Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Completely SMASHING weekend!

I picked up bodice_goddess after work on Friday afternoon, and headed home. We relaxed that night, poking through the goodies that she had brought on her trip. And oh my! What a pattern collection! She was good enough to let me hold on to the patterns until she comes back next month - I have a lot of work ahead of me!!

Holly was not able to make it down for the sewing, as she had done something nasty to her back. I am hoping that she'll make it up this next weekend. I think the plan is to make goggie costumes. Yay! (Although I'm hoping to not re-live the "dragon wing" experience. you just had to be there.)

On Saturday, we really got down to business. Bodice_goddess created a BEAUTIFUL corset that I am oh-so-jealous of! (The good part of this is that she purchased enough fabric for me to make a similar corset for me! YAY!)

The finished product:



Honestly, the pictures do not do the piece justice -- there is so much detail, and it is a stunning corset!

We took a quick break, and I was able to Skype with Melia. It was so nice to chat! I so wish she could have been here for the sewing festivities. She'll have a lot to catch up on when she gets back!

I worked on a bustle from Truly Victorian on Saturday, and I quite like the result! The layers of ruffles took an enormous amount of time, but well worth it in the end. As per usual, I read the instructions, then went merrily on my way completely ignoring them! Heh. I think you gain a sense of independence if you don't use commercial patterns on a regular basis. I think I may make a shorter bustle using the top back half of the pattern...the construction and support structure is really interesting, and I'd like to scale it up to make an even larger (!!!) bustle.



Both bodice_goddess and I finished up our separate projects on Saturday. She kindly put off working on her next project to help me with fitting and trimming my bodice. (All the ruffles? Made by her!) Here's a lowdown of what happened Sunday and Monday:

All the piece cut out (phew! That took f-o-r-e-v-e-r!) The stripey red is the main bodice fabric, and the gold is the accent bodice and trimming.


Checking the final fit....


Yards 'n yards of box pleats! Some have their gold piping added, some do not....


This is what it is going to look like, down either side of the front....(though the right side will actually have gold piping like the left when it's all said and done)


Box pleats and piping of DOOM! There is so much ridiculous fullness added by this trim...it's standing out on it's own in this picture - hardly need for a bustle! ;)

I cannot thank bodice_goddess enough for wrestling the pleating into submission! The striped fabric has an awful tendancy to curl once it's cut. She had her hands full with the 'stripey fabric o' doom'!


You can see a peek of the collar at the very top of this picture....I'm not extremely pleased with how the back seam turned out...that thick gold line is giving me fits, but it's a small thing in the big picture.


I cannot wait to get this bodice done so I can start on the skirts! I am *SO* excited! Bodice_goddess gave me some ideas for skirt trimming before she left, so I'm going to be experimenting and seeing what I can come up with.

I need to get this done before she comes back, because next time she's here, it'll be all about HER dress!

Still to do:
Bodice -
-Bodice trimming
-Bodice lining
-Bodice buttons/button holes (ugh, my least favorite)
Skirts -
-Petticoat
-Gold underskirt
-Stripey draped overskirt

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