Victorian Evening Bodice

Finally, there was the evening bodice. This was the piece I had the most invested in, emotionally, and the one I was most worried wouldn't work out. The pattern I used for the bodice is a modified 1889 Low Bodice for Gown by Ageless Patterns. The pattern actually came with no construction information, so I applied the techniques I learned in making up my Truly Victorian tailed bodice.

The pattern is sized for a 36" bust and a 28" waist, significantly smaller than my own measurements, or so I thought. I started out by tracing the pattern onto a heavy duty pattern paper which friends regularly source for me. It's fabulous stuff, light enough for tracing, heavy enough that I can pin and sew it for mock ups. To fit the mock up, I laced my corset onto a couple of pillows, pulled it down to my measurements and pinned the paper on. This was the result:

Without modification, the pattern fit. Just to reiterate, the pattern was, on both bust and waist, 8-9 inches smaller than my own measurements. I was confused, but very glad I'd done a fitting step.

The pattern consists of just 4 pieces, front, side front, side back and back piece, which is cut on the fold. I was using a medium weight cotton velvet, as I'd used for my other pieces in this ensemble, so I decided to forgo an interlining and used black satin for the lining.

To ensure the bodice maintained its crisp lines, I added boning channels to all but the very front and side seams, but that was an issue of supply (not having the bones in stock) rather than demand (I had originally planned to bones all of the seams).

I joined fabric and lining using the shell method, that is pinning both pieces front sides facing, sewing along all of the edges and then turning the bodice right side out thought an unfinished lining seam. This allowed me to keep making adjustments as needed... and oh yes, did I need more. To do a proper fitting, I laced the corset onto myself this time, discovering in the process that sewing in a corset is easier than I thought. And the first thing I discovered was even though pillow me suited the mock up nicely, real me needed another 8 inches removed from the waist to give a proper fit! Also, while the body of the pattern didn't need to be enlarged, the armholes of the pattern still suited a smaller set of arms, and I dropped the armscye by three inches to give myself space to put it on. Many hours and some frustration later, and she was made, though not nearly finished. From wearing it too, I've discovered the armscye needs a little bit more adjustment, but that should be a small enough job.

Though a flat bodice does not photograph well from any angle.

I feel the need to mention the trim. The trim was one of the best bargains I ever picked up. Initially spotted by a friend, it was part of a remenant bag of trim that cost all of 50p. I dug through that remenant pile for all I was worth, and came up with another three bags, giving me over 20 metres of trim for just £2! The lace is machine sewn onto a tulle backing, so to for my purposes I've been triming away the tulle before tacking it on.

Just like the train, there was a temporary agony over just how much trim to apply. Overall I fail at Victorian trimmings, I like my garments much too simple to go for the proper trim upon trim, with a little added trim just to be sure. Black and red is an undeniable classic though, so the lace was added at both top and bottom edges, and my but it looks good.

Oh, I also learned how to waltz that weekend, as shown in this picture taken by Andrea's camera. These dresses were just made for dancing, even if I'm going to have to add a wrist loop to the next adjustment of this gown.

Victorian Evening Gown Train

This is one of the posts that was supposed to have made an appearance last week. Quite last minute, I decided my ball gown needed a seperate train in order to be complete. Thankfully I had just enough fabric left for the purpose, even if I had to pin it widthwise rather than lengthwise to ensure it was long enough to cover the skirt train. And considering I'm working with velvet, lets not think about what that did to the nap.

This was a draped train; I had no pattern to work from, so it was just a case of evening out the sides, curving the ends, and pinning in pleats to the top and placing it back on the dress form until I was happy with the fall. I haven't included the action shots from the various pinning attempts as really, they're not all that action-y.

I was rather happy with the end result, even though I felt it was a bit short. I may just have to make a cathedral length train one of these days just to get it out of my system. Rather happy, not completely happy. Something kept bugging me about the train, and it took until the friday of the weekend away for the words to form: all of the other red velvet pieces of this ensemble were trimmed with black lace, so for this piece to belong, it had to be trimmed too.

That's what I was sewing in my regency dress in the last post. And saturday morning before my carriage ride. Makes all the difference doesn't it.

Coopershill House Party

I really had intended more costuming posts last week. I thought I had everything just nicely finished that I could talk about it. But as time crept on, I realised I hadn't got nearly enough trim applied, and was left sewing frantically while at the house itself. So I'll start by talking about the weekend itself and I'll use the follow up posts to go into more detail about my costuming.

Last September an idea was concocted by the founder of our costuming group to spend a weekend away in Coopershill Manor. Much excited squeeing was heard and after a scrabble for rooms (though I did get my first pick to stay in the Venetian Room), serious costume planning began.

