Embroidered Forepart and Over Sleeves

I have begun the next phase! Here is a portrait of Jane Seymour (1537) that shows the forepart and sleeves decorated with black outline embroidery and silver oes (sequins). This is going to be an amazing project! :D

I plan to recreate these elements as closely as I possibly can. I have a curtain I picked up at a goodwill a couple years ago that looks very similar to the pattern on J.S.'s forepart and sleeves. And while it's not a voided velvet, it does come close.

I have a couple spools of black silk thread I will use doubled up to embroider with and I purchased a bag of about 14,000 flat silver sequins. Since I cannot possibly afford to punch oes from a sheet of flattened silver, the plastic sequins will just have to do. :P

March 14, 2008

It took me a couple days, but I finally got the pattern for the forepart to look half-way decent. I kept it pinned to the dressform for a couple days to make sure I liked the look of it. I made it nice and wide incase of flip-backs caused by the wind lifting my divided over-skirts. The overskirt won't show a whole lot of the forepart while at rest. So a lot of the embroidery won't be seen unless the wind takes my skirts! :( such a lot of work...

I drafted up the pattern for the sleeves, but forgot to take pictures. :( I used the patterns found in the Tudor Tailor and drafted both variations onto my butcher paper. Neither one gave me the right size and shape for the J.S. sleeve I'm going for so I drafted another pattern right in between the two from the book. My pattern works great! Now I get to finally use that beautiful curtain I rescued! (I only wish they'd had 2 of them!) :D

Time for this project: 3 hours

March 24, 2008

Here I am cutting out the forepart. When I took the pattern off the dressform it was quite curved. It really didn't want to lay out flat, but I managed to press it out carefully with my hands so I could get the whole pattern on the fabric. I moved it around a couple times to place the pattern of the fabric where I wanted it. There is no discernable repeat so I didn't have to center it. Which is good because I still had sleeves to cut out!

Here I am cutting out the sleeves. Instead of folding the fabric and cutting on the fold, I wanted total control of the pattern. So I pinned it in place and then placed pins along the pattern edge to mark it onto the fabric. After cutting that half I carefully unpinned and flipped the pattern over to finish the "fold cut". The second sleeve was much harder to cut out because I just had to fussy cut it. I couldn't just slap it on the fabric and cut away. I wanted the sleeves to have some sort of similarity when folded in front of me, so I had to make sure to reverse the pattern on the fabric to get the same look. This proved even more difficult because I couldn't match the layout exactly - the fabric pattern always ended up on the wrong side of the sleeve. So I had to compromise and pick a place in the fabric that would give the two sleeves a similar pattern even though they didn't exactly match. It'll do I guess.

I spent 1.75 hours on this which brings the total to 4hs 45min

March 26, 2008

Here they are! The two sleeves are now nicely hemmed. I debated whether I should do that, but the fabric unravelled so easily I was afraid to touch it! So in the end I decided to hem the edges. I turned them under where I'd marked them with the pins so they are the same size as the pattern. Once I get them embroidered and all the oes stitched in place, then I will line them with something...probably linen. Depending on how stiff they become after all the stitching, I might need to add some canvas to give them a bit more body. This top fabric is exceptionally soft and flimsy.

I spent 1.5 hours hemming the sleeves.

Project total= 6hrs 15min

Sleeve #1 Completed April 3, 2008

Here it is modeled with the cuff and pinned to the kirtle to see how it would hang. I've not added the oes yet and I'm not sure I will just yet. I'm still thinking about that decision.

Sleeve #1 took 16.5 hours to complete.
Sleeve #2 took 15hrs 15min to complete (completed 4/19/08)

Project total= 38 hrs.

FOREPART started 4/19/08

This is the forepart as of 9/6/08 at 52 hrs 35 min of embroidery. It's taking longer for me to finish this than I thought as I get really tired of stitching the same design over and over. As I get toward the center of the panel it's getting harder to hold the fabric while I stitch. I tend to work on it a couple times a week for an hour or so at a time. I'm really fighting the boredom with this project. The sad part is, I still have another cuff to embroider yet! ugh.

Total project hours= 90 hrs 35 min

February 8, 2009 FINISHED!

Another 72 hours of back-breaking, eye-straining, finger-pricking embroidery and it's all done! I was originally thinking I'd also add the silver oes as well, but now I'm thinking about being lazy :P Who knows, I may give in... on to the next project!

Total project time= 163hrs 35min

Blackworked Cuffs

December 10, 2007

Today I decided to get started on the cuffs for my gown. I am making a reproduction of Lady Jane Seymour's cuffs. I am so very thankful to have found a website with the pattern already redacted! Saves me a whole lot of time. I did print off some graph paper in various sizes and I've been redrawing the pattern in different sizes to get a feel for how it's going to go together. I've probably spent about 5 hours drawing this pattern over and over!

I pulled out my even-weave linen and threw it in the wash thinking today was the day. But later as I stood over the ironing board pressing out said piece of linen I realized that maybe I should make a little sample first. Turns out I actually had a good idea there for a second.

The sample is on a scrap of the linen I plan to use but I used some leftover black DMC floss I had from an earlier project. Turns out the pattern for this cuff is relatively easy to do. I expected a lot of problems with trying to find a way through that would result in no repeated stitches, but it worked out without any mishaps at all!

Here is my handy work for the afternoon. Not to shabby, eh?

Now if only the real deal should go so smoothly, right? This sample took 2 hours to complete. It measures 2 3/4" from diamond tip to tip. I'm thinking I may work a second sample and try bumping up the stitch size a bit. I don't know. It looks like a good size, but I may keep stitching and make the sample a bit longer so I can see the pattern draped over my arm and pleated up a bit. Sounds like a lot of work just for a sample, I know. But it'll be worth it to make these cuffs a resounding success! Plus...I'm just crazy that way. :D

Project time: 5 hours drawing + 2 hours stitching = 7 hrs.

December 11, 2007

After looking at that cuff for several months, and drawing and re-drawing that pattern on graph paper, you'd think I'd realize that I missed an entire line when I embroidered it! D'oh!

I wondered why it looked so open when the painting shows it to be quite compacted. So now I have to do another test patch. This time I'm also going to reduce the stitch size as well and see what I get.

December 13, 2007



Here is the second attempt shown next to the first. This time I got the correct number of lines and I reduced the stitch. The pattern is larger than the first yet comes out 1/4" smaller, and it took 6 hours to get this far (the other only took 2). But it's much more compacted like the portrait and I really really like it this way. :D So I do believe this project will consume a considerable number of hours, but most definitely worth it!

I'm taking this project along when we head north for the holidays. I hope to have one cuff completed by the time we get back! I'll have to pick up more linen for the other cuff anyway. :D

Project time = 13 hrs.

January 21, 2008

Beginning Dec 15, 2007 I started stitching on this sleeve. And today it is finished. Sort of. I still have to finish the edge with either french knots or some really tiny beads.

I have 38 hrs 10 min of embroidery into this cuff.

I don't even know how many times I had to pull out stitches and back up. I can't count the number of times I found myself cross-eyed trying to follow the pattern!

But I did it! I did it and now I have to do it again. You need 2 cuffs, ya know!

Project total = 51 hrs. