A New 1860's Corset

I have been thinking about making a new mid-19th century corset for a while now. With an event coming up in October that I hope to attend, a new corset has become a mandatory project. Over the last two years I've gotten out of reenacting and sold almost all of my things. Now need to sew up a whole new wardrobe. (well, wardrobe may be a bit too ambitious of a word. I will be content with one complete outfit. For now.)

I knew I wanted to make a corset with both cording and boning this time. I was stuck for a while on what pattern to use, but when I came across the pattern I used for my last corset I decided to go with it. It worked out so well last time and it will be nice to not have to fit new mock ups and fiddle with draping and drafting. So, this corset will be yet another version of Simplicity 2890. 

I spent a while looking for original examples of corsets that use both cording and boning. I found it a harder task than I thought. I've always "heard" that an 1860's era corset can be corded AND boned but I haven't found any documentation of that. Purely corded corsets? Yes. Boned? Abundant. Both? Difficult. It is made more difficult since when using digital images to conduct research, the appearance of cording in a corset can often be confused with narrow whalebone or steels. So unless there are really good close up photos of a garment it's sometimes impossible to know what materials are being used. 

This lovely corset came from an eBay auction and is described as being a riding corset and as being piped. Dated to the mid-19th century, its shape is consistent with the cut and shape of other corsets of the era. The auction description also indicateds that this corset has a few "broken bones" so this may be documentation of a corset using both boning and cording for support. 

My desire to use cording in addition to boning is two-fold. Number one, cording really does provide a great amount of gentle stiffening and body to fabric. It prevents unsightly wrinkling that can sometimes occur between boned areas. Number two, it just looks freaking cool. 

I'm not sure where I saved this image, so please let me know where to give credit! This corset appears to be tightly corded in between the bones. 

After the heavily boned stays of the 18th century gave way to softer corded corsets in the early 19th century, the more structured looks of the 1840's onwards necessitated a stiffly supportive undergarment to provide a smooth torso base for the very fitted bodices of the time. Dresses fit quite tightly to the body (with a few exceptions - loose fitting wrappers and gowns for maternity and apparel worn for hard physical labor come to mind) and a purely corded corset would not provide the extremely smooth, tidy line required by fashion. Even the 1857 Godey's pattern and instructions for stays call for the use of boning for support, rather than cording. 

This beautiful tiny corset from the Fashion and Costume History site is described as being made for a girl. It is completely corded for support with the exception of the front busk and bones at the back to support the eyelets.  The date for this corset is the 1870's.

Cording was still used for garments that did require some amount of stiffening, such as petticoats, sunbonnets and stays for babies and children. And, cording does still show up in some corsets.

The eBay listing for this corset is no longer up, so we just have the picture to try to gather details from. Is this corded? It appears to be, though perhaps later than the 1860's. Is it boned as well as corded? That is harder to see, but it looks as if it might be if you look at the seams bordering the corded bust area. 

There was also a movement for healthful corsets in this period that frowned upon the use of tightly restrictive undergarments. The example of the riding corset above gives credence to the idea that a corded corset was used for more physically active activities. This leaves questions like; were corded corsets used because they were more flexible and comfortable to wear when performing physical tasks? Were they worn because they were considered more healthy/less restrictive? Were they worn in combination with boning to provide a medium ground of support? Was cording used in corsets purely as a decorative element?

This photograph from National Trust Images gives us a tantalizing back view of a corset that certainly appears to be both corded and boned. The image is meant to display the cage rather than the corset, so it is hard to see many details!

These are questions I will keep looking for answers to. But the time has come to start my corset so I am going ahead with a boned and corded corset while not knowing all the answers. I plan to use cording to add some stability to the fabric between the bones and to add a fun decorative touch.

 

So far I have the corset cut from my fabric - about all I could do while the babies were napping or otherwise occupied!

And the busk, zip ties for boning and the cord I will use.

Next up, sewing in the gussets!

Sewing For My Birthday Girl

My sweet little Anne celebrated her third (third!? how can that be possible?) birthday last month. While she is definitely quite a girly girl, she is also very much a tomboy. While her brothers gifted her with matchbox cars and barbie dolls she specifically requested a "doctor coat" so I decided to make one for her.

I used a thrifted white cotton sheet for the fabric and some plastic buttons recycled from an old garment. The collar came out a little awkward  but all in all I was happy with the finished coat. It has three big pockets and is roomy enough to allow her a little bit of growing room. Of course, white is the absolute worst color to put on an active preschooler. Already is full of marker stains and dirt stains and food stains, but hey, at least I can bleach it!

