Ladies 1880's Drawers

Just a quick little post about drawers.  I made the  Ladies 1880's Drawers from The Ladies Treasury of Costume and Fashion site. I was a little leery about the whole concept of open drawers.  Then I saw this video on the Prior Attire Facebook page and I understood.  Its pretty much the only way to use the restroom when you are wearing a full skirt.

Then I made them and tried them on. They are awesome!!  So soft and comfy and I want to wear them everyday!

it's pretty much impossible to get a nice pic

They're made from the same cotton I used for my chemise, but I used an ecru lace on the front face of the waistband because I ran out of the cotton.  I think it kinda looks like I did it on purpose, though.  The seams are flat-felled and I added 6 tucks above the hems.  I followed the video in this Threads article to make them.  They're a little wonky, but it was my first time, hopefully I'll improve with practice.  No one should be seeing my drawers anyway.

I trimmed the hems with the same lace I put on my bustle.

The Lobster Tail Bustle

yourwardrobeunlockd.com

I have been making SO much use of my Your Wardrobe Unlock'd subscription!  There are endless articles, tutorials and even complete pattern downloads available all from experienced costumers.  I found it when I was trying to locate the perfect corset pattern.

My lobster tail bustle is from the pattern and how-to article by Christina DeAngelo.  You do have to have a subscription to access the article.  But I really think anyone starting out in historical costuming should make the investment.

Lobster Tail Bustle Pattern and How-To

I've been hearing about the difficulties in obtaining the 1/2" hoop steels so I thought I'd be the guinea pig for the green lumber strapping from Home Depot.  I've seen a couple references to using it in the depths of the internet, but I haven't seen much detail about it being used for costuming.  I stopped by my Genesee/Balboa Home Depot on my lunch break one day just to see how easy it is to obtain the green strapping.

The guy working in the lumber department that day was really, really nice and was more than happy to give me all the strapping I wanted.  He really was only concerned about me pulling it out of the piles of lumber myself.  I got about 20 feet of strapping and he told me to come back anytime for as much as I might need.  Great!  Thanks Home Depot!

The strapping didn't seem to be metal at all.  I was sure it was all plastic.  So I cut a piece off and checked it out under the dissecting scope (about 35X).

It has a diamond plate texture which I'm thinking is what makes it so strong but flexible.  I really needed to see the inside, so I looked at it in cross section.

This is looking straight on to the cut edge.  Its definitely all plastic!  That would be why its so easy to cut with regular scissors.  But this also makes me very happy because I won't have to worry about rusting!

I made the bustle with some baby pink cotton and I used grograin ribbon for the bone channels and all the ties.  I trimmed the edges of the skirt with an ecru cotton lace and I also rounded the lower edges of the skirt.

 (for some reason my purple pen is taking days and days to disappear)

Christina's bustle pattern is really wonderful!  It includes 9 sizes and you can mix and match waistband/skirt/stay/bustle pieces to customize your perfect bustle.  I chose the biggest size in all the pieces.  (skirt and waistband-18, bustle and stay-I) I hope I don't regret that later...

The green strapping is 5/8" wide and is labeled AAR 58.  I found this source for it and it seems that its a very strong PET.  I could have just used a wider grosgrain channel, but since I've never made a bustle before, I didn't know if wider bones would still work.  So I trimmed them all to 1/2" wide.

I cut all my bones with regular household scissors (not fabric scissors!!) and found out immediately that you have to shape the ends.  When you cut the plastic it mashes a little and the ends have a sharp little flare that will catch on EVERYTHING.  So I just trimmed each edge to a sort of rounded shape with scissors.  You could probably make them really nice with a file, but I left mine a little choppy.

The bustle construction itself is very straightforward.  The digital pattern is excellent and the instructions are very well-written.  She has a great technique for attaching the channels to prevent poke-thru.  I flat felled all my seams for strength and because I like the look.  I also added the ruffle completely by hand.  I read this article on Historical Sewing.com and it was a great reminder to put time and patience into garments to really take your costuming to the next level.  I figured a simple little ruffle would be a great way to practice that.  Yeah, it took me FOREVER!  Yeah, I could have hemmed, gathered, attached and trimmed about 10 ruffles in the same amount of time.  But it was so satisfying and I think it looks better.

I placed the top of the ruffle below the second bone from the bottom and I stitched it on the bustle before I put in all the bones.  The bones slide right into my grosgrain ribbon channels.  One important tip with using grosgrain for channels is melting the cut ends.  I just used one of those candle flamers and melted every end I cut. I also labeled each bone's measurement right in the center with a sharpie.  The bones are removable and there is a space in each channel at the center back of the bustle.  That way I can make sure I have the right bones in the right channels if I ever need to remove them.

(OH! my cluttered garage/sewing space)

I think it looks great on my dress form and I'm especially happy with the ruffle and the trim.  The bone channels are a little dark because of the dark green strapping, but that doesn't bother me.  The whole thing is very light weight which worries me a little.  I hope it can support my skirts.  We shall see...

Up next: Drawers

Historical Sewing: starting with a good foundation

Well, I finally did it.  After years and years of lurking in the shadows I finally joined the San Diego Costume Guild.  There really wasn't much to it.  Its not like there is an entrance exam or even any dues to pay.  You just get involved!  So that's what I'm doing my best to do!

I joined the Facebook page and very soon a sewing workshop was advertised, so I signed right up.  Shelley Peters, the proprietress of Kansas Merchantile, runs sewing workshops for historical costuming.  There you can make entire historical corset in 2 days, or learn historical clothing construction.  I really wasn't sure what I would do, but I knew I needed to be there.

Before attending the workshop I looked through all the photos on the costume guild page and Val, who was hosting the workshop invited me to a couple of her costuming pages.  I decided that I was most interested in two events the Dia de Los Muertos celebration in Old Town and the Picnic in Tissot's Garden even (hosted by Val).  So that meant an 19th century bustle gown.

You really can't wear these dresses properly without the right under garments, so I needed to get my foundations built.  I needed a good corset.

Your Personalized Victorian Corset

I used the free drafting instructions from Your Wardrobe Unlock'd to make a pattern and on the first day of the workshop Shelley let me try on some of her corsets and she helped me get as good fit as possible (for my body) with the muslin I made from the pattern. 

I took my muslin full of marks and notes on fit and transferred all the information to my paper pattern for future corsets.  Then I got all the pieces cut out and started assembling my actual corset!  Shelley recommends Welt or Folded Seam Corset Construction.  I love it!  Everything is smooth and strong because its done with such precision at each step.

Before the next sewing workshop, I completed a chemise.  I used the free chemise pattern from the Tudor Links website.  I was extremely easy to draft the pattern and put the whole thing together.  I used basic white cotton and trimmed it with lace I was given in a giant bag of trim from my lovely neighbor, Sara.  The band is decorated with my feeble attempt at hand embroidery.  I'm pretty sure that is not really how the band is supposed to be attached, but it'll work for a first attempt.

Over Fourth of July weekend, Shelley held another workshop, which Val so gracious offered to host in her home again and I was able to stay all day and get the majority of my corset completed.  All that was left was the final hand-stitching on the top and bottom binding.

I got all the binding stitched down and my corset was completed!

Next I'll be working on drawers and a lobster tail bustle.