Once upon a time, not so very long ago but still a good amount between then and now, I decided I wanted to make a Victorian dress from the Skin Out. I had seen this idea posted on many a blog and mostly with success so I researched, and drooled over other peoples…well pristine white underwear. It seemed simple enough. Truly Victorian is indeed something to spark an idea.
So off I went, to find my own pristine white fabric, perhaps embroidered, white on white, a snowy expanse of femanine frilly undergarments…
-and fell back to reality. A single mom, full time college student who works finding the proper fabric for, let’s face it, what little money I have to encourage my (rather expensive) sewing habit? Ha! Cocaine would be cheaper.
(Probably make me thinner too)
In the past for a lot of yardage I’d use sheets. My Batman 60’s wrap around dress for example:
The work of two length of sheet and quite nice if I might add.
Anyway, I thought, well no one really SEES the underwear. Why does it have to be perfect. Then I thought, ‘Huh, I guess I’ll have sheet-y victorian underwear’
………
Oh yeah, I went there.
Anywho, I began to build my underthings, chemise and bloomers from Simplicity, easy enough:
and then my corset, same pattern:
And finally my bustle, bought fresh from Truly Victorian. My efforts were low at first.
I used marker around each pattern piece because they are printed on a heavier paper which was prone to ripping.
Of course despite having read the instructions several times over I managed to forget that the tape goes on the OUTSIDE and only ONE bone is on the inside. The above picture is of AFTER I seam ripped the hell out of the thing.
This bustle is actually a Green bustle. (lookit me! I’m hip and current!) The fabric is sheets and the bias tape is something I saved from the indignity of Goodwill. Reduce, reuse and recycle! Cha!
Ahem.
Anyway, off I went sewing it together like a madwoman —>
Without the bones it looks sadly deflated, huh? And with them —>
(My son’s feet in his foot pajamas in the bottom left corner. Even his appendages are cute, lol)
After sewing this part together I abandoned the poor dear in a corner, exhausted from my efforts. Coming home from work the next day at ten thirty-ish I cut out the ruffle-y cover thing for the back of the bustle but ignored it all for like a week.
Finally, I had ALL of yesterday off. No work, no school, no nothing! Made locomoco for lunch and began the tedious business of sewing like, a MILLION yards together.
😦
and adding lace to the hem of it all, because I am a masachist. (Also its SOO PURTY!!!!)
In progress:
Sewing Kitteh (without which the sewing machine would no doubt explode)
After a long LONG LONG LONG time I sewed them together, sewed the lace on and cut them to their proper length. Unfortunately I misplaced my ruffler foot so I had to do it by hand.
Watching a two year old.
While making lunch.
And keeping the dogs from eating the fabric.
Anyway, it was done:
And so freaking girly!!! LOVE IT! The fabric was the innder lining of the bustle sheets and the lace was a lovely ivory, which matched perfectly. Coincidence? I think not.
Now to pull out my puppy eyes and make my sister put it on to look for flaws. She’s quite a bit thinner than me, but having it off Bob (Her duct-tape dressform who is sadly depressed and drooping) was a blessing. Can’t hem myself, while wearing it you know!
Yay! And me wearing it!
Now another angle!
to finish it I need to hem it, add the hook-and-eyes and thats it! Yayayayayayayayayaya (kermit imitation)
Il-clad and Half Mad 