So far this is the only picture I have of her wearing it - she's in constant motion so it's hard to get many pictures of her!

I also made her a fluffy pink tutu. She has a little sparkly turquoise one that she has loved for the past year but it was getting small and dingy. I bought a few yards of tulle and some satin for a waistband and used the fabulous tutu tutorial at Starlight Masquerade to make her a birthday tutu. She was very happy with it!

The only thing I may add to future tutu's is a little underskirt sewn in with the waistband. It would eliminate the need to wear a skirt, shorts or leggings under the tutu and would protect the legs from being scratched. 

Happy birthday baby girl! 

18th Century Shortgown

I finally finished the shortgown I was working on over the weekend. It was a lot of handsewing compared to what I am accustomed to but I'm pleased with how it came out. It is a very simple but clever garment.

The shape is very simple. It's basically a T-shape with the sleeves cut as one with (or pieced on to) the body. There is no shoulder seam and the skirts are cut with a flare or have pieced on gores to add width to the hem. 

eeep! sorry my toes made an appearance in the photo. 

It is clever in how it is fit to the body with pleating at the back. This can fit nicely to the body and leaves the shoulders and arms with a lot of room for movement, which is ideal for working impressions. Love!

I made this one in striped cotton. It is unlined so all the seams had to be finished by hand, which is why it took me longer than I thought it would to finish it. It has no closures but can fasten with pins. Or, I could have added ties to it. Pins are easier though. ;) 

From what I understand these garments were worn as casual wear for "at home" times by ladies or as a practical alternative to the more fitted gown for ladies who had to perform physical labor. Since I ultimately compare everything to the 1860's, this strikes me as a early version of the 60's sacque and petticoat type of outfit, which were also more loosely fitted and worn for at home or working scenarios. 

This one is available in my etsy shop. My dressform shape isn't right for the 18th century period but here is a general idea of how it will look when worn: 

   

Renn Bodice from Sense and Sensibility Romantic Pattern

I am a bit behind in chronicling my sewing projects, but here is a recent one I finished last week. It is now on its way to its new home and hopefully will see a lot of use in the future!

So, I made a Renn Faire Bodice. At every Faire I go to I see these bodices, in a wide range of colors, fabrics and trims. Generally the fit is similar. Snug fitting, with the cut of the bodice helping to lift and support the bust. I have seen bodices with princess seams, darted-to-fit and, like mine here, cut as shaped pieces that are only seamed at the shoulders and sides. The garment itself is not really representative of any particular era of history, although I suppose it resembles the fit of an Elizabethan or Tudor style kirtle bodice. Paired with a chemise and petticoat it gives a very pretty look and would also work well for a hobbit costume.

I decided to work with an actual commercial pattern as my base for this bodice. Since Sense and Sensibility Patterns  allows use of their products for home seamstresses who make garments to sell, I took the Romantic Era Dress pattern and modified it to become a bodice pattern.

This particular bodice was cut in the size 16, using the front, back and side back pieces. I eliminated the darts in the front bodice pieces using the technique described here and then cut out each pattern piece in my fabrics - a brown floral brocade for the outer layer and a sturdy green cotton twill for the lining. I cut down the neckline of the original pattern a bit as well as the armscyes.

I sewed up the layers using the seaming technique I used for my mid-19th century shaped seam corset and finished the front opening by turning the seam allowances in towards each other and sewing close to the fold. I sewed a channel for a bone at each side seam and at the center front openings.

After inserting the bones, I put in two piece grommets for lacing and bound the armscyes, waist and neckline with the same green cotton twill that I used for the lining. A simple green twill ribbon works nicely for lacing.

And so we have a Renn Faire Bodice!

I liked how it came out so much that I wanted to keep it for myself. However, it is unfortunately (fortunately?) too big for me so I could not. I do, however, have more of the same fabric left...perhaps I can sew one for next years Olde English Faire.

Regency Roundgown - Finished Dress

Here are some photos of the finished gown! It was completed by inserting the waistline drawstring and hemming the skirt.

While I was finishing it I also finished reading Mansfield Park and I was saddened. I used to dislike that book more than any of Austen's others but now it is very close to being my favorite Austen novel. Odd??? I have no idea what changed my mind. The movie adaptions are still bad, though. In my opinion.

I took a few photos of me wearing it. Even without being custom fit and without stays, it still works pretty well! 

