F....S....B....
20th July, 2007- I actually started the drafting of the bodice a week ago during the typhoon that hit us. I had plenty of time to sew but no power :(. So I took out the corset and used it as my basis for the bodice.... well I basically took the shape made it a little bigger so you wouldn't see the corset and added new seam lines. I am going for a Florentine bodice like look. I figure they are both Italian.... Yea I know I am not very educated in costume making... But I decided another Italian look is more accurate then going for an Elizabethan bodice. Besides it will be under the overgrown so you will just get a glimpse of it. AND its my costume so Pooohweeeey on anybody who wants to be snarkish.
The first mock up fit remarkable well. The only changes I made
were to put a dart right at the corner where the straps meet the bodice at the
bustline. It gapped a bit there which made the straps fall off my shoulders. When I recut the pattern out of course the dart was not there but it lay nice and flat.
I did forget to add seam allowances
*cringe*. But I am desperately trying to loose weight and this gives me more
incentive. If I don't loose the weight it will fit very snugly and might have
gaps at the lacing seams. Don't want that! So I cut out two layers of
drill. One layer of white cotton for the lining and yellow (I believe its silk,
but will be doing a burn test soon to make sure) for the fashion fabric. I have
a picture of this to the right. I have always wanted to have a picture of all
the layers of something. They seem like great fun. And of course Kit wanted to
help. Sorry for the lighting.
I am hoping to start cording the drill layers with hemp today. It won't be nearly as much as the corset has but I want a few at stress points so it doesn't wrinkle horribly.
23rd
July - Thumbnails to the left are of the bodice pieces before I
corded them (click to get the bigger picture). I have all my channel sections
plotted out in blue. It took me a bit longer then I was hoping for but I
finished up the cording today. Over the weekend I was able to wonder around the
craft shop on one of the bases while my husband looked at video games and cds at
the PX, where I came across some 22 ga X 1/4lbs wire. No clue what exactly what
the 1/4lbs means but figure I should include it in case anyone else would like
to try it. Anyway I got the wire because it was only $1.45 for the spool
and I wanted to try a stiffer wire for the cording. I shaped it the same as I
did the floral wire, sort of like a giant needle with the eye and all, I just
had to use pliers to do it. Well it works wonderfully!!!!!!!!! It now takes me
less then a minute on each channel. The longest part now actually being the
measuring of each channel and doubling it then cutting the hemp to size. I love
it!!!! No more sore wrists or ouchie fingers from inching it through. The final
corset should go A LOT faster now :)
I sewed the channels shut and cut off the excess hem strands just like I did with the corset. Then I sewed the drill pieces to the lining. I will treat them as one piece for the rest of the construction. I am putting the bodice aside for now until I am able to get the trim added to the front piece. Avien has offered to help me embroider my trim pieces!!!! Right now she is all geared up for several upcoming Cons and Costume College but when that winds down a little she'll be able to help me. Which I think is perfect. I am able to get all my construction up to adding the trim parts on the whole outfit so I have accurate figures of how much I need.
31 July - I have spent the last
several days working on the underskirt. It took me about two days and about 4
different tries to come up with the right width for my cartridge pleating. Even
now it may not be the best width but it will do. I split my skirt so it will
have two openings in the back, just like the bodice. So coming up with the
proper measurements for it all was a bit difficult for me. I ended up with
thumb length cartridge pleats (yes I used my thumb as a guide for how wide they
should be), and I knife pleated the sides so I would have enough space for the
flat part on the front.
Pictures below are side, back, and front. You can see in them how lose the waist
is.
I haven't sewn up one side or hemmed it so
putting the forepart in later wouldn't be a pain. When it is all said and done
though I am sort of disappointed with it. The waist line is to big. It would
possibly do, only being annoying to me but not throwing off the look, if I had
no intentions of losing weight which I do. So I need to make the waist even
smaller. This runs into another problem. I think the front looks to flat. I want
a full skirt. Yes the front has to be flat for the forepart but it doesn't need
to look like it was pulled tight in the front. And the truth is I am not sure if
it is just me or if it really does look bad. My hubby said it looked great when
I put it on holding it in place. UGH.....
