The corset is finished!

My grommets came today!  YAY!!  I ordered them off Ebay from Faire Lady Designs.  I've ordered stuff from her before and really like the quality.  I highly recommend her to everyone who works with grommets. I ordered the black ones as I'm mainly using them for corsets and bodices. 

I was able to finish the binding on the corset without too much trouble.  Just broke two needles, which is better than the last time.  Once the binding was finished it was on to measuring where to place the grommets.  Most sites will tell you to use the rule of thumb, which means using your thumb as a measure guide for where to place your grommets.  I like mine closer so I used my seam gauge and placed them 1 1/2" apart.  Once that was done, I held both sides together to make sure the holes would line up, and when I was satisfied I got out my grommet setter.

Please ignore the mess in my sewing area.  If you saw it in real life, you'd FREAK, but I do know where everything is!

If you don't have a grommet setter and do a lot with them, I highly recommend one.  Not only will your grommets not pull out, but it sure saves a lot of labor in putting them in.

With the grommet setter, I punched the holes and put in the grommets. I forget sometimes as to which way the grommets are suppose to go in, so I often use a scrap of fabric to set one to make sure I do it correctly on the item I'm working on.  Better to screw up on a scrap fo fabric than on the real thing! Kinda like measure twice and cut once.

Once the grommets were in, the finished product looks like this

I don't bind my grommets on my corsets.  Most sites will tell you that's the historically corect thing to do, and it is, but hey, no one but me is going to see it, right? The lacing isn't in becasue it was easier to photograph it without. 

A renaissance corset.

January 30

I tried on my old corset a couple of weeks ago to find that it just didn't fit right.  So I had to create a new one.  And by create, that means from the pattern up. 

I love the corset pattern generator and have used it many times.  You can find it here...
http://www.elizabethancostume.net/custompat/

So with all the measurements and drawing it out, it looks like this..

Tip:  When creating a new pattern, always write WHAT it is and WHEN you created it.  You don't want to use a pattern that was created 5 years ago only to find it's the wrong size, or find one you made and not know what it's suppose to be. 

Unlike the pattern generator that recommends lacing up the back, I prefer mine to lace up the front.  So to make it easier, I followed the directions and cut the front and sewed up the back seam.  Because I'm a bigger breasted woman (and no, it's NOT a blessing) I had to use a lot of interlining to get the strength that I need to keep things where they're suppose to be.  I measured myself wrong and got a wrong pattern sizing.  NEVER measure yourself over a sweatshirt.  Rookie mistake that I can't believe I made! I have no idea what was on my mind at the time, but always remember, measure yourself with a minimum amount of clothing on. (tip of the day)  Anyway I had the fabric cut and the back sewn and had to rip it out, resize it and resew it.  Finally got it right after two tries.  Like I said, rookie mistake.  I didn't get pics of the fabric that I used (besides, it's rather UGLY) or what it looked like when the boning channels were sewn in as those are slow tedious things. 

When all the bones were in, I put the front fabric (the one that you see if you see the corset) and the back lining fabric on the sides of the corset that they were to be on.  If you're reading this and have read any of the other blogs about the right things to do and the right fabric to use, forget it.  All you need to remember is to use a fabric with no real stretch to it.  You can spiff it up as much or as little as you want. Besides no one is going to see it but you anyway (unless you WANT someone to see it, but that is TMI for me!) so if you want a real wild print, go for it!  This is where you can have a lot of fun with your fabric.  Just remember that the lining of the corset will be against your chemise, so don't use a fabric that will bleed a lot or hasn't been washed.  Trust me on this!  The outer fabric I choose is a white cotton with red hearts (cute) and the back is a white cotton with lavender flowers.

Two steps left to get it finished and one is the one I absolutely abhor!  Binding it with bias binding.  Now for some this is a piece of cake, but for me it's not and never has been.  I can't tell you how many times I have poked my fingers trying to get the pins in all that fabric.  There has to be a simplier way of doing it and I just haven't found it yet.

I'm using a hot pink double fold bias tape to bind it.  I haven't gotten it sewn on yet, but will keep you updated.

The final step is adding the grommets and those have been ordered and should be here within the week.

My foray into blogging

January 30, 2011

So, I'm jumping on the blogging wagon to share my wealth of knowledge (well, it sounded good!!).  Here you'll find sewing diaries, links and pictures.  You'll be able to share in my frustrations with my projects and even have a laugh! 

I'm starting a new renaissance diary, as I have a few gowns that have been commissioned to be done, along with mine, before the middle of May.  Am I crazy???  I just might be!