Steampunk Corset (Bustier)

My niece wanted a steampunk corset and I was delighted to volunteer. Always looking for a new challenge! One big consideration in the pattern choice is that my niece does not have a lot of experience wearing restrictive garments, such as ren faire bodices, tight-lace hourglass corsets, etc. I decided on a simple bustier type "corset" (in quotes) to get her started.

I chose Simplicity pattern #1819, the steampunk bolero outfit.

It's a solid wraparound piece that laces up the back, so there is no busk.

My first step was to trace the pattern pieces according to her measurements. I used my trusty French curve from the dollar store.

Then the cutting happens. My niece purchased some very nice black coutil, which cuts like a dream...

...and I marked the pieces with chalk to keep myself from going crazy.

For the fashion fabric, she bought this heavy vinyl pleather-type stuff with a felt backing. It's gorgeous but it had some challenges for the pins and the scissors. I ended up tracing on the wrong side with chalk and cutting, instead of trying to jam a pin through the pattern paper.

Getting it through the sewing machine also required some adjustments. I used my trusty office supplies to clip the vinyl pieces together instead of trying to get a pin into it.

A great trick I learned from a Carol Wood corset workshop, I used a cardboard form tube from the hardware store that is usually used as a mold for cement pillars. It approximates the curve of a human body, so I draped the vinyl over the black coutil lining.

I had some fiddling to do with making the 2 different textures mesh together. When I stitched-in-the-ditch to stabilize the seams, the one on the end did not quite synch up. But it only shows on the inside!

There it is laid out before I put in the grommets and the boning channels. I can't wait to visit her and try it on! We'll talk about the embellishments.

Oh, and I made a little top hat to match.

White and Gold Corset

I have been promising and promising my daughter that I'd make her a white and gold corset. I got this fabulous white brocade from a friend taking down her curtains. I've lined the inside with the beige coutil I had leftover from another project.

The mail order busk arrived yesterday, and I put it in the seams last night. It looks really lovely so far.

Now it's ready to try on, and make any last fitting adjustments before I do the boning channels. This is my first attempt at a "nice" corset using the Silverado style in the Laughing Moon pattern -- yeah, the one with the intimidating gore inserts. I've tried it before with plain denim for my friend to wear under her Dickens Fair gown, but never something nice enough to be seen. The pressure is on!!

The Finished Mononoke

Looking back, I realize I never posted a photo of the finished Princess Mononoke outfit. Here is the complete ensemble, as worn on Halloween.

Conquering the Invisible Zipper

For this year's Dickens Fair, I wanted to make a simple dress that was light, comfortable, and did not have a lot of fussy details to stress over. I chose the age-old Simplicity pilgrim/frontier dress pattern even though its envelope photo is simply awful. What appealed to me is the (pardon the pun) simplicity of it -- a bodice front & back, simple sleeves, and an attached skirt. Surprisingly it has some nice features like a drop-point waistline and, if I so choose, accessories like a mop cap or shoulder drape. With some modifications to the sleeves and shoulder caps, I thought this could turn out rather well.

One drawback:  this pattern calls for a big ol' zipper. Of course we all know that zippers were not invented yet in the Victorian Era, but I did not have the energy to make buttonholes, hooks and eyes, or snaps all down the back. So I decided to try the Dreaded Invisible Zipper.

Like most people who sew as a hobby, I have avoided the invisible zipper because of its fearsome reputation. Until now! Emboldened by my recent successes in corset making, I leaped right in.

First, I purchased an "invisible" zipper and the accessory package of universal zipper foot. Then I went home, opened the packages, read the instructions, and felt overwhelmed with confusion.

Seriously, these instructions are not helpful to the novice. I resorted to The Internet for answers and found a YouTube video by Professor Pincushion. Whoever this woman is, I owe her a debt of gratitude for her clear and easy instructions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlIFCuP3sZo 

All in all, the assembly of this entire gown took a single weekend. That's start to finish from cutting, to sewing, to embellishing. I used the machine's button feature to tack a row of buttons down the bodice front to give the illusion that it's buttoned, and the invisible zipper in back blends in with the stripes fairly well so it's hardly noticeable. The idea is that you're stitching so close to the zipper's teeth (with the custom zipper foot attachment) that it's a very small flap of fabric.

Once I added the final fashion accessories of a lace drape around my neck, the bonnet, and so forth, it was quite comfortable to wear at the Dickens Fair all day.

Hoop Snips

I let the Black Friday crowds die down, and on Sunday afternoon I went to OSH for "tin snips." Not sure of which kind would be best, I got the biggest ones they had for under $15. I figure they'll be handy to have around the house. Yes, they are huge! About 12 inches long.

The hoop skirt's steel wire is pretty tough stuff, though. I had to put it on the floor and lean down on it with my whole body weight to snap off a snip. But it did the job! A nice clean cut, that meant I didn't need to use the metal file. Then it was a matter of feeding the hoop wire into the 4 rungs of casings.  I joined the ends with Gorilla duct tape.

Sorry my camera ran out of battery, so I couldn't take a photo tonight of the finished hoop skirt. But trust me... it's hanging on the door in free-form and it looks circular. So I'm very confident it will hold its shape. The only mistake is that I came up about 6 inches short on the highest ring. A problem of measuring from the get-go, I suppose. So I bridged the gap with that awful plastic stuff.  It's not the greatest, but after all it's the top ring and the other 3 are doing great. Let's see how it looks when we try it on my friend "A" and whether it's going to look all right under the gown. Only 2 weeks until we go to the Dickens Fair!! Ahhhhh!!!

Success Hoops!

It's the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the postal carrier brought me a heavy envelope. The steel hoop wire (ordered off the internet) has arrived! Yeah! I threaded it into the bottom casing -- that nice coutil twill tape from Lacis -- and it slid in like a dream. The choice of plastic coated steel wire was absolutely correct. Much much much easier than the plastic stuff or even what buckram-coated wire would be. Also, it appears to hold its shape quite well. I'm sure when all 4 rungs are inserted, it will make a fine cage crinoline.

One thing I didn't plan on, though.  I DON'T OWN ANY HEAVY DUTY WIRE CUTTERS! Hmmm.... Always with the problems, I am.

Jumping through Hoops

Here's yet another example of why the proper choice of materials is essential to a project turning out correctly.  HOOP SKIRT IS A FAILURE. It was all going along so well. I had cut the basic skirt shape. I stitched up the seams. I put in a nice waistband borrowed from another pattern, and it's all so very lovely so far. Then I carefully measured and put in the twill tape in the rows and rows of rings that will be the casing for the hoop boning. So far, it's a happy Sunday afternoon.

Then, after taking a break to eat some grocery store California roll, I inserted the hoop boning that I'd just bought from Lacis in Berkeley.  My mistake was in picking the lower priced stuff ($8 a roll) because their spring steel hoop boning was $50 a roll. Quite a price difference!  BUT the plastic stuff does not hold its shape. It curls and warps every which-a-way.

No, this isn't me turning around. This is the shape it makes standing still.  Inconceivable!!  I hate to bad-mouth Lacis -- a landmark in Berkeley since forever -- but really, are those the only 2 choices?  I am forced to go elsewhere in search of the perfect hoop skirt wire.