Summer Sky

4/30/08

I've started plotting. Originally, I wasn't planning on attending the GBACG Bustles and Baseball event. Mostly, it was just because I didn't think I'd have time to get anything done. But then I went to CC26 and saw some many people in lovely late Victorian dresses, and I just couldn't help myself.

Now, I'm certain that I won't have much time, which means I still won't have an opportunity to make a bustle. However, I do have time to make a natural form dress. Granted, the event is called bustles and baseball, but the natural form era is right there smack dab in the middle of all those bustles, so I'm sure I'll be forgiven. Also, this means that I don't need to make any undies; I already have a chemise, drawers, corset and petticoat that will work with this sillouette. All I need to make is a bodice, a skirt, an overskirt. Oh, and trim the heck out of it.

So, I started combing through my stash this morning and found the perfect fabrics. I actually have two different fabrics that are the exact same shade of powder blue; one is that southern bell cotton that disappeared from Joann's a couple years ago, and the other is a very lightweight linen-look. I also have a tiny leafy floral that is the exact same blue on an off-white background.

The Plan

Skirt: I'm so excited to make TV225 again. This is the one that I used for my previous natural form gown that I absolutely loved. Of course, since I'll be doing a lot of outdoor walking in this one, I'm not going to make it with the train. Kind of disappointing since I love the train and all, but I also want to be practical and don't want to end up carrying my train all day. I'm planning on making the skirt out of the blue cotton fabric with fabric ruffles out of the cotton print, ivory lace, and satin ribbon.

Bodice: I'm thinking I want to use TV428, though I might still change my mind. I don't own this pattern yet, so I'd have to order it soon; for that reason, I may just look through my books to see if I have any patterns there that I'd like to use. The bodice will be made with the blue cotton and trimmed with the floral.

Overskirt: Definitely making TV326. I've loved this one for ages. Now, originally, I wanted to do the overskirt in the floral print, but I'm worried that I won't have enough of it. If I do, I'll stick to the plan and I won't need the linen-look. If not, I'll make the overskirt out of the linen-look and trim it with the floral. I think I may try to make this without the apron front, sewing the panniers and the back drapery directly to the skirt to make up for the lack of support.

4/2/08

Um, I've already changed my mind a little bit, but that's because I found the bodice pattern I want to use. It is this absolutely adorable pattern in Fashions of the Guilded Age, Volume I by Frances Grimble (on page 223). It's actually a blouse with a "bodice" over top (they call it a bodice, but it looks like a corselet). Anyway, I decided to make the bodice out of blue velveteen I have in my stash, which I don't think will go very well with the floral cotton. Color-wise they match just fine, it just doesn't seem right to pair a print with the velveteen, especially if I embroider it like in the fashion plate.

So, the plan now is to use the southern bell as the skirt foundation and the linen-look for the overskirt and blouse, if there is enough. The blouse pattern claims to need six yards of fabric; I'm counting on that being a very narrow fabric so that in reality it will only take a couple of yards of 45".

5/5/08

Go me! I got through two mock ups of the blouse over the weekend and got my fabrics all washed and ready. The blouse pattern still isn't quite ready, but I think I'm close. It's a bit tough to adjust as it is only three pieces--not easy for a curvy gal like me. Of course, it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect, as the bodice is worn over top, but it has to at least close at the bust and not be too bulky at the waist.

The bodice was easier to fit, as it has eight pieces. I need to add about a quarter inch to all the seams and then take in a few areas, but the changes are minor enough that I'm not going to do another mock up.

The funny thing with this pattern is that there were strange little fiddly bits that didn't fit right. I mean, places where the seam veered out, supposedly to add more room to the bust line, but instead, those parts just sort of jut out. The blouse was like this at the side seams right under the armscye; about an inch at the top of the seam just sort of gapped, without really giving me any necessary room in the bust. The side back bodice seams also did this, but only the top half inch. Rather strange. At any rate, that issue was easy enough to fix.

I'm still nervous about having enough of the linen, though I did learn that it is wider than I thought. It should be enough; I'm just afraid of getting to the overskirt and realizing that I'm short by half a yard. That would be agonizing. It'll be okay, though. I've got plenty of the velveteen if that's the case.

5/6/08

Eeep. Okay. One more time. The third mock up still just didn't have enough room in the bust and was WAY too big at the waist. The bust issue may be because I'm also trying to adjust that side seam gap issue. So, for the next go 'round, I'm taking the waist in a lot, giving myself yet another extra two inches at the center front and making the appropriate adjustments at the neckline. I at least need a mock up that I can pin closed; then, at least, I'll be able to smooth the rest out to see where the adjusting needs to take place. At least the back was easy to fit. :)

At some point, I'll need to make adjustments to my collar to make sure it will fit the neckline, since I've tweeked with it so much. Once I have a mock up that fits, I'll attach a mock up of the collar to check.

