sewingsillythings

[sewingsillythings]

Dress

c. 1885-1890

Grand Rapids Public Museum

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Printed Wool Challis Wrapper

1860s

Augusta Auctions

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Guess who finished another corset? (it's ME)

This guy comes from a 1874 pattern (specifically this one)

I made some not-so-minor additions to the pattern since most corsets run very small and I am not.

This was a rare occasion where the first mock up was way too big, but it still showed some promise!

(or maybe I just have low standards? idk)

The second mockup was made from denim, here is it straight off the sewing machine.

I took it in quite a bit because the back edges were touching which is a no-no. The gap here is much more preferable but it still had, um, issues...

I could basically fold the cups down and completely expose myself. More boning will help with that, but the gores had to be taken in, too.

This was the third fitting that day and it kind of looks th same but with more markings on it, so I did something I guess.

I made a new pattern based on that and then blah blah blah lots of sewing/cording/boning/progress.

More progress, all the boning added, binding done, etc.

Finally had enough progress to baste in closures and do another fitting. Some parts of this looked good. Other parts, however...

See typically you don't want the neckline to gape like two inches away from the boob.

So when adding the trim I also gathered that bit down. You can add a drawstring to accomplish this but the corded sections were so thick I didn't see that working well.

The end result is much, much better.

And that was about it. Obviously, there were a lot of steps to constructing this and hopefully, I will have a video up about that this weekend, but most of the pictures I took were about the fit so that's what I have to offer here.

There is some rippling, it isn't perfect by any means. But I think I can use the excuse of being out of practice for this one and I will take full advantage of that.

This is quite comfortable to wear and very light (cotton over lightweight canvas with buckram, corded, and boned elements for structure..)

I used d-rings at the center back instead of eyelets since I have always found eyelets prone to ripping out over time, no matter how I attempt to prevent that from happening. Worse case these rings will bend and can be replaced.

This was my first time trying it on since "finishing it" -- will aim for a more even lacing gap next time and wear it with a chemise, I just wanted to highlight the fit difference in the bust which is most notable when against bare skin.

I really like the line of the back and front silhouette, and think this cups my stomach better than any I've made in the past. There is still a bit of a gap at the bottom edge, so I might bend the busk a bit more to resolve that.

But overall, a much better result than I anticipated.

[sewingsillythings]

Gala Dress

c. 1906

by Laferrière

The National Museum of Norway

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Dress

c. 1795-1797

Norsk Folkemuseum

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Dress

c. 1807-1810

DAR Museum

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Dress

c. 1880-1890

Grand Rapids Public Museum

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Day Dress

c. 1838-1840

Deep red silk satin, trimmed with matching red velvet

English

National Museums Scotland

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Luis Xertu (Mexican, 1985) - Tree with Cats (2024)

[sewingsillythings]

White & Black Lace Dinner Gown

c. 1902

Augusta Auctions

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A pair of gold earrings with carnelian duckies, Macedonian, 4th-3rd century BC

from The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

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Dress by Félix

c. 1885

France

Chicago Historical Society

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LINDA FRIESEN The Nightshade Dress if you want to support this blog consider donating to:ko-fi.com/fashionrunways

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Dress

c. 1890-1900

Grand Rapids Public Museum

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LINDA FRIESEN The Salem Dress if you want to support this blog consider donating to:ko-fi.com/fashionrunways

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LINDA FRIESEN The Ghost Dress if you want to support this blog consider donating to:ko-fi.com/fashionrunways