New corset!

I like a challenge, so I decided to make a corset for a friend of mine who has an extremely hourglass figure, and has difficulty finding corsets off the rack that fit right. I like how this turned out.

She is an F-cup or something like that, but I don't go by that. I made a duct tape double of her, afterwhich I did one in-person fitting and determined that the waist needed to be taken in by about 4" from the size I started with, and I let it out in the hips by about 4".

The finished measurements on the corset are 52"-38"-48".

Once again, I used the tried and true Laughing Moon corset pattern, with adjustments as noted above. I got much heavier than normal steel boning for this one, too. 

Kannik's 1812 waistcoat: progress report

The fronts are just about done. The pocket, lining, and buttonholes are in. After doing the pocket and lining all by hand, I resorted to machine sewing the buttonholes. I tried handsewing one, and it just looked hideous.

On the cutting table: 18th c. corset and gown

So I've been working on a "big" sewing project, little by little, when I can find time, and its just something I've been wanting to do for a while. I finally have most of the materials I need together, and I've been trying to use as much from my stash as possible. It is basically an historical costume, but with a little fantasy thrown in.

I am almost finished with the corset:


For being a Simplicity pattern this is actually historically very accurate. I have a collection of historical corset patterns, and just decided to try this one because its relatively simple: has the least number of pieces and was easy to adjust for a large bust. Some of the other patterns I have from this period are dauntingly complicated. I might use the chemise pattern here, too, but I'm not doing these panniers. I have my own pattern for those, which I drafted from one of my historical costume books.

And for the gown, I have a bunch of patterns to choose from there as well, but I think I'm going to go with this one:


I have a felt hat blank waiting in the wings for this project, and I have the most awesome pair of Jon Fluevog shoes...will post photos soon, I promise!