All posts tagged: finished projects

Finished project: the ca. 1890 black satin corded corset

My 1890s black silk corded corset was actually done two weeks ago, in time for the Dr Sketchy talk, where it looked gorgeous on the model, and was immensely popular with everyone. Not only had the original corset sold before the event, but I got three further inquiries about buying it or having one commissioned. I guess I had better get used to cording! This was a time consuming and nerve-wracking corset to make. As I mentioned before, I wasn’t sure it would really fit and work until the very last, but the results are more than worth it. As always, I do have some tweaks to make to improve the next version though. If you want to see it on a model, there are Dr Sketchy photos here, and here.

Madame Ornata as Aline

Published by The Dreamstress

For our last photoshoot Madame Ornata borrowed my ‘By the Seashore’ ensemble and went as Aline. It’s fun to see the ensemble on someone else, and it fits Madame O better than I because the skirt is a bit short on me. And she got to try out the new bonnet!

The 1866 Crinoline in action

Published by The Dreamstress

I’ve realised that while I make lots of undergarments, some of them very pretty, I don’t often show models in just their undergarments, so I don’t get good photographs of the undergarments on real people. Last Saturday solved a bit of that. One undergarments I was especially pleased to get images of in action was the 1866 crinoline. Mme Denise Poiret wore it, and looked fabulously 1860s and not at all Poiret-y. The one inaccuracy with this wearing is that I put the corset over the crinoline for aesthetic impact. Audiences like to to see corsets in the full. I fixed some of the issues that I was having with this crinoline for this wearing by slipping an extra set of very strong wire boning into the extra channels that I had providentially included in the crinoline when I originally made it. The extra wires keep the crinoline from warping under the weight of the back ruffles, and help create a back-heavy shape, but also make the whole petticoat quite a bit heavier, which is …