All posts tagged: corset

TVEO1, 1900s Edwardian corset thedreamstress.com

Time to be my own hero: adventures in Edwardian corsetmaking

The 1900s ‘Touch of blue’ corset that I made recently was the first 1900s corset that I’ve finished, but it wasn’t the first that I started. (brace yourself for a long post, full of problems!) I’ve had the TVE01 Edwardian corset pattern in my stash since shortly after it came out, but hadn’t gotten around to making it up. Then Lauren of Wearing History made a gorgeous version of it in green brocade back in March 2014. I fell in love, pulled out my pattern, and immediately started my own version. I had green on my mind thanks to Lauren’s version, so I picked a silk taffeta in pale spring green, and a midweight herringbone twill cotton for backing and support. Lauren had mentioned that she must have measured wrong, because her 1900s corset came out quite small. So I measured very carefully, and checked the pattern very carefully, and was a little generous in picking my size. I flat lined everything, sewed everything together, added stunt bones, and a stunt lacing strip, and tried …

A corset-themed tale of hubris and irony

Published by The Dreamstress

As a blogger, it’s tempting to only show you my successes: things that turn out perfectly, and look beautiful.* But that’s not fair to you, or me: it creates an unrealistic expectation of life, and how well you think you should do at any given project. As a reader, I get frustrated with blogs that are only about perfection and glamour: I find myself comparing myself, and feeling insufficient, but I also find myself bored, because while you can definitely learn from seeing other people’s amazing successes, I think you often learn a lot more from seeing their mistakes (for one thing, you learn how to avoid them!). So this, dear readers, is a post about a sewing project for my Fortnight in 1916 that has most definitely not been a success – but which I have learned a great deal from, and which you may also learn something from! I’ve showed you my black and white 1916 longline corset, and mentioned that it was made directly from a pattern, without being altered to fit …

The ‘Serendipity’ Underbust corset

Published by The Dreamstress

I love my underbust corset pattern, and I keep making it up. I also keep making up versions of it and not quite finishing them. For once though, this served me in good stead. Five Sew Weekly challenges ago I was sewing like mad, desperately trying to get everything made the four challenges I would miss while I was in Hawaii, where I wouldn’t much in the way of sewing accoutrements or internet access. Other than being frantically busy, I had one massive problem: Mena hadn’t put the Sew Weekly challenges past the 8th of Sept up before I left, and I would get back Friday the 14th Sept, with the next, unknown, challenge due on Sunday night. Not a lot of time to sew, especially since I would kinda need to spend time with Mr D too! So I took a deep breath, crossed my fingers, prayed, and tackled my UFO pile, hoping that I’d get something finished that would fit the challenge due on the 16th. After all, we’d had so many specific …