Frustration sets in...

I've gotten out the fabric from my stash for the new chemise.  It's a fine white lawn cotton.  It's pretty sheer, but I'm going to do a double layer around the bust area to keep the 'prizes' hidden from view as I'll be dressing at the ren field.  I got it all ironed and cut out.  Again I used the custom smock generator (found here http://www.elizabethancostume.net/smockpat/index.html)  I have a cutting board that I lay out over my sewing desk to help with the sizes and it all goes very smoothly.  Now, this project should only be a day long project (well, less than a day) and it would have if my machine would have behaved! I even have pics taken to show you the progress.

The thread started getting all tangled up in the bobbin housing and I had to take it out, take the face plate off and clean it all up.  No biggie as I've done this many many times before.  Kinda like having to change your oil and filter on your car.  It's just something that has to be done.  I get it all cleaned out, blow out the bobbin housing and casing and put it all back together.  Piece of cake!  I should be on my way....but no.  Now the stupid bobbin has NO tension in it I can't use it until I can replace the housing. 

I called the repair store and of course, since I'm not the luckiest person in the world, the guy who runs it is out for a week and the gal who answers has NO idea if they part is there in stock or if it will have to be ordered.  I'm not even sure from the way she sounded if she even knew what I was talking about!  I'm suppose to get a call back tomorrow as to whether or not it has to be ordered or is in stock, and the cost.  I'm sure it's going to set me back a pretty penny! 

I could simply use my serger, but some of the seams on this need to be done on the other machine.  And don't get me started on hand stitching it, forget that!  I can barely draw a straight line, much less stitch one by hand!

On the up side, I did get the skirt panels cut for my new dress.  This isn't a step I was going to do yesterday, but when I started beading the second half of the bodice front, I noticed a few black spots on the gold that simply would not wash out.  I had to cut a new bodice half and I wasn't sure if I would have enough fabric for it, the panels and sleeves. I decided to measure and cut the panels first to be sure.  If there wasn't enough for the panels and sleeves AND the other bodice half, I would have somehow managed with what I had.  I had bought enough for the gown with very little to spare.  Fortunately there was more than enough.  That's the plus side of being short!  You don't have to have lots of length!

The underskirt is laid out too and one half of the bodice is completely beaded.  Bear in mind when you see the picture that it is not sewn up or pleated, just to give an idea of what it will look like when done.  I kind of like it. Betty (my dress form) works great to get an idea of what it's going to look like when finished.

And a close up of the bodice beading



The colors didn't turn out very well here.  It is a stripe of goldish green and midnight blue.  The fabric is a wonderful silk that I purchased from our local Mill End Textiles at a steal!  Now I know that stripes aren't often (if VERY rarely) used in historic gowns until the regency period, but I have found a bit of research that talks about stripes.  Mostly for those who are classified as 'naughty criminals' and hey, those who know me know that kind of fits!  LOL!  Seriously, I was told to not be so literal with my history and to simply do the gown, so this is the start of it.

The underskirt is again silk and will be beaded with the same motif as the bodice, only on a bigger scale.  I'm thinking four of them, but won't know until I get it drawn out and then the beads laid out as to what it will look like. 

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!