Some Tags that I've been using.
Photos of the continuing saga.
Measuring for the additional width at the front. The gap on the bottom has already been added to the pattern piece.
Noticed also that the side back panel was too short when the center back was lined up. Measure to add to that too. Seamline to seamline is 2.5 inches. Yowza. That's gotta cause some issues.
The back piece needs shaping, and 19th C. bodices usually have a side back and a ... side center? back?... panel?
Really, when you have a side back traditional seam and a side back seam that joins the front, what's the middle bit called? I suppose still side back. Aaaanyway.
Side back panel described on the full back panel for slice and dice.
Cut up and stitched, pressed and then the neckline basted at 5/8ths and clipped.
Looking a bit tight over the lacing in the CB. Needs more room. But then it may need that room at the side front, because of the uppermost picture: they didn't line up super great in paper.
Defiantly too tight in this light weight stuff across the back. I think that problem is coming from the side back seam where it joins the front. Not the side back seam that joins to the back. Again, from that upper most picture where I"m doing the measuring, those paper pieces just don't jive.
Rolled under one of the extended shoulders. I can dig it. I moved the dart positions, because wouldn't you know it, I'm not bendy where they thought I would be.... Aaadnd I need to add to the bottom CF. Just by a seams width.
So I just slammed 2 2inch panels into the center back of the corset I made before. I was so pissed when I initially finished it, that I couldn't consider touching it again. But it was oddly pleasing to cut apart something that didn't like me as much as I liked it. And and then when it was done wearing it. Here's some pictures of that.
( The Blue BeastCollapse )
After the Blue Beast got did up well enough to break in, I started work on mocking up the under bodice. That didn't go very well. I used Simplicity pattern 4551. I measure out at a size 24 if I use my upper bust measurement (as recommended when you have a fuller than C cup). Lemme see if I have some pictures of *that* little slice of "Way to wide in the shoulders, too huge of an armscye, and also still somehow not enough room through the bust!"
( Slashed and Spread Within an Inch...Collapse )
So that was lovely, all too huge after I'd taken some measurements and compared and trimmed and so forth. Bah. Slash. 2 Inches needed on each side if it was to work as I'd planned. And I'd look like a balloon awaiting air if I wear it with that much positive ease. And we havn't even started on the fun of armscyes yet! Let's just try to get it fitting around, thank you.
So my next thought was... why the hell... didn't that work... when I'd compared so many measurements and made so many notes while making adjustments? Well let's just start taping where it's too little, and taping it closed where it's too big. Lets try that.
Shots including my face convey I'm Super Excited!
( Taped. and taped. And taped.Collapse )
Now the armscye starts looking *super strange! Like if it's up into the underarm for full range of motion, it's ultra tiny, and takes a great deal of curvature from the dropped shouder to the front of the armscye where there's the most indent. This can't be right!? I know! I'll tape *myself*! What could possibly go wrong?
( Taped yet again?Collapse )
Well what could go wrong? You didn't put anything next to the skin, not even freakin' powder. You don't know where you're surgical scissors are *that you bought specifically for this*. Oh, and I remember the main thing that can go wrong: you can't possibly tape 1/2 of your own back!
This is what I have children for. So I had the youngest princess come help me, giving her instructions on where, pointing the places that needed tape using my untaped side to hold a bendy ruler and point with the curve of the ruler extending over my left shoulder towards the areas that needed tape. Worked surprisingly well.
Then I took it off. My armscye was dead on aside from the bottom. I mean, I knew exactly where I wanted it, and by happy accident also managed to put it there.
So the bottom is a bit wonky, because we couldn't use the bendy ruler under the arm and still hold it in position, so I extrapolated a bit, opting for something just a few eighths larger than the tape showed. Then I laid over my pattern piece that I'd been drafting up. And found them to be surprisingly comparable for armscye contour at least.
There you can see the front scye to the top of the shoulder lineing up exactly, if you just pretend I never wanted dropped shoulders. I also folded away the excess of the 19th C. sleeve.
Then I laid out the back and compared the back armscye. That part needs ... something. Some lots of something. I think that is where I'll start my next round of crazy sculpt- paper making.
( The Blue BeastCollapse )
After the Blue Beast got did up well enough to break in, I started work on mocking up the under bodice. That didn't go very well. I used Simplicity pattern 4551. I measure out at a size 24 if I use my upper bust measurement (as recommended when you have a fuller than C cup). Lemme see if I have some pictures of *that* little slice of "Way to wide in the shoulders, too huge of an armscye, and also still somehow not enough room through the bust!"
( Slashed and Spread Within an Inch...Collapse )
So that was lovely, all too huge after I'd taken some measurements and compared and trimmed and so forth. Bah. Slash. 2 Inches needed on each side if it was to work as I'd planned. And I'd look like a balloon awaiting air if I wear it with that much positive ease. And we havn't even started on the fun of armscyes yet! Let's just try to get it fitting around, thank you.
So my next thought was... why the hell... didn't that work... when I'd compared so many measurements and made so many notes while making adjustments? Well let's just start taping where it's too little, and taping it closed where it's too big. Lets try that.
Shots including my face convey I'm Super Excited!
( Taped. and taped. And taped.Collapse )
Now the armscye starts looking *super strange! Like if it's up into the underarm for full range of motion, it's ultra tiny, and takes a great deal of curvature from the dropped shouder to the front of the armscye where there's the most indent. This can't be right!? I know! I'll tape *myself*! What could possibly go wrong?
