The 1830s Project: Part 3- Fitting the bodices

I always like to share things I've either figured out, learned, or fudged in a way that works. 

In Part 1 I showed a photo of the front of my pleated bodice where I was pinning it in on me to fit it better. I thought I would go into more detail of how I fitted it on me since fitting has been a struggle for me for years. And over those years I’ve learned a bit more and I can share this one. Sometimes a friend would pin my bodice in for me and then tell me to transfer the markings to my pattern which I never seemed to get right anyhow. Maybe this time I will.

As a reminder, this is the pattern I used, TV 455.

Because I had changed the front effect of gathering to pleating it caused my upper portion to be much too big and fluffy on me. After it was all pleated I sewed the shoulder seams and side seams with a machine basting stitch. The back is closed with hook & eye tape. I put it on inside out and then pinned the front edges together matching the edges evenly. Then I started pinching it in next to my body to where I thought the seam should be and pinned it. I did this all the way down the front. The top section on me was taken in quite a bit. I readjusted the bodice on me by pulling the back down again and a bit forward. I can tell if it’s a good fit or if I need to take it in a bit more. Sometimes I take in some on the side seams. If you haven’t done your darts already, this is another way to fit it on you too.

Once I was happy with how it was pinned, I marked my sewing line with chalk. I only did one side because I have front edges perfectly lined up together. When I unpin it this will be very important because I want to have the same seam line I had when it was on me.

Next I machine basted the front seam. I’ll need to check the fit on me again, and without having someone to get me in and out of this, I undo one side seam. I put it on me right side out and just hold the side seam closed. If it looks good then I do a regular stitch length seam on everything, closing up the side seam. From this point I can’t get into it myself unless my maid is there to help me.

I didn’t trim all the excess fabric off the front seam, leaving instead a two inch seam allowance just in case.

So that’s how my one-woman bodice fitting was done on this pattern. Obviously if any fitting is needed in the back, then I’m up the creek again.

                                                                                ~Val

A Squirrel Report

For those of you not familiar with the term "Squirrel", it's used in describing as being sidetracked by all things pretty. My husband has even called me Squirrel a few times, so either I'm that bad, or I can consider it a Badge of Honor.

I continued working steadily on my Cranberry 1830s Project, and once that was to a point where I knew I could comfortably have it ready in time for an upcoming fashion show, I was able to start on my other two 1830s gowns. And herein lays the Squirrel. I normally refer to it as my Assembly Line Sewing, aka, cutting out 2 or more gowns from one pattern; sewing parts of them all at the same time; and doing all the easy mindless parts (like the plain ole skirts) all in one sitting.  If it's a hard-to-do part, by the time the 2nd or 3rd round comes up, I have all the bugs worked out and I know it's ingrained in my brain now.
So the Cranberry in theory was done except for the hem and belt.

 

It was really hard to decide which of the other two I wanted to do next, the Persimmon, or the newly named, Midnight Mourning. Since I wanted to wear Persimmon in the same fashion show as Cranberry, it won. The silk taffeta was harder to pleat than the cotton one but after lots of fiddling I finally got them to be smooth across the front. 

Although now that I've laid the piece of antique lace across the front that I'm using, I wonder why I was so worried. But at least it will look good, especially if I wear it without the lace sometimes.  

It was then that we discovered our computers had been infected with a very nasty malware called spigot, and all three were taken away to be cleaned out, including our wallets. 

This could have been a good thing because then I could sew more instead of spending so much time on my computer. I spent all day sewing piping for my bodice which went on the neckline, armseye, waist, and cuffs. I pulled out the skirts for both Persimmon and Midnight and sewed those up. The next morning I woke up with a screaming spasm in my back shoulder blade. I spent two days whimpering and whining, hardly being able to move. I had some hand sewing I could do on these so I spent time with my heating pad and watched marathons of Ghost Adventures. By the end of the second day I was able to stand and cut out one of those chemises I needed, but found out my 45" inch cotton had shrunk so much it was only 37" wide and I was only able to cut one chemise out of it. Arggh! 

Just because I can't physically sew doesn't mean the Squirrel in me isn't at work. So now I'm staring at my black dotted Swiss cotton for Midnight, and dreaming about what it will look like. Something like this! 

It won't have the big balloon sleeves because I'm doing the later 1837 style. But look at the trim used along the edges of the neckline, and down the center front. I have a long chain with pocket watch like she has and the belt buckle. I'd love to do that hair but I doubt I can find a wig that would do it justice, so I've ordered a straw bonnet form from Timely Tresses, and will cover it in black silk taffeta. I do have some cute little curls that I can wear under it though. 

