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So, you finished a dress? Now what?

Published by The Dreamstress

There are still a few things to do once I finish the construction of a dress.  Take the Ninon dress: all the construction and finishing is completed, and I’m waiting on the trim until I find the right lace.  In the meantime, I’m doing my usual finished project clean up.

First, any extra fabric goes back in my stash, with anything large enough folded, and all the little scraps in a bag.  That way I’ll know exactly where they are if I need them for another project (like this jacket!).

Because nothing sucks more than going to do a project and not being able to find the fabric!

Second, I make sure my pattern is absolutely updated and correct, with all my notes on it.  I have a really bad habit of just making a messy pile of all my toiles while I am in the throes of sewing.  So at the end of a project, before I have forgotten everything I did as I made it, I re-do the pattern.

Checking the front panel pattern against all the versions

This was particularly important with Ninon’s bodice, as I ended up making so many alterations to the front point that needed to be recorded.

I also had never made an official pattern piece for the front fashion fabric & lining pieces where I got rid of the side seam for the covering fabrics.

The original cut-out finish fabric w/ side seams and dorky points over the no-side seam lining

So I checked and re-checked all four of the support bodice pieces, and the fifth outer fabric lining piece that covers the centre front and side pieces, and patterned them all up on heavy cardstock, and made tons of notes on each piece.

Pattern pieces

Then I cut out all the card pieces, clipped them together, and stuck them in my pattern box.

My 3rd (or was that 4th?) pattern piece, and the final pattern piece

Ninon’s bodice went back in the suitcase the dress is stored in, and that is that for now.  Hopefully this means that if I try to make another 1660s dress it will be easy-peasy!

Hot, talented and heroic (but with unfortunate relatives)

Published by The Dreamstress

Have you ever heard of Edwin Booth?  He was one of the greatest male actors of the 19th century.  Also, he looked like this:

Hubba hubba

Unfortunately, he had a brother who was a bit of a troublemaker, which kind of sullied the family name, and the historical record.

This is really a pity, as not only was E. Booth hot and talented, but he was a bit of a hero.  Just read this letter from the young man whose life he saved:

The incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform at the entrance of the car. The platform was about the height of the car floor, and there was of course a narrow space between the platform and the car body. There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name.

Wow!  How awesome is that!

And the young man?  That was Robert Todd Lincoln.

Pity about what happened with Edwin’s brother and the other Lincoln a few months later.

Every rose has its thorns

Published by The Dreamstress

Remember my briar rose corset?  That thing is evil.  Well, technically it is  evil #2 (evil #1, of course, being pintucks)

I kinda knew from the start that making a straight fronted corset would be heinous.  I mean, just look at the advertisements for the things:

Graceless and illogical

How do you even make the human form look anything remotely close to that!?!  Not easily, that’s for sure!

But I tried my best.  I draped my pattern on Isabelle, following Waugh’s pattern from a real corset, which must have fit someone at some point.

Then I fitted it, or tried to.  It’s really hard to fit an anatomically improbable waist cinching corset on a natural figure.  I ended up doing about 6 fittings, and going through that many redrafts of the pattern.  The best luck I had with the fittings was fitting it over my nougat corset (which at least achieved some waist-cinching for me).

I didn’t take any pictures of the fittings because by the time I got the mock-up on and pinned I was so grumpy and flustered I forgot about the camera, and wouldn’t have wanted an image of myself even if I hadn’t!

At this point, you are probably wondering why I didn’t do a mock-up with boning, and a false laced back, and see how that fit me.  There are two reasons for this.  First, I hadn’t thought of my clever stunt-lacer yet, and two, have you seen the boning pattern on this corset?!?

Crazy boning patterns

Yeah.  Some of those bones cross four seams.  No way you are fitting anything once they are sewn in.

So, with a sort of pattern achieved, I just crossed my fingers, hoped, and went for it.

My sort-of pattern. Seam allowances are included, so the shapes look funny.

It totally didn’t fit.  Waaaaaaay too big.

Ouch.  Big thorn stab.  Time to rip apart and do some serious taking in.

(sidenote: I’m pretty sure this post wins the award for the most internal links yet.  Also the most over-use of italics.  Mr Carpenter would not approve.)