I
am curious when I hem it to where it is not sitting/dragging on the floor if it
would look any different. Other then that I am not sure what to do but throw it
into a blazing inferno. I figure it best to step away for a bit and look at it
again later when I am not as frustrated. I think part of what makes me not burn
it is the cute pictures of Kit sleeping in the folds. I got up to get a cold
drink and came back to him in the skirt. I think he was playing hide and seek:)
15 August - I figured out the skirt and I am quite fond of it now. I pulled the skirt tight around Didi and left an inch gap (from both sides) where is is to close which gave me an extra two inches. With all the excess I put two more knife pleats into the skirts front. This cuts down on my forepart space but takes away the icky taunt look from the front. I also made a little bum roll which gives the back a bit more of the desired Omph. I started on the sleeves and that is what is holding me up now. I decided against a straight sleeves pattern. I don't want the a sleeve that will make me feel like a zombie because I can't bend my arm properly. So I took the sleeve pattern I used with my Regency dress and lengthened it and adjusted. At first I thought this was going to give me a problem when I decided to cut it into strips but after taking some colored sharpies and drawing all over my mock up I was surprised to find out it the curve of the pattern didn't affect the strips. Excited about this I started making other fit adjustments. Somehow when I marked the bottom of the sleeve where I was going to tighten it, my marks were off and two cuts later it no longer fit and the bottom angle was HORRIBLE.... Good thing for back up mock ups. So I have to try again.
21st August - After taking a break from the evil sleeves I got around to playing with the mock up again. I resized my stripes and colored them on. I don't think it looks half bad. I am going to see if it grows on me or if it turns into one of those 'what was I thinking' moments before I start cutting out fashion fabric. Below are pictures of it. Of course the classic mirror shot type.
5 September - After those pictures I made a poster board 'mock up' that I could pin all the pieces to. I will say now it has come in handy! I numbered each of the pieces of the colored muslin mock up. Numbered the same pieces on the poser board then cut the mock up into its stripes. Because I wanted to make some progress, and because I wanted to make something pretty, I started on the rust Shung tang pieces. They were a little difficult. I think the feed was feeding one faster then the other so one fabric was bunching up. At first the pieces would not lie flat at all! *Growl* They looked like little snakes. But it was nothing an iron couldn't fix :). Pictures are kind of crappy but it was late at night so lighting was not in my favor.
21 September - I marked out the forepart and trim pieces onto the yellow 'silk'. Come to find out the silk is not silk. *grrrrr* Avien was able to find some free time this last weekend and embroidered out the designs for me. I am waiting for them to come in the mail so I can get a feel for how they will look before I send the silk and thread to her.
10 November - Avien recently sent me some sample pics of the embroidery and a nice pic of how it will look on the forepart. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just want to pet it.
24th May 2008 - After finishing up other costumes, I was able to start on the forepart beading. I love it! I was able to figure out how to bead it without compromising the embroidery. I am in awe of all the people that bead their costumes now. It is averaging me about 2 hours per motif. I know this is my fist one so I am on the slower side but still!!!!! I still need to figure out what I want to do for the blank in between spaces on the forepart but I have some time to figure that out as I work on the motifs. The picture to the left shows the motif without beading and the one on the right is with it.
Types of beads used:
All of the mini black crystals used in the second motif and the fire opal one used in the first are Swarovski crystals. The centers of the flowers were decorated by Rhinestones and the smaller flower buds use glass fringe beads. Both the small gold beads and the bead caps are gold plated. The Jet pearl teardrop that is used in the second motif is a glass pearl.
17 March 2009
- An update once a year or so isn't to bad. I
think I should win the award for slowest sewer in the world! The beading on the
forepart is done, at least for now.
It will require more beading but when I finished with what is shown above on all
the motifies I realized the forepart is a bit long. Not sure exactly how that
happened. Before I cut into it or made any other decisions on what to do next I
figured I should make the corded petticoat... and that is where the work on the
forepart stopped. I did start on the sleeves. All the strips are together.
That was actually a little tricky. I pinned them all together first, but every
time I moved the sleeve the pins would come undone and I would have a very pokey
mess. Several pokes later I decided to baste the
pieces together. Sometimes I can be really dumb.
I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier. I added the rhinestones to the
middle of the flowers then, figuring it would be easier to do that while it was
still flat. Piping was added to the top. Each strip was then tacked to the one
beside it at intervals of every 6 inches. I was going to alternate it in a diagonal
pattern but the 12" gap was just to much in my eyes. Right
now
I am adding beads to each tack mark.
Two
little gold beads and a fire opal Swarovski crystal After
that
I will bind the bottom and cuff opening with the orange Shung tang. I used it
for the top piping and it really brings all the pieces together. I think I have
decided I want a button and loop closure at the cuff. Possibly more fabric
covered buttons in my future. I had started on the bodice,
by placing the trim pieces on it. That is on hold
now too. Just the orange Shun tang was to plain, but with the trim it looked
wrong too. I decided to put that on hold until I can have new trim embroidered
with the motifies closer together. I may also change the orange trim pieces to
piping. The bodice is still sort of up in the air because nothing has really
spoken to me yet. Hopefully it does soon so the next update is not another year
from now.