So here on my third day of recovery, and having gotten our computers back, I'm in business again. I still have to limit my time at the sewing machine but do have my pleats pinned in the black bodice, and it's hook and eye tape is in. Which finally after doing it a third time, I got it! 

This photo was taken using my flash since black doesn't show up very well, and what can you say about black? It's black, but I think once I have the trim sewn on, possibly velvet ribbon, and a belt with buckle, it will shine. 

Spam blocking

Some of my readers who are also bloggers may have noticed your comment counts have gone down on your blogs, and I wondered that myself about mine when I would see literally hundreds of visitors but sadly no comments. I know they're not really needed (of course they are!) but are greatly desired. Another blogger and I wondered why my comments weren't showing up on her blog too. So I asked my friends to do a test comment on mine and one comment I received was the Captcha/letter spam test was so hard to read that she just didn't want to make the effort. I also have had that problem on other blogs and I know you can click to get different ones till one comes up that you can read. But what a PITA.

So yesterday, dear readers, I eliminated that requirement on my blog. It is now just set to Moderation, so your comment won't show up on my blog until I approve it. I wish even needing that wasn't necessary but trust me, it is. You should see some of the comments that never show up for you to read.

And btw, you can get my blog posts sent to your email by adding your email address to where it says Suscribe by Email halfway down on the lower right column. Click on Submit to get an email box to fill in.

So please, if you so like, comment away. And thank you.
Val

The 1830s Project Part 2

The Pattern:

I was going to include this in Part I but it was getting a little long and this part could get a bit boring since it was more “technical”.  But breathe easy, it won’t be very long.  I’m not the technical type person so it will be in my layman’s terms, ie, understandable to those of us who have trouble understanding patterns. This was my answer to lessen my confusion with it.

If you’re not familiar with the term “flatlining” this is a period method of giving support to the main fashion fabric bodice by cutting and sewing a heavier fabric, such as a cotton or twill, to the main piece along its edges, and now you treat it as a single piece. Then if you want to line it later you can, or just doing facings on the edges to finish it. My first TV gown was missing this because I didn’t understand it, and Heather McNaughton tried very hard to convince me it was really needed. And she was right. It does keep it from looking wrinkly. If you think your fashion fabric is too limp, this is your solution to give it body. 

As previously mentioned, this was the pattern I’m using, Truly Victorian’s #455.

IMPORTANT: PATTERN PIECES FRONT LINING A & BACK LINING C ARE WHAT SHOULD BE FITTED TO YOU. Then the corresponding D & E sizes should be matched to them.

This was the pattern layout. Because of the width of the pattern pieces it was placed on a single layer of fabric so the shaded pieces indicate that they were cut twice. This is what confused me when I saw the pieces labeled A & D and C & E, when they were actually just representative of those particular pieces being used twice. So ignored that and you will be happier. 

These are the individual pattern pieces. You can see on both sets the pattern pieces are similar but one is a bit smaller. The larger one D on the left is the main fashion fabric, while the smaller copy A on the right is used for lining and flatlining/interlining on D.

                                                                                          Fronts D & A:     

This section of the front D (where my felt marker is) has to be gathered or pleated down at the center front and shoulder so it matches the size of front A.

   

                                                                     Backs C & E:

The same thing is done on the back piece E. (Where my felt marker is pointing to the center back and shoulder). These sections on E need to be gathered/pleated down in those areas to match the size of C.

***I almost forgot this- the backs have additional instructions that the Right side is a little wider than the Left so it has an overlap for the closure. So I cut a Right and a Left out, just to make it easier when cutting. ***

Confused yet? I was. Back in 2009, when I first made this, I cut the patterns out and you can see how ratty they’ve gotten. This time I traced them onto pattern paper to save the originals. My solution to my confusion this time was to trace the pattern out and have one group in a baggie for the Lining/flatlining and another for the Fabric, which is basically what the originals are but having the pieces in separate baggies is helping. Because while I was working with them I was often getting them mixed up. ** And an idea just occurred to me while I was typing this: I’m going to re-do the lettering on my lining pieces in red felt marker so I can see which ones they are right away.** And here’s another point: the Lining pieces A & E are the ones that should be fitted to you, not the Fabric pieces.

THIS STEP IS ONLY IF YOU DON’T DO LININGS:

Since I only just use flatlining and not a lining, I had to put my hook and eye tape in between those two layers before actually sewing the flatlining to my fabric. So my first step is gathering or pleating the front D and back E & topstitch that down so it fits the size of A & C.

I would recommend if you ever get a chance to take Shelley Peters’ class for doing hook & eye tape either in one of her sewing workshops, or at Costume College, do it. This is something many of us need to be shown hands-on. 