When we got there first, only the second car load to arrive, there was much excitment and running from room to room; website pictures are all well and good, but were the rooms actually as good? Very much so. Our host, Simon, gave us a tour of the room, showing us the family portraits in the dining room. Each room even had a tiny little vase of snowdrops gathered, I presume, from the abundance growing around the estate.

With the tour complete, I changed into my regency gown, a nice easy friday option, and got to sewing the trim onto my train for my ball gown before we were called to dinner.

Dinner was a sumptious affair. The dining room above was lit entirely by candlelight. Not enough to read a paper by certainly, but very atmospheric and romantic. We started with a potato and leek soup, followed by roast duck with garden greens and potaoes gratin. The duck was so soft and tender it melted in the mouth and the potato dish so popular I'm almost surprised it didn't come to blows for the last portions. A cheese course followed with local cheeses and a house made vanilla and pear chutney, a jar of which made it's way home with me. Desert was a poached pear with vanilla and berry parfait, before we retired to the drawing room for tea and home made fudge.

Saturday morning after breakfast I got to tacking down the train trim, while other amused themselves with magazines from the 1880's provided by our host, music and dance practice and general good company. I finished in good time before the carriage rides began, so was able to relax and wave off the first carriage load before changing into my riding outfit. 


The riding outfit of course featuring the new purple walking skirt! And the hat that I still can't get at the right angle. I swear, I'm going to have to get a wig to get this hat to sit properly. The skirt also featured at breakfast each morning as the not-quite-full-skirt size meant I could get away with putting it on without the bustle underneath.

The delayed carriage rides meant that when we returned I was very ready for afternoon tea. Home made scones with fresh cream and rhubarb and ginger jam, a jar of which also came home with me, the house's own blend of earl grey tea, and a delicious fresh coffee cake.

Duly refreshed, I retired to change as we had hired a professional photographer to visit before dinner; I hope to share those pictures here when they're available. I was quite nervous as I changed, I hadn't tried on the whole outfit together before, and I wanted so much for the outfit to match the image in my own mind. It was even better.

Dinner on saturday night started with a spinach and rosemary soup, followed by lamb cutlets in a spiced redcurrant sause with carrots and green beans. I should mention, if I hadn't already, all of the vegtables came sourced from the house's own garden, and the freshness very much came through as an ingredient. The cheese board featured again followed by a meringue for desert with banana and ginger cream. And for the occasion, I simply had to share a bottle of something bubbly with Suzanna. It was a special occasion after all.

After dinner, once again in the dining room, we danced and recited, music was played and laughter was heard until well after the witching hour. Thanks to Andrea, I now know how to waltz, but I may need to practice before I can move as smoothly as I'd like. Though moving in those gowns really is a wonderful feeling. What's that? Show you the gown already? Oh if you insist :)

It was a wonderful weekend. I felt quite sad on sunday when it all had to end and there were no more skirts to be smoothed out as we sat down. Already gossip circulates about doing this again, doing it annually, recreating that same, wonderful atmosphere. And I can't wait.

Victorian Walking Skirt Completed

And lo, a sewing weekend was had and much progress was made. I ventured out of the house once to get some essentials, but apart from that, I had my nose to the presser foot.. ok not quite that close. I'm very pleased with the progress I made.

In a previous post regarding my walking skirt, I was concerned with the shortness of the back hem. To solve this, I added a hem of box pleated purple taffeta. I cut the taffeta as a 4 inch wide strip, and set the pleats as I worked with a combination of pins and steam, before sewing them onto the hem of the skirt.


In order to correct the hem shortness which only existed on the back of the skirt, I sketched a chalk line around the hem of the skirt along when the pleats would lie, not where the sewing line would be. This allowed me to position the trim lower along the back hem where it was needed, and a little higher on the front hem.

My original plan had been to create a double line of pleated trim along the bottom of the skirt, and I did pin & pic a few times to try is out. But the simple look of just one line of trim looked so sweet and perfect, I didn't want to go further. Yes, I fail at Victorian accessorising, I am much too plain in my ruffles. 

Here's the finished piece. It's collapsed a little as the underskirt wasn't in place when I took these pictures, but I think she's going to do me a very pretty turn on the grounds of Coopershill Manor this weekend. 

Victorian Walking Skirt

*mumble* weeks to go now. Far too few to be counting, lest I panic completely at this stage. So I decided to get one more item knocked off the list; a simple Victorian walking skirt.

Once again using Truly Victorian pattern TV208, I didn't actually have enough fabric to make a properly full skirt, so I cut the front, side front and side back panels in full, then made do with the last of the fabric on the fold for the back panel. Thankfully, that's turned out to be just full enough!

 

I think it may be a little too short on the back hem (wouldn't do to have the underskirt peeking out), so I plan to attach a pleated trim to the hem as soon as I can find a complimentary fabric for the purpose. Though with so much still to sew, the skirt might just do as it is for the costuming weekend away, with trims added later. 

