bottom ruffles are just sewn flat on top of the skirt and overlap each other quite a bit, but the top will have its ruffled edge flipped under, with nothing overlapping on top of it. So I'll have to check my measurements for that one.

Anyway, I decided that today is going to be a handsewing day, not ruffling. I have tap class tonight, and it's north of my work, and I live south of my work. So I'm just going to stay at the office for like 2.5 hours after I get off work and do some handsewing, so that I don't have to waste an hour of that on driving. I have the hem facing, 25 hooks and bars, and some pleat tacking on the CF section that I can do - I don't think I'll make it through all of it, but I'm excited to knock most of it out, because that would pretty much just leave lace application for the only other hand-sewing.

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/317719.html

I don't typically post over the weekend, but I do sew! Or at least, I did a lot of sewing this weekend. I'm starting to feel like I'm in a decent place with the gala gown, and that I maybe even *fingers crossed* can finish it by the end of next weekend.

At this point, the skirts are on the bodice; the whole opening/neckline of the green part has been bound; the whole pink center section is attached (more on that in a min); the hem facing is applied, turned, and pinned in place; sleeves are on (though the hems are not finished yet); and two of the four tiers of ruffles for the train have been run through the ruffler foot (but one still needs to be pressed).

I have 25 hooks and bars to put on the bodice closures, binding and lace to be applied to the sleeve hems, lace to be applied all over the bodice and skirts (it arrived, but I'm not in love with it - however, I'll probably have to use it anyway, since I have no other solution), and the pleated faux underskirt sections to be made and applied to the side fronts. Plus all the ruffles. But I think that's it. My goal for today is to complete and attach the ruffles.

I do also want to make a new chemise for this, and a balayuese. Possibly petticoat ruffles if I find I need them, too.

If I can finish all that this weekend, then I think that allows time for one more relatively simple project. If there's a McCalls pattern sale by then, I really want to try the new 1840s pattern that was just released. I'm not sure if it's 100% historically accurate (the sleeves are questionable), but it's just so cute, and I still don't have anything of that era. If I can't get that done, I might just bring my Regency LWD with the red velvet sleeveless spencer - I've worn the dress to CoCo twice, but not with that spencer.

As usual, pics on instagram!

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/317638.html

I tried on the bodice yesterday, and was still not happy with how it was fitting at the bottom. I wound up tapering out about 2.25" more at the hem, and taking some out of the CB at the waist. I've also given up on trying to figure out how it appears to be gathered or pleated up the CB over the rear, because every time I tried it, it made the rest of the back/sides very not smooth. So I'm just going to leave it pleat-less.

Then I pleated the skirt where it joins the bodice, and pinned it to the bodice, and realized that I had the join of the bodice waaay too low. Like, by 5" or so, I think. I've re-pinned it higher, and it looks better, but I want to test it with a sash sort of thing over the join before I sew it in place.

I also got the rough dimensions for the pink CF section. I think I'm going to build it on a base cotton layer, with the silk done in two pieces over that. It appears that the bodice area is gathered up the center to create a horizontal ruched effect, whereas the skirt section is in long vertical pleats, so I think I'm going to make a faux bodice hem in the CF panel over the join.

I'm also trying to figure out the ruffles at the hem, so that I can start working on those. My wide lace shipped today, and should arrive on Tuesday, which is good, since I think I'll have quite a bit of time for sewing over the 4th of July weekend. But obviously I have quite a bit of work to do before I get to the point of adding the lace.

Oh, and after working with this gown fabric quite a bit yesterday, I think I might have to name this the Watermelon Bustle. So much pink and green!

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/317294.html

My audition yesterday wound up running way long, so I had a lot less sewing time than I had anticipated, unfortunately. And since I still wanted to get things done, despite starting at around 9:15pm, I naturally stayed up way too late. But I did get the other side of the organdy cut out, and I got the two large pieces of the silk cut out for the skirt. I still have to cut out the extra piece of the silk for the bottom of the CB of the skirt, because the pattern is too wide for my silk. I think I'm going to serge most of the three edges that are already pinned in place to the flatlining, and then add in the missing bit, so that the other sides are secured first. And then I have to hope my stripes match up down the CB when I sew the two sides together!