( Taped yet again?Collapse )
Well what could go wrong? You didn't put anything next to the skin, not even freakin' powder. You don't know where you're surgical scissors are *that you bought specifically for this*. Oh, and I remember the main thing that can go wrong: you can't possibly tape 1/2 of your own back!
This is what I have children for. So I had the youngest princess come help me, giving her instructions on where, pointing the places that needed tape using my untaped side to hold a bendy ruler and point with the curve of the ruler extending over my left shoulder towards the areas that needed tape. Worked surprisingly well.
Then I took it off. My armscye was dead on aside from the bottom. I mean, I knew exactly where I wanted it, and by happy accident also managed to put it there.
So the bottom is a bit wonky, because we couldn't use the bendy ruler under the arm and still hold it in position, so I extrapolated a bit, opting for something just a few eighths larger than the tape showed. Then I laid over my pattern piece that I'd been drafting up. And found them to be surprisingly comparable for armscye contour at least.
There you can see the front scye to the top of the shoulder lineing up exactly, if you just pretend I never wanted dropped shoulders. I also folded away the excess of the 19th C. sleeve.
Then I laid out the back and compared the back armscye. That part needs ... something. Some lots of something. I think that is where I'll start my next round of crazy sculpt- paper making.
Cross posted to: 
eggies_red_dres,
corsetmakers
Simplicity 7215, size 20
Aqua top- stitched black silk taffeta, black quilted aqua silk dupioni in bust and hip gores, with coordinating external boning casings. Coutil strength layer. Casings of black top- stitched aqua dupioni lined with 3/8" coutil strips. 1/4" flat spring steel and spiral steels inside the casings. Aqua top stitched black taffeta binding on top and bottom. Shown fully closed and padded over my adjustable dress form.
Bust: 44 1/2"
Waist:32 1/2"
Hip: 44"
Took about 12 hours to put together over 5 days.
What this lady needs is flossing. Functional flossing like a boss, because those casings are a full 1/2" shy of the casing length. Seemed like a good idea at the time, leaving 1/4" at either end of unsupported fabric, but the shortness is showing.
She also needs a liner. I had a 2 machine setup for the contrast stitching (oh, the dividends of also collecting too many sewing machines...) but I never bothered to change my bobbin threads to compensate for the various top stitches. So there's a ton of black stitching on the inside. If I was going that far, I suppose I could put a waist tape in there as well. There's also a variety of minor flaws in the top stitching. Some places, the top stitching is doubled up, rather than made in one pass. Some places the boning got caught on the bed of the sewing machine, leading to stitches in one place over and over ending in breakage of the top stitching.
There is also one casing that the coutil is showing, not sure if I want to re- apply.
Looking to sell if there is anyone for whom these garment measurements would work.
$195 plus shipping. Continental US only.
( Photos beyond....Collapse )
eggies_red_dres,corsetmakersSimplicity 7215, size 20
Aqua top- stitched black silk taffeta, black quilted aqua silk dupioni in bust and hip gores, with coordinating external boning casings. Coutil strength layer. Casings of black top- stitched aqua dupioni lined with 3/8" coutil strips. 1/4" flat spring steel and spiral steels inside the casings. Aqua top stitched black taffeta binding on top and bottom. Shown fully closed and padded over my adjustable dress form.
Bust: 44 1/2"
Waist:32 1/2"
Hip: 44"
Took about 12 hours to put together over 5 days.
What this lady needs is flossing. Functional flossing like a boss, because those casings are a full 1/2" shy of the casing length. Seemed like a good idea at the time, leaving 1/4" at either end of unsupported fabric, but the shortness is showing.
She also needs a liner. I had a 2 machine setup for the contrast stitching (oh, the dividends of also collecting too many sewing machines...) but I never bothered to change my bobbin threads to compensate for the various top stitches. So there's a ton of black stitching on the inside. If I was going that far, I suppose I could put a waist tape in there as well. There's also a variety of minor flaws in the top stitching. Some places, the top stitching is doubled up, rather than made in one pass. Some places the boning got caught on the bed of the sewing machine, leading to stitches in one place over and over ending in breakage of the top stitching.
There is also one casing that the coutil is showing, not sure if I want to re- apply.
Looking to sell if there is anyone for whom these garment measurements would work.
$195 plus shipping. Continental US only.
( Photos beyond....Collapse )
http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/r
This is a 400 page document exhaustively covering drafting sleeves. You thought it was hard? I haven't gotten into the meat of it, but I got it from my Sleeve Guru, Fashion Incubator.
I thought it was gonna be 20 pages max, I nearly busted a main vein realizing it was 400 pages. I'm still laughing at the fact that I'm going to print it out and read it.
This is a 400 page document exhaustively covering drafting sleeves. You thought it was hard? I haven't gotten into the meat of it, but I got it from my Sleeve Guru, Fashion Incubator.
I thought it was gonna be 20 pages max, I nearly busted a main vein realizing it was 400 pages. I'm still laughing at the fact that I'm going to print it out and read it.
Inventorying my costume collection. It's coming into focus why I wear so few of them, since part of the survey is measurements of the garments. Most of them are about 2 dress sizes too small!
After four unsuccessful tries, I have managed to get an external boning casing with a fashion layer of leather to stay in place, look good, and hold in some bones. I need a drink.
http://www.arizonacostumeinstitute.c
Some quite inspiring images of various periods of time and location.
Some quite inspiring images of various periods of time and location.
