Bodice, part II...

Okie dokie, then! I managed to finish most of the bodice! Now I need to add the collar/trim and the buttons or hooks/eyes up the back. And finish the stuff on the skirt. I might wait until later next week to get all that done.

Click on image for a larger view.

And the bodice...

I just finished sewing the major bodice pieces together. Next I have to put on the sleeves and the facings and the collar and the trim (I don't have any trim yet!)

Almost finished bustle, petticoat, skirt

Here they are!

The almost-finished bustle (needs some more boning in the lower 3 casings, and a waistband & hook/eye):


The almost-finished petticoat (needs a hook/eye):


The almost-finished skirt (needs a hook/eye):


The almost-finished overskirt (needs a waistband and hook/eye, and maybe some trim):


And a different angle view of the ensemble:


And now, to start on the bodice. First is to flatline all the bodice pieces with the lining.

Nearly finished with the petticoat & bustle

I didn't get any work done on them yesterday, but on Tuesday afternoon and this morning I was able to work on the petticoat and the bustle. I just need to add the ruffle onto the petticoat (I need 2.5 yds of 3" gathered eyelet, I tried to get some at Wal-Mart yesterday evening but no one was in the fabric dept to help me) and on the bustle, I just need to insert some boning. It calls for steel boning but I have none... I tried plastic boning and I only had enough for the first 2 rows (there are 5). So now I'm trying to figure out what else I can put in there, as I cannot find plastic boning locally, it's not cost-effective to buy it online, and hoopsteel is too expensive (cheapest I can find it is $18 for a 12-yd roll, not including shipping).

I don't have any pics right now, as my husband is off on a nature hike and took the camera with him.

Next I get to start on the bodice!

Overskirt!

Okay, I got impatient and went ahead and made the overskirt (the 2 younger kids were napping and my 2 older kids were distracted with their Legos!) I'm only partially done with the overskirt, it still needs the back sash and the waistband.

Ballgown skirt is nearly finished!

This was a lot harder than I thought it would be! The pleating & stitching on of the ruffle took about 80% of the time! This is the scaled-down version of an 1869 Grand Parlor skirt. I then had to put the skirt on the waistband, and pleat the back of it to fit. Now I just need to stitch under the back edges of the skirt opening (which was actually an earlier step that I skipped), and add a hook & eye. I was disappointed that the waistband ended up being a little too small (it should've had a 1/2" overlap and there's only about 1/4" overlap), so if I ever make this skirt again, I will remember to add 1/4" to the length of the waistband. Though if I ever do make one again, I will NOT add the pleated ruffle! (It'll save fabric and sanity!)

I would like to start the side-drape overskirt, but seeing as how this is a bustle gown... I really need to make the bustle. Ha ha! I already have all the pieces for the gown cut out, but none for the bustle. I'm done for the day, though, I'll decide later what I want to make next, the overskirt or bustle.

Experiencing the worst pleating of my life...

Don't get me wrong... I've done pleating before, lots of times. Mostly pleating skirts onto waistbands for my 1860's skirts. But this is a lot trickier... The skirt is full-length and gored, and I have to pleat the ruffle onto it, matching the bottom hems of each! I've never done this before, and it is time-consuming and (for me) a bit nerve-wracking. I watched the entire DVD of "Daniel Deronda" in the time it took me to do half the skirt (okay so that included hemming the top & bottom edge of the ruffle).... and then discovered that I'd mis-measured the circumference of the skirt. Oy. So I'm doing it again, using the "Divide & Conquer" method.

Next project: 1872 Ballgown (Demi Fashions)

A couple months ago I bought a Demi Dressform from Demi Fashions by Truly Victorian. I purchased it because I've always wanted to make an 1870's gown but never had a reason (and I can't justify the expense of all the patterns & silk for one!) I also figured it would look neat in our den, which we've recently redecorated with a Western/cowboy/horse theme.

This morning I traced out the pattern pieces, and I'm about to get started on cutting out the fabric. I'm using some iridescent purple/copper acetate taffeta I bought for cheap from Fabric.com (see, with a real gown I'd have to use silk, so I can make-do with synthetics since it isn't something I'm going to be wearing).