                                                       --Val
FOR PART I, GO HERE: http://timetravelingincostume.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-1830s-project-part-i-cranberry.html

The 1830s Project -- Part I- The Cranberry

The Bodice:

I’ve probably mentioned a couple times I had been wanting to make another 1830s gown, or a couple. Or maybe I’ve just been jabbering about them on Facebook. Ever since I made one back in 2009 I’ve been attracted to them. I had used Truly Victorian’s #455 (1830s) Romantic Era pattern. I was still fairly new to these patterns and I stumbled through trying to make this one. I didn’t understand about having an under bodice that the outer bodice would be attached to. And having to use a couple pattern pieces for multiple parts had confused me even more. I didn’t like the really huge sleeves so I made mine in the later 1837 style of being flat on the top. I tried smocking that but I failed so it’s just flattened by gravity.

 Now with a few more years under my belt, and a bit more knowledge, I was ready to give it another shot. The best part was I found out I could wear my Victorian corset under it, and not try and find someone on the street or next door to get me into my Regency corset. Or get me out of it. I still have to have the dress hooked up in back but I can deal with that later. All this encouraged me to try again.

Over a period of time I collected a couple cotton fabrics that had the look of some of the extant gowns I’d seen. A few months ago I started my new one, using my favorite of the fabrics that had a bluish-teal background with cranberry flowers on it.  The rose colored floral came in a close second but I first wanted to see if I could work with the pattern again.

I took my fabric and pattern to one of Shelley Peters’ sewing workshop to get help this time learning how to put hook and eye tape in the back and check that my muslin from the first gown still fit me, which it did. And it fit well over my Victorian corset. Yay!! It didn’t take long before the confusion over the pattern pieces of fabric, lining, and flatlining (interlining) came back into play. I don’t line my dresses. I just flatline them and finish with a facing. So that’s what I did but then had to open the back pieces so we could put the hook and eye tape into the seams and folded the edges of the fabric in to finish them. After we did that, I discovered I was supposed to gather part of the back into the smaller back piece so I had to rip them out, gather it up, then put the tape back in. Both the front and back bodice pattern pieces are also cut into smaller copies that provide the inner bodice base. The excess fabric on the front and back is then gathered in to fit them.

When I sewed the hook and eye tape back in, you can see the bunchiness that the gathering caused in the fabric. And no matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to look even. In this photo I have them tacked down and pressed so they looked like pleats. This is what gave me the idea of pleating.

Once I started working on the front portion of the bodice, I tried gathering that but it just looked really fluffy. I decided to try pleating the fabric across the front instead of gathering. This pattern has a larger amount of fabric starting at the shoulders and across the chest that is pulled down by gathering and into the center seam line. The pattern piece for the under bodice is a flat version of it so you use it to gauge what the actual size would look like.

Once I had the pleats lined up nicely, at the suggestion of others on a sewing group, I tacked them down and then pressed them. I probably tacked them more than necessary but I just wanted to use one long thread instead of constantly tying them off. 

After this was done, I machine basted the shoulders and side seams to try it on. I hooked up the back & put it on inside out so I could mark the front seam allowance. Apparently with doing pleats instead of gathers, it leaves a lot of excess fabric because I had to take in quite a big seam. Now that I think of it, the front of my previous gown was kind of loose and fluffy.

 I marked w/ chalk where the pins went, and unpinned it to take it off. I had also cut down two inches under the arms to fit me.  I transferred all those markings to my pattern piece for my next dress. At this point I’m not cutting the pattern to those markings until I’m absolutely sure this will work.

Then I took out one side seam, sewed up the front seam and tried it on again. It still fit fine. The reason I took out the side seam was so I could get in and out of it w/o needing someone to hook and unhook me in the back. Now that everything was fitted I re-sewed all the seams properly.

I wanted to do piping on this bodice so cut some lengths of cording and laid in the middle of a 2” wide strip of my fabric, folded that in half over it, pinned it every couple inches, & used my zipper foot to sew as close to the cord as I could. (*This photo is before I trimmed off the excess fabric).

 Now I guess the proper way would be to layer the edge of the cord between the fabric and a lining or facing with the corded section poking out of the seam. However I decided I would use the 1” on either side of the cord as my facing. So I lined up the cord portion along the top of the folded edge of my front neckline, opened up the fabric seam and edge of the cording seam allowance and sewed again very close to the cord. Then I turned it over, trimmed off the excess fabric except for the outer edge that would become my facing. I ironed that edge under and will be hand sewing it down today. 

I’m going to repeat this on the bottom of my waist where it will attach to the skirt, and to the edge of my sleeve cuff to finish it.

