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review

Truly Victorian 1913 Late Edwardian Corset

If we’re going through our layers from skin out, after the combinations comes the corset. And y’all, this is THE EASIEST corset I’ve ever made.  It’s a single layer of coutil (no lining), and there are no gores or gussets, so fitting is fairly simple. I made a mock-up for peace of mind before cutting into my coutil (that stuff is expensive!), but I didn’t make any major fit changes to the mockup. If I were braver (more foolhardy?), I could have skipped it.

As with my Wearing History combinations, I chose the e-pattern version of the Late Edwardian Corset from Truly Victorian. I resisted e-patterns for years after they started becoming popular, but I finally saw the light: INSTANT GRATIFICATION. And taping a pattern together takes about the same amount of time as tracing one off, so they don’t take more prep time for me. I’ve used a number of e-patterns from different companies at this point, and I have to commend the historical/vintage patternmakers – in my experience, the e-patterns from these companies generally go together much more easily than e-patterns from modern indie pattern companies.

I chose this particular overbust style because someday I’d like to do a proper Titanic-era outfit. The slim hip wasn’t as critical for this 1918 outfit, but it will be great under a more fitted 1912 dress. I LOVE the sleek silhouette this corset gives! Late-teens clothes aren’t extremely fitted, so if you wanted to skip the corset you could probably get away with it, but I enjoyed the effect it gives. It doesn’t cinch down much (and I’m not very squishy anyway – my corseted waist is usually about the same as uncorseted) but it REALLY changes your posture. No slouching allowed!

The instructions for this pattern have step-by-step text and a few illustrations, but I followed Jen’s 1910s corset tutorial at Festive Attyre for most of my construction. I guess my corset still is technically unfinished (no garter hooks, no lace at the top, etc) but it’s completely wearable, so honestly it’s probably as finished as it’s ever gonna be. For the Great War Gallop I wore knee-high socks from the Dollar Tree, which worked fine. Maybe someday I’ll want “proper” stockings, and then I’ll have to attach garter hooks. Maybe.

I do want to share how I handled the fitting stage. I stitched together the panels, inserted the front busk, back grommets, back (steel) bones and sandwiched my waist stay tape into the back facing seam. At this point there is only boning at the CF and CB, but you can try it on and get an idea of how it will fit and make adjustments because the seams are not yet covered with the boning casing. I ended up letting out the waist about 1/4″ on every seam to get a straight lacing gap in the back. I also made sure to sit while wearing it, so I could get an idea of where the bones needed to end in the front (the wrinkles show where my hips bend, so the boning shouldn’t extend past that point).

Inside of the partially constructed corset, ready for fitting

The waist stay, boning channels, and top and bottom binding all use 1″ twill tape, because I have a massive roll in my stash, so I use it for EVERYTHING. I used synthetic whalebone for the first time, and I found it to be very similar to the zip-ties I have used in other corsets. It’s so great to be able to easily fine-tune the length of the bones! I just use scissors and a heavy duty nail file to shape the tips.

Inside of the finished corset, nice and wrinkled from an afternoon of dancing!

Sense and Sensibility Chemise

Today is the end of the long Thanksgiving weekend here in the US, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it! We visited with family on Wednesday and Thursday, and on Friday Chris and I met up with friends to go see the Debbie Reynolds costume auction preview in Beverly Hills. (other) Chris from wacky tacky and Lauren from Wearing History did write-ups of our visit, so pop over to check those out!

In other news, I’ve been buckling down and starting to work on some Regency wear in earnest – the annual Jane Austen Evening is at the end of January, so it’s time to get going!
This week I made a chemise from the Sense and Sensibility Underthings pattern. It was nice to work on such an easy-going garment – I tend to get wrapped up in fitting, make 3 mockups, and then burn out before getting to the real thing! I’m usually of the tank-top-is-good-enough opinion when it comes to undergarments that won’t be seen, but someday I want to make a nice sheer white gown, so having a proper chemise is important. It was very easy to put together, and I even did the flat felled seams. Loose fit and cotton? I might have to make more clothing like that…
I only have 2 comments regarding this pattern:
1) Even though I technically fall into the Medium size category, I made the Small chemise. It’s plenty big enough! On the next one I might even remove some of the fullness – I’d rather have a slimmer chemise and add more fullness with a petticoat, if necessary.
2) For the bias casing around the neckline, the instructions say to stitch the bias tape to the neck, then fold back 1/4″ on the other side of the bias tape. That’s insanely hard! Press back the 1/4″ BEFORE you stitch the bias tape to the neckline and you’ll be much happier.
Here some photos of Beatrice wearing my chemise over the Mantua Maker stays…the stays are basically done, but I’m not entirely happy with them and still want to tweak them. But that’s for another post!
Blurry Photo – whoops! :o) I shortened the chemise hem length only about an inch, and probably shouldn’t have even done that. It rides up a little with the stays on.
I really like the drawstring at the neckline – it’s adjustable so you can raise or lower the neckline depending on your gown. The strings are on the inside, and you tie it at the front.
Obviously, the back neckline is adjustable too. 🙂 (Re: the stays, yes I did cross-lacing instead of spiral. I think it would be nearly impossible to get dressed in rear opening spiral laced stays without a maid!) 
Side View illustrating how the stays only come halfway up the breast, and the chemise holds in the top – here’s a great post about the proper fit of stays on the Oregon Regency Society blog.

Pattern Review: 30’s Trousers from Wearing History

Over the last couple of weeks things have finally started calming down and I’ve managed to squeeze in some personal sewing time. I’ve known for months what my next project was going to be – I’ve been desperate to try Wearing History‘s pattern for mid-30’s trousers – how cute is this?!

Smooth Sailing by Wearing History
I’m a tad bit obsessive about fit (I’ve been known to sew while in my skivvies so that I can try on the garment every 30 seconds) so I figured my first pair would just be a mockup and I’d have to tweak the pattern for the real one. This was one time I was GLAD to be wrong! 😉 Lauren did such a great job updating the original pattern that I only needed minor tweaks. 30’s & 40’s trousers are notorious for low crotches and shapeless legs, but she’s done a great job of adjusting this pattern in all the right ways.
In addition, this pattern has all new instructions – a vast improvement over vintage sewing instructions! No need to fear if you’re still learning how to sew.
The only change I made to these was shortening the front & back rise 1″ (I’m shortwaisted and the waistband was creeping up my ribcage). Seriously. The ONLY change. Awesome. Look how cute!
(I think Chris is making shadow puppets on me in the Back view)
I found some bluish-gray checked fabric on sale at Jo-anns – it’s a poly-rayon blend, so it’s machine washable but still drapes nicely. I think next time I’ll do a lightweight denim or chambray – I want to be just like the pattern cover!
A few notes:
The waistband is snug, so if you’re in between sizes, go up.
The hips and thighs are cut full, so if you’re larger on the bottom, no worries. If you’ve got slim thighs, I hate you you might want to cut a smaller size through the leg.
I skipped the belt loop template and just stitched them on where they looked nice.
I hemmed them slightly shorter than the pattern because I hate getting caught up in cuffs.