I'm going to tap class tonight, but I'm hoping I'll still have time to at least do that, and then I can hopefully try on the bodice and start attaching the skirt to it on Wednesday (though I do have another audition), or Thursday (though I do have ballet class). At least I'm not working this Friday, so I should have more time to sew this weekend!

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/316782.html

I put together mockup #2 of the gala bodice on Saturday. And for some reason, the fit was way off! So I spent about 4+ hours tweaking the fit, taking a ton more flare out of the bottom, and more out of the waist as well. I feel like there might still be more flare to take out, but I lost patience with it after a while, and it least it was too much flare, not too little, so I decided it was still good enough to use to cut the silk.

So yesterday, I picked apart all of those pieces and used them as a pattern for the silk! I flat-lined the silk with cotton sateen, and assembled the bodice. I hope to try it on today, but I decided that instead of trying it on yesterday, I would rather figure out the shape for the skirt. I patterned it onto organdy, so that I can also use that for flatlining. I had to add a couple small pieces to my original pattern shape to round out the train, but I think I nailed it! I hope to also cut out the other side of the organdy, plus the silk, and assemble that tonight. That's only the back part of the skirt -- the front pieces are just straight, so should be easy to pattern.

I also have to figure out the CF pink sections of the bodice and skirts, but I think they should be fairly simple. I plan to figure out the bodice part when I try on the stripey section. I also have to do a sleeve mockup, which I should probably do before I attach the skirts, so it is easier to try on. I've ordered the flat lace for the front of the bodice/skirts, but still have to order the ruffled lace for the bottom of the skirt. Why is it so hard to find wide gathered lace?! And I have to decide if I want all the pink ruffles at the hem to be gathered or pleated.

But anyway, it's coming along pretty nicely! Pictures on my instagram.

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/316445.html

I didn't manage to get the other side of the mockup fixed on Tuesday, but I don't think that matters to much (yet, anyway). Yesterday, my friend Emily came over and helped me with a little more of the fitting - namely, helping me mark out the length of the bodice where it will meet the skirt. It is so nice to now have a sewing friend live so close! I'm super excited for more sewing days to come. We determined that the reason this bodice length was so challenging to figure out is because the original fashion plate is so out of proportion with actual humans. Talk about legs for days (or at least, waist to hem length for days).

Anyway, we wound up pinning a wide ribbon around the bottom so that it would mimic the sash that goes over the seam, and it worked! The back of the bodice needed a fair amount of length cut off, and the front actually needs a few inches added.

After she left, I seam ripped all the pieces, and cut off all the excess fabric on the second side, so now when I sew it together, both sides will fit correctly. I need to recut the front pieces, fixing the length and the neckline (which was way off), and then see how mockup #2 works. I have a feeling *fingers crossed* that that will be the only other mockup I'll need. And that means that hopefully, I'll be able to start cutting the silk this weekend!

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/316203.html

My house projects are temporarily on hold, because I can't find the paint for the cabinets. Also, I got a signed contract for a commission, so I have to be working on that.

Naturally, though, all I really want to work on right now is my CoCo gala dress, because I figured out my design! I'm really excited about it. I'm going to do a natural form 1879 dress based off a fashion plate I've been eyeing for a while. I'm fairly certain I'm going to make it a princess dress, since that's what I originally thought the plate was, though

sewtimely noticed there is actually a waist seam. In between the commission work, I'm going to play around with some patterning, and see what I like better. I have to find some long pieces I can use for mockup fabric, but I already have the green/pink satin/taffeta stripe, and the pink taffeta, both of which I bought in September at Luxury Fabrics in LA. I'm hoping to find some nice wide lace online, and I'm also trying to figure out what I might have to do for the understructure.

Anyway, here is my version and the original plate:

Crossposts: https://theladyrebecca.livejournal.com/314778.html

Port Townsend was lovely! I didn't wind up finishing 100%, but I got about 98.5% done, so I was still happy. I didn't make the belt, for example, but I made the bow that goes on the belt, so I just pinned that onto my skirt waistband. And I pinned my petticoat closed instead of having hooks and eyes, and wound up sewing on the buttons to the plaid dress in my hotel room on Saturday night. But everything else was done, and I even had bonnets/hats for both new looks! I'm also super pleased with how the Fairy Godmother dress came out, and I can't wait to wear it again.

Here's a few bonus pictures. I'm still working on editing all the pictures, but they'll be up on Facebook eventually.