***I’ll share one of my hand sewing tips: I hate sitting around sewing, or carrying my project around, with pins in it. I manage to poke myself mercilessly and lose pins all over the house, which my hubby’s feet always manage to find. So now once I have my hem, facings, or trims, pinned on, I baste it loosely so I can remove the pins. Also this way if I have to set it aside for a long period of time, no pins fall out.

                                                            --Val
FOR PART 2 GO HERE: http://timetravelingincostume.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-1830s-project-part-2.html

New chemises

It seems each year I say this: I need new chemises. Petticoats are apparently on the thin side too but I have enough to get by.

Sometimes they appear; sometimes they don't. I've given up hope that they will magically appear and with all my projects going on I just end up wearing the same ones that are in need of replacement. I have one sturdy antique one that gets worn occasionaly but I'd rather make my own. One year when we drove to Palm Desert to use up a week of our timeshare we were going to lose if we didn't, I used that time by bringing my sewing machine with me and cut out and sewed two chemises on my "Assembly Line", while hubby was golfing. Hmm, methinks we need another week to burn up, don't we dear?
I just got Jennifer Rosbrugh's Historical Sewing newsletter this morning and it reminded me that yes I did need new ones. Especially after my more recent ones were shredded in front by my new corset after they got caught in the front hooks. Granted, I had used a very very thin cotton; what was I thinking? But that's how you learn, by your mistakes.
And what did I do on the first day of the New Year? I started cutting out two new 1830s dresses. No chemises on the cutting table.

Until I got that newsletter in my email box this morning. Thank you Jennifer. The newsletter contained information on fabrics to use for them. http://historicalsewing.com/fabrics-for-undergarments
Hmmm, now that I'm reading it, she's announcing a Victorian undergarment online class in a few weeks. She's on Facebook too. https://www.facebook.com/HistoricalSewing
For the most part I haven't had any problem wearing the various ones I have for any time period as long as the neckline didn't show above the dress I was wearing. But in the last couple years I've made a lot of square neck dresses that those don't really work for, except my 1770s one. Even the ones that can be pulled down on the shoulders still show above that low square neckline.
In the past I've made ones from Kanicks Korner for my 1770s dresses, and they have a very wide open neckline that can be pulled in tighter with a ribbon, although that ribbon always seems to get lost inside its channel.

For my Victorian dresses the first ones I made were from Truly Victorian. The neckline and armholes were just finished off with beaded eyelet trim. At that time the split drawers were a foreign animal to me, and didn't come into my life until almost 10 years later.

Next I made a couple from Laughing Moon's pattern, which after I made it I found out the armholes had a tendency to be too narrow, and that's a major problem with me. But the neckline is really sweet.

Over the years I started collecting patterns for the underpinnings for all the eras I make. One of my favorites was for a bodiced petticoat for my Regency dresses, using LaMode Bagatelle's drawstring neck dress. It's a great replacement for the stays of that period. 

And here's where I found out I had a LOT of these patterns while digging around this morning for this blog. 

 Have yet to make corset covers but should.

When I first mentioned I needed a square neck pattern, I bought a pair of the TV combinations but the length from neckline to crotch was too short and uncomfortable so I'm waiting for a new pair. So someone suggested using an earlier time period pattern that had a very wide square neckline, Simplicity 2621. I bought it on sale and its sitting here next to me, ready to go on the pile to be cut. 

As I continued digging in my pattern stash I found this Past Patterns #002 that was given to me. The neckline isn't as deep as I'd like but it's for 1840 and is a little closer to the time period I want. I think I'll pull that out and take a closer look at it too. 

Now I'll go read Jennifer's article and see what I have in my fabric stash for them. 

While searching on Pinterest for pattern ideas, I can across this and had to share. 

Happy New Underpinnings Year to you!

My New Blog to a Book

Each year I've been having everything I posted in my blog during the year made into a soft cover book through SharedBooks.com since 2009. Its so nice to have a tangible copy of my blog to keep, and share if needed. I even had our entire trip to Europe that I blogged about made into a book for us and our family. I can't tell you how easy and inexpensive it is. You can even see an online copy of your own before you actually purchase, and you can put your own photos on the front and back, and choose a cover. If its your first time and you want all of it in one book, you can do that. Or you can type in a time range.

 

Right now until January 6, SharedBooks is having a sale of 15% off. It took almost $11 off my newest book. 

Give it a try. Wouldn't you love to have a copy of all your hard work in your hands?  The website is http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index-e.html?utm_source=SharedBook&utm_medium=email&utm_content=footer&utm_campaign=Jan1  

Use this code until Jan 6 to get your discount.   B2P2014    Once you've ordered your first book you'll get email notifications during the year of further sales, but its usually 15% off. I don't get any credit for this, I'm just a very satisfied customer.