Getting back to it

Sometimes, you just need to give yourself a mental kick to get things going again. Sometimes, that even works. Thankfully, tonight was one of those sometimes.

I've had trouble getting my discipline on the last week or so, so today, I re-jigged my schedule and set my determination to be sure I'd get things done this evening. So far this has included putting my hair into one of my favourite hair masks (pampering is important too) taking pictures of some recently finished items, and even better, starting on the next project!

Firstly, I got my first Victorian hat finished. I became very happy with the glue gun on this one, so there's very little sewing involved. I used a single layer of buckram and just one round of millinary wire, which I think may have been too light for the velvet I used, so the edges don't curl up quite as much as I'd like. 

The trims I'm not entirely happy with either. There's just something missing, but I don't know what. I figure when I see the trim in a shop, I'll know. But until then, this is my first Victorian style hat, and I shall wear it with pride. Though given I missed the Victorian Field day (stupid sinuses), I'm not yet sure when that will be.



But while I wasn't doing much, I wasn't completely idle. My hands are allergic to idleness I believe. So I knit. Something easy, fast, with a simple pattern. And that was Clapotis from knitty.com. And given the sudden, yet seasonally appropriate change in the weather, as well as the corresponding seasonal breakage of the workplace air conditioning, I'm glad to have it done.

And last, but very much not the least; the most important project on my list.

You see, the green fabric I used in my recently completed Florentine dress didn't come from a shop. It was given to me by a friend looking for an exchange, and became the incentive I needed to enter the Realm of Venus costume competition. In exchange, this friend asked for a Tudor style shirt. She picked out a cotton voile for it to be made up in, and I'm planning a little surprise in the making of it that I hope she'll be happy with. Ok, sure, there's nothing much to show yet, but at least I have something to work on for A&S tomorrow.              

Victorian headwear

Little sleep and nightmares do not lead to productive crafting. Even less so when you read the instructions 5 times and they still make no sense.

I'm working on making a couple of Victorian hats at the moment, using Lynn Mc Masters 1870-80's Bustle Hat Pattern. I'm following View C to make a red velvet coloured hat to match my pre-existing Victorian costume, and I've plans to follow this hat up with a second, steel grey coloured hat in View D to match the pinstriped fabric outfit I have planned, though it has't gotten past the planning stages yet. 
 

So far, I've been cutting and gluing, with a little sewing on the side, as per the instructions. I'm tempted too to make the next hat entirely hand sewn, presuming this to be a more period construction method, and also as a compare-and-contrast of the two styles of hat manufacture. 

If the lack of sleep continues, there's probably going to be another two weeks worth of sewing in this one hat alone. But that will, at least, give me plenty of time to decide on how I'm going to arrange and decorate the hat with all the trims I've bought. Bases on the fashion plates I've been browsing, the headwear embellishments were anything but subtle. 

Victorian Accessories

My time is not my own this week, so while I'm straining to get to sewing on my machine, I'm having to bide my time. Which means in lieu of anything more exciting like an actual project, I can only share with you my plans for the coming months.

 

The second of my upcoming costuming challenges is Trystan's Costume Closet Accessorizing Head-to-Toe Challenge, which I'm going to use to make a series of Victorian accessories. I've shared pictures recently of my completed Victorian evening dress, and I've plans to make a bustle era walking dress shortly. While I have purchased a fan and parasol, there's other pieces, like the very important head coverings, that the outfit just won't look right without. And I'm a sucker for a sew-along. Knowing there's other people doing the same as you, that you can ask for help or advise, or just share pictures, especially when maps don't matter, I just love it.

Victorian Splendour

Yesterday my Victorian gown had it's first outing! And though there are many things that need to be adjusted on it, I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Of course, I forgot to take pictures as I was getting dressed, so instead you get a reverse showing of all the layers I was wearing. Otherwise known, I suppose, as a striptease ;)

Firstly, the finished costume in all its glory! To summarise once again, the skirt is made of taffeta and the bodice and skirt of cotton velvet. The bodice and apron are trimmed with a machine made black lace that I picked up for a bargain a few years ago. I used TV 462 to make the bodice, and TV 208 for the skirt and underskirt. The bustle is from the Lobster Tail bustle tutorial by American Duchess. The corset is the 1883 corset pattern from Corsets & Crinolines, the chemise from Simplicity and the drawers from Laughing Moon.

First thing to be fixed on the bodice is that gape at the front. I closed the bodice with hooks and eyes, but the lining is pulling away, producing the gap. I think I'll try to run a line of top stitching down the front edge, and cover it with more trim and some frog fastenings, and that should solve that issue.

Next, the skirt without the bodice. The tails on the back of the skirt were mostly hidden by the waterfall drapery of the bodice. Incidentally, the apron is actually part of the skirt pattern, but I ran out of fabric, so choose to make the apron to match the bodice, so I could mix and match the wardrobe pieces later on. Even the tails had to be lined with a contrasting fabric, I had that little taffeta. The underskirt was made to the same pattern, but trimmed to remove the train.

 

And finally, the undergarments. These, granted, I've shown off in a previous post, but here they are, properly mounted with the corset I made some time ago. Said corset just about fits me these days, but was very comfortable for the evening, and reminded me how much I missed being laced. The bustle was inclined to shift a little during the night, so I may need to look again at how it is closed and made it a little more secure. 

Overall, it was a huge success. Comfortable, even if so much velvet meant it was quite warm in a crowded room, though having a fan on hand helped immensely.  The whole ensemble received many compliments, and I very much look forward to being able to wear it out again. I just need to make myself a little top hat now, just for that final little something.

Victorian skirts

I didn't get quite as much sewing done as I was planning over the long easter weekend, but the skirt is still coming along nicely.

I'm using the Truly Victorian pattern TV208, for skirt option A, as the waterfall drapery of my planned top won't go well over a bustle draping of skirt option B.

I made an underskirt from red poly-cotton, actually curtain lining, and trimmed the hem so as to remove the train. It's draped over the bustle on the dressform, and I adore how it falls. It's so crisp and precise and perfect! I have some red and white striped cotton that I'm going to turn into pleats for the hem, but that can be added to the "can be done later" list. I'll concentrate on the visible details first. 

The skirt is made from an orange-gold taffeta, and I adore it already. The skirt is just seam sewn and hemmed at the moment, the pleats are pinned in place, because I don't want to have to iron the skirt again is I can help it. Unfortunately I didn't have quite enough fabric for all of the fixings for the skirt. I have the main skirt pieces, and enough for the tabs which fall down the back, but the apron pieces I had to cut out of the same red velvet I'll be making the top from. For this reason, I think I'll make apron detachable, so as to give the skirt more of a mix and match option for the future.

This really is becoming a bad habit.

So I shall beg for your forgiveness by posting some saucy pics... me.. in just my underwear!

Well, my Victorian undergarments ;)

The chemise comes from a Simplicity pattern 9769, but to be honest, I'm not likely to use it again. It's not often a pattern gets the better of me, but I found this one to be overcomplicated and a little bulkier than I could have liked.

 
The drawers, not that you can see much of them in this picture (just as well really, as the broderie anglaise I used is almost opaque enough to be indecent) are from the Laughing Moon #100 pattern, and include my first attempt at pintucks!

I forgot to bring along my corset to this particular sewing day, but I tried on the bustle that I had just completed for the look. I used the tutorial provided by American Duchess, on how to make a lobster tail bustle. The tutorial is customisable to your own measurements, and I cannot sing the praises of it high enough. I had the pattern drafted and fabric cut in one evening and had the bustle made up in a day. Granted, it's not perfect, but that's my own inexperience with the thing.

Now, I have many more pieces to make. I have enough broiderie anglaise left over, as well as enough of the lilac cotton that I'm very tempted to make matching "sets" of undergarments. Then there's the need for a proper underskirt to make sure my skirts are supported, as well as the skirt itself, the top and something nice to wear in my hair. But for the sake of deadlines (13th April), I'll be skipping straight to skirt and top, which I already have patterns for.

The other thing that's been keeping me going has been my brewing endevours. I'm using a ginger beer plant, in the lower left of the below picture, which has been amusing my no end by taking on the colour of whatever it was brewing in last. Here, it's taken on a pink hue from the just bottled strawberry iced tea on the right, which a blackberry tea infuses to be added to brown sugar for the next batch. I've very much developed a liking for iced teas, and with a couple of specialist tea sellers nearby now, I have a lot to experiment with.

This morning was spent mostly in essential organisational tasks.. meaning I was tidying. However, this did result in finding the red velvet and orange-gold taffeta that I had long ago put aside for a Tudor gown but is now being repurposed for a Victorian gown.
 

Alas, while I was trying to dig out the orange taffeta, I fell across another purchase from some time ago. A grey pinstripe with rows of roses that screams "victoriana" to me. So now I have a dilemma.




Thanks to my friends (no really, thanks), I now now I'm making two costumes. I figure that will be one for day wear and one for evening and social occasions. But I can't decide which fabric to use for which!



I'll be using Truly Victorian's Tail Bodice pattern to stick with my plan of making an 1880's costume, and seeing as I already have the pattern I'll be using the pattern for both looks. An fully closed front for the day wear and the open neck for the evening wear.

And finally, because I've had a few pieces of broiderie anglaise sitting in my stash for quite some time, I thought I should use to them to make some rather pretty unmentionables.