Dressing Downton: Corsets

Interested in sewing a corset for your Dressing Downton projects? Check out Bridges on the Body's 1911 Corset Sew Along. I wasn't planning on sewing a corset but I may just have to now!

Shoes!

My new shoes came in today! Thank you UPS! :)

They are a pair of darling leather saddle shoes by Bass. I chose the hemp/cocoa color combo which is a nice tan and chocolate brown. Much less sock hop than the options with bright white! My second choice was a lovely vintage yellow and white but the more practical color combo won out.

And they have the most darling plaid inside! Eeep! And I got them for $16 shipped! Sale (on shoebuy.com) + groupon + groupon bucks + discount for opening a shoebuy.com account + free shipping= awesomeness! Normally $69!

They feel true to size to me and are a bit stiff but the reviews said that they'd loosen up nicely! I'm terribly excited. I've wanted saddle shoes for a while. They'll be great for school!

And speaking of shoes, the lovely American Duchess is giving away a pair of shoes she's designed called the Devonshires.

Here's what she has to say about them:

"The Devonshires are a leather 18th century shoe based on museum examples from the 1760s through 1780s. They're made of top-grade dyable leather, with a beautiful, smooth Italian leather sole for dancing, and are hard-wearing, water- and mud-proof, for even the toughest of outdoor re-enactments.

Pre-Order the Devonshires through August 10, and get the special $100 price. We're only making 200 of these shoes, so don't miss the chance to own one of only a couple hundred pair on the planet! Visit www.american-duchess.com to order."

So hop on over and pre-order yourself a pair!

And speaking of historical costuming, I finished my corset!

Yay! They are a bit of a bear to get on by myself and they are a but large in the upper back (should've done an FBA I think...) but other than that, I'm really happy with them. My busk came in too, but it's a bit long so I'm going to have one of my power tool literate friends shorten it for me.

And here's my dress pieces! (well some of them, there's still more to cut!) I decided to go with the lovely red side that you see. I'm just going to change up my sleeve material (which is only 2 yds) so crisis averted.

Corsetry: Straightening Plastic Boning

Today, I bit the bullet and boned my corset. And it was a long day. I started at about 10 am and got done around 4 pm.

First I measured my boning channels and cut (and numbered) all of the pieces of plastic boning I'd need. But see how they are all curvy. That's from being stored wrapped in a circle at the store so I had to straighten them.

You'll need:

A pot of hot/boiling water and tongs (preferably metal) so you don't burn your fingers,

And some heavy books and towels. I knew these text books would come in handy eventually!

So, you remove the casing (and that mesh stuff which did remove when straightening later pieces) and throw them in the hot water. I'd read about this online somewhere, but, of course, forgot to bookmark the link so I winged it on time. You want the boning to get hot and really flexible but not melt it.

Then you flatten it between two towels (so your books don't get all soggy) and throw a heavy book on top. Since I labeled all of the casings, I set the casing next to the boning so as not to get them mixed up.

Continue stacking up your boning and let sit until nice and cool. For stubborn pieces, let sit in hot water longer on the second go around. For long pieces, you may need a book on each end.

Once the boning is cool, I removed the corners off of each end as per the pattern instructions. Then I filed the end smooth to help prevent damage to the corset by sharp edges.

And then I stuck all 46 pieces in their boning channels. There was still a lot of curve in some of the pieces, so I alternated the direction of the curve like this: ( )( )( ) so that they balanced each other out and the corset was flatter. I still have to finish the top edge, add grommets, and put in the busk (which is coming in the mail).

And the inside! I love the look of the bias bound seams with peaks of green on the inside!

I've also finished the smock which was one of the worst patterns I've ever worked with. Seriously, I would have been much better off drafting my own out of two rectangles. It was huge which sucked up fabric. And it kept slipping off of my shoulders hence the awkward neckline darts. And the sleeves are a bit snug. Yay for muslin on the bodice of the actual dress! I was not about to do a muslin on a cheap undergarment like this.

I also whipped up a bum roll-the smallest size in my pattern packet since I figure my butt is big enough already..... I've been working on the hoop skirt part too but I haven't gotten the hoop material yet, so it's basically a big white skirt at the moment.

And here are my fabrics for the dress! (I'm using the first pattern in this post.) From left to right: red for sleeves, gold for underskirt, red and gold patterned reversible fabric for main body of dress. I'm planning on using the gold background side for the bulk of the dress with strips of the reverse side along the opening in the front and as a contrast on the neckline.

So that's been my sewing adventures this week. What are you up to?