7/6/08

Okay, I got everything fitted and started cutting out the blouse lining and underskirt before I realized that I was going to be out of town the weekend of the event I wanted to wear this too. Drat! So, this got put on the back burner for a while. However, I'm going to be working on it again soon so that I can wear it to Costume College and then to a museum outing a month later.

Also, I'm starting to change my mind about the pleated blouse. Before I put the project on pause, I started ironing pleats into the linen fabric. Now, I still had hopes of getting both the blouse and the overskirt out of the same fabric, but once I started pleating it and saw how much of the fabric just the blouse was going to take, I had second thoughts. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I think I'm going to figure out a way to get the overskirt out of this fabric and somehow incorporate the rest into the blouse.

7/15/08--wee hours of the morning

I've made quite a bit of progress on this in a short amount of time. The underskirt went together very quickly. This was partly due to the fact that I've made this skirt up before, but also, it is simply an easy patter with few seams and little handwork. The only thing I had to hand sew was the inside of the waistband. I didn't bother hand sewing the hem since I know I'll be putting trim there anyway.

The overskirt took a bit more time with all the pleats, plus I wanted to handsew the hems since I'm still not sure how I'm going to trim this. (The hems of all three pieces--back, apron, and panniers--are sewn separately.) So, where the underskirt only took me about two and a half hours, the overskirt easily took about eight. The end result is very much worth the effort, though. It is absolutely adorable, even without any trim. The one thing to note about this pattern is that the back comes down much further than I expected--nearly to the hem of the underskirt. This is fine, but I did expect to be able to see at least a little of the trim on the underskirt, which you just won't be able to do in the back. I may end up shortening the back piece once I see how it looks with the trim on the underskirt.

Since I last wrote, I've also solved my blouse fabric issue. An LJ friend recommended pin tucks. I loved the idea, but to conserve fabric, I've also decided to include rows of embroidery interspersed with groups of pin tucks. The process takes a long time, but I've managed to finish enough fabric for one front piece. Just another front, a back, and two sleeves to go!

7/15/08--later that evening

I'm definitely getting better at the pin tuck spacing, so the second side of the front will look slightly less wonky. Still have a long way to go with that, but the blouse should come together quickly once the fabric is prepared.

Once it got warm in the afternoon, I decided to work on something that did not require the iron to be on: trim. Mom came over for a fitting of her Regency bodice, and I got her to bring over the trim stash. I decided to trim in cream in order to add another color in--I was afraid blue trim would be a bit too much of a good thing. I'm using leftover lace from my Eugenie dress, double faced satin ribbon, fringe, and navy blue braid. The lace is very wide and has a lace motiff on both edges, so I folded it over uneavenly to create two flounces of lace on the underskirt in one fell swoop. Over the gathered edge, I pleated a row of the satin ribbon and sewed down the center of it. On top of that stitching, I sewed the braid. It really makes the hem of the underskirt pop.

Yet again, the overskirt will prove to be a bit more tricky. Since I didn't attach trim as I was assembling the overskirt, I'll need to do it by hand. For the most part, it will be the same as the underskirt, but instead of the lace, I'll substitute fringe.

11/20/08

Well, as usual, things got down to the wire, so I quit updating as I rushed to get the outfit finished. Overall, I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. As always, there are a few things I'm not entirely pleased with and would do differently.

1. The neck opening (and, thus, the collar) ended up way too large. I had a lot of trouble fitting the blouse. I knew that the neckline wasn't entirely right, and I did make some attempts to correct the problem...just not enough. As a result, the collar doesn't really hug my neck as it should, but sits away from it. It's not so bad as too look terrible, but it also doesn't look right.

2. The bodice has a wrinkle at the waist that I can't seem to get rid of, even with boning. Not too big a deal. I just call it my "period" wrinkle, because it's in exactly the same place you see them in period photos. I think the way to get rid of it would have been to fit the hips a little tighter and make sure that the pleats were securely sewn down to the lining in back. Then again, maybe there just isn't much I can do about it. At any rate, it isn't enough of a problem to really bother me.

I think those are the only two noticable problems. I absolutely adore the combination of fabrics and all the trimming and detail I put into this one.

Oh, and the icing on the cake was finding the perfect hat to go with this outfit on the first day of Costume College!