Diary of a Costumer

My 2016 Goals changed a few times over the course of the year, but this is what they were:

Navy blue swiss dot Regency - Done!
Black silk taffeta bustle ballgown - Done!
Child's Victorian Gown - Done!
Daniel Deronda Riding Habit - Still hasn't happened, and is no longer on my specific upcoming goals list.
1860s Fully Handsewn dress - Didn't even pick this up all year. Maybe someday, but probably not anytime soon.
Turquoise Silk Mid-19th c  Giant Ballgown - I kind of knew this was going to be a 2017 project, and sure enough, it will be.
Fur-trimmed bustle-era skating outfit - Coming up next; I've already started cutting pieces out.
Winter bustle gown - Almost done!
Super-secret Disney-related project - No longer super secret. This is the Snow White Designer Disney dress, and will be made for the CoCo pool party this year.

In June, I added an Elizabethan kirtle and Mary Poppins Jolly Holiday to the list, both of which I have since completed.


And here's picture proof of everything I made!

( Click here for pictures )


I think that's everything. Overall, not a bad sewing year, though being unemployed for the first eight months of the year certainly helped in that, and as you can tell by my posts, my sewing has definitely slowed down since I started working in September! 

I finished corset mockup 2.5 last night and tried it on this morning (when I wasn't full of Thanksgiving dinner). I think we have a winner? Or at least, I'm tired of mockups, and this one is close enough. I'm not getting the waist reduction I was hoping for (in fact, I'm not getting any waist reduction at all), but I tried on my Ravenclaw bodice, and it still fits over this corset, so I guess that's good enough? I'm starting to think that unless you have Merja's figure to begin with, you don't get a very nipped in waist with this pattern. ;)

My only real worry is that with the actual amount/type of boning in (as opposed to taped in cable ties), and with a properly boned/grommetted lacing area, I'm going to be able to lace it tighter, and it's going to wind up too big. But I have no idea how to account for that... I have about a 4" lacing gap right now, and it's pretty much even all the way down the back, which was my goal.

If anyone has any pointers about how I could get more waist reduction without redoing the actual mockup, please share. Otherwise, I'll probably be cutting out the actual pieces this afternoon, and the only change I'm making from this mockup is cutting down the top of the front by .5".

Here's a bunch of pictures:



The first picture here shows how I'd like it to reduce on the waist where I'm pushing it in. The second picture shows the lousy tightening I'm able to do with the bad lacing strips combined with super slippery cording (ie: the wide section of lacing is actually fairly loose, but the cords are too slippery for me to tighten that section on my own).


I also took the time last night to go through all the math for my green wool bustle gown, to see how careful I would have to be with my fabric cutting. And the good news is that since wool can be cut in any direction, and the fabric is 64" wide, I don't have to scrimp at all! In fact, if my math is right, I think I'm going to have about 50" of solid length leftover. So maybe I can even make a piece of matching outerwear with this fabric. If I finish cutting out all my corset pieces before my busk gets here, I'm going to start on the skirt. I'm so excited to finally be able to work on this dress!

So unfortunately, my goals really haven't changed much since the last time I wrote them down. I guess that's what happens when I sew basically nothing for the last 2+ months?


Navy blue swiss dot Regency (mid Feb possible deadline) - I already have the fabric, and had origainlly intended to make this for an event this weekend. Clearly, that didn't happen, and I'm not going to the event anyway, so I guess that works out. At this point, I'd like to have it finished by the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie event that vanessa_lynne is hosting in Feb. This is my inspiration plate, and I'll be pairing it with the chemisette I made this summer. Hopefully the dress itself will be fairly simple.


Black silk taffeta bustle ballgown (mid March deadline) - I might make a day bodice too, if there's enough fabric. If I finish it in time, I'll be wearing this to the ball in Port Townsend in March. I had hoped to make a new corset before making this, but I think at this point, I'm out of time to do that, too. I'm basing it off of the turquoise dress in this plate:


Child's Victorian Gown (CoCo Meetup for next year. Care to join us?) I have the fabrics, and I'll be working on this one probably in late spring.


Daniel Deronda Riding Habit - I never got to this one last year, but I still have the fabric, and I'd still love to finish it for CoCo.


1860s Fully Handsewn dress - From the class I took in CoCo 2014. Maybe I'll actually finish it this year?

Turquoise Silk Mid-19th c  Giant Ballgown - I'm really excited to make this, even though it wouldn't be worn any earlier than March 2017. This will be my CoCo 2017 gala gown, and I already have 15 yds of silk!


Fur-trimmed bustle-era skating outfit -For the Little House party in Jan 2017.


Winter bustle gown - for Little House party in Jan 2017. Something along the lines of the one on the right:


Super-secret Disney-related project