The gown is now is for sale in my etsy shop. I have started a new set of stays for myself although I am not sure when they will be completed. Now to finish my Benji-Boys 1860's unders. He has been sick this past week, poor fellow, and was more in need of snuggles and sleep than anything. Thankfully he has made a full recovery and is back to his cheerful, exploratory old self. 

A Regency Roundgown - Sleeves and Skirt

It has been a rather wet and humid week and I was able to quickly get the sleeves done, in the course of about an afternoon. Generally sleeves are my least favorite parts of a garment to sew - yet for some reason the most satisfying.

Now, here I must share the extremely important information to ALWAYS SAVE YOUR SLEEVE PATTERNS. Sleeves are hard, but its easier when you have a base pattern to start from. I generally trace off my finished bodice mock ups to save as a pattern for future gowns but for some reason fail to trace and save the sleeves. Do not make my mistakes; learn from them. Save the sleeves.

So. This sleeve is a super basic elbow length sleeve. Its cut with an S shaped head, so the seam runs down the back of the arm. Little pleats take in the excess fullness of the sleeve head and are set at the back of the arm. This way of cutting, coupled with a deeply cut back armscye, gives maximum flexibility to arm movement.

And all that I need to do is sew up that seam, finish the seam, hem the bottom and thats it.

The finished sleeves are pinned into the armscyes. Now, generally you fit the sleeves as you go and then sew them in after you perfect their hang on your own arms. This dress is from a pattern I draped to fit my dressform, not me, so I didn't fit the sleeves again after the initial draping.

And an inside view: 

If desired, the armscye seam can be finished. The tidiest looking (well, in my opinion anyway) is binding the armscyes. 

And here is what it looks like so far!

The skirt is extremely easy - just two rectangles seamed together, with a slit cut and hemmed at center front for the front opening. 

I cut this skirt with a slight train at the back (very slight) so the top edge of the rectangle skirt was cut higher in the back, tapering down at the sides to the front. This enables the hem to be sewn easily (no curves to hem) and still gives the extra length at the back to train prettily. 

To sew the skirt to the bodice, I pleated up fabric at the back in deep pleats. leaving the skirt plain at the side and front. 

After pinning the skirt to the bodice, I sewed it together. Woo ya. The seam between the bodice and skirt at the front and sides will be sewn to become the drawstring channel for the waistline. The seam allowance at the back (where the skirt is pleated) will be covered in self fabric binding. Here's a back view: 

And front: 

A Regency Roundgown - Bodice

Last fall I draped a new pattern for a basic regency drawstring bodice and wanted to experiment with it to see what kinds of garments I could make from one basic pattern. I made a short jacket/bodice to wear over a gown or a petticoat, an open robe and now I'm finally making a round gown. So far I have made the bodice and cut the sleeves. This type of gown has a skirt that is attached all the way around the waist (thus making it a "round" gown) and the opening is at the front. The bodice has a fitted lining that pins shut at the bust and the outer layer is gathered up on drawstrings over it. The skirt has a center front slit that is hidden when the drawstring waistline is gathered up. 

First, I cut the back and side pieces from my dress fabric. I also cut a layer of cotton for lining: 

They were sewn together with the lining and outer fabric treated as one. 

I usually sew the fitted lining, or flaps, as a single layer hemmed all around the edges. For these, though, I cut two layers and sewed them together and turned them right sides out for a sturdier flap, since I want to see if this will support the bosom better if worn without stays. 

And here is the lining piece laid over the outer bodice, matching armscyes. I've turned under a narrow hem at the neckline of the outer bodice for the neckline drawstring. 

To finish the seams I turned them under and felled them down by hand. 

The neckline casing for the drawstring was stitched down, the front edges of the bodice hemmed and the strings run through: 

Then the front and back were sewn together at the shoulder and sides and voila! A bodice. :) 

Okay, I will need you to excuse the sad state of my dressform. After being used by me for a while she was lent out to several other people and was returned in a rather disheveled state. The inner parts wore out, snapped off and gave up and I was on the verge of tossing her into the garbage when I decided to try one last time to make her work for me. She got a new wooden pole and a Christmas tree stand to keep her upright and I taped the body together with white duct tape. So, she lives again. For how long? Who knows. But for now she works well enough for my purposes. 

Bodice lining pinned shut, and the outer bodice gathered up over it. 

Next up: sleeves. 

I'm looking forward to seeing this dress finished. I've been re reading Mansfield Park and this simple style of dress and informal cotton print is one I can imagine Fanny wearing.