elizabeth_mn

Man, this project is taking forever! I feel like I've been working on this for years. But today I finished the binding (finally!) and now I just need to do buttons and buttonholes on the straps and I think they will be done.

I couldn't resist putting them on and checking them out.

( Pictures, of course! )

Those tabs were really a pain, and I don't think I see much point to them anyway; they don't really spread out as I thought they would. Oh well. I'm pretty pleased with them, my first 18th c. project!

I got tired of doing the tabs so I started on the armholes and neckline.

binding F 5 28 07 binding B 5 28 07

I really had no idea when I started how I ought to attach the shoulder straps, and somehow I thought they should be lined and turned. Now I think the break in the binding line looks funny, but oh well. The extra bit on binding on the inside just below the strap is there to cover the seam allowances.

Now I'm scared to finish them and find out something is wrong with them, after I've done all the binding, etc. Obviously if something is wrong, it will be wrong whether or not I finish the binding, but these are the silly tricks my mind plays on me.

I finally overcame the fear and started my stays binding yesterday. I'm using doubled bias strips of white cotton broadcloth. It's very nice, tight and fine. I got it at Treadle Yard Goods.

I had a little trouble getting it to ease around the tabs at first; the first two tabs I bound had big ugly folds in the binding, the third tab I did looked a little better, with a few smaller folds, then by the time I got to the fourth tab, I had figured out the easing and stretching idea, and I did a couple more tabs that looked okay. I didn't want to rip the binding off the first few tabs, but it bugged me so much I did anyway.

( Pictures already!! )

I'm also making progress in chopping up summer dresses. Still trying to be prodcutive!

It's garden-planting time here in MN, so I've been spending a lot of my time and energy outside starting all the little vegetable babies and taking care of them instead of sewing. I'm kind of freaking out, though, because May is more than half over and I haven't really completed much on my (completely overambitious) list of projects, and their (admittedly arbitrary) deadlines are looming. Sometimes I really wonder why I'm freaking out, though, because since I am essentially unemployed right now, I don't really need to be doing anything. I just feel kind of worthless when I loaf, though.

Anyway, stuff:

The stays: I think the fear of a new, unexplored costume territory (for me, I mean) has been keeping me from working on this much. I couldn't find any leather binding in the width/color I wanted, and whole skins cost too much, so I got some nice tight broadcloth to cut bias strips from to use for binding. I need to wash that today, then I can finish the stays, hopefully this weekend.

Embroidery: I started a new piece (alas, also destined for the couch) on a great nubbly handwoven silk in blues and white. I'm doing a single, large dragonfly in bright green, orange, light blue, and yellow cotton.

Mending/alterations: (Pretty ho-hum.) I started the "old summer dresses salvage project." I cut one dress off and made a skirt, mended holes in another, remade an old printed T-shirt, and I have a few more old pieces that I think can have new life breathed into them for summer. (Unemployed = trying to be frugal!)

And the most exciting, the Minnesota State Fair! (If you don't live here, it might seem odd that I'm so excited about this, but in MN, people take the State Fair very seriously!) I pre-registered for all my Creative Activities competition categories the other day, including small stuffed toys, historical reproduction garments, and embroidery. I also registered in some baking lots. Last year I only entered baked goods, but I won a third place ribbon for my zucchini-carrot-walnut-banana-bran muffins in the muffin with vegetable category. The Fair is in late August, so I'll be working on my submissions between now and then. And honestly, some of the submissions are stuff I was going to make anyway; for the historical clothing category, I'm planning on entering the lobster bustle (which is on the to-do list - extra motivation!)

I hope I can manage to stay busy and productive!

Yesterday I finished sewing all the boning channels and set the grommets (size 00). Yes, I know I should hand sew the eyelets, but last time I did that it took about a week! Besides, I've never made a (successful) corset from this period before, and I was worried that if it didn't fit, all my effort would be wasted. I offset the grommets for a spiral lacing.

Then I inserted all the reeds in front and on the sides, then got impatient to do a fitting, so I just put in the reeds at the lacing edges and laced up to see how it was coming along. It fits really well! I'm so glad I trimmed a bit off the pattern at the CB because there is only about a 1 inch gap, and I imagine that will become even less as the fabric stretches during wear. It felt pretty supportive, but I think I may add a few more reeds in front anyway; there are a couple open spaces that could be filled in. I'm planning on binding it with leather after all the reeds are in. They're a little sharp and poke-y at the ends and I don't want them working their way through a fabric binding.

I didn't take pictures yesterday, but once I get the straps on and the rest of the reeds in, I will!

I got about 2/3 of the boning channels sewn this morning:

1776 stays 5 2 07

I took the boning diagram from the illustration in Corsets and Crinolines, but I added a few more channels to make the boning a little denser.
There's a little bit of wrinkling where the vertical channels meet the diagonal channel because the layers shifted a little, but I don't really mind too much because my corsets always do that (I'm hopeless at keeping layers from shifting!). These stays will certainly never win any Pretty Stays awards, but as long as they fit well enough and are comfortable and give me the right silhouette under dresses, I'm satisfied.

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Entries tagged with 1776 stays

Stays!

I am so almost done with this

Stays and new embroidery pics

The near future

Stays progress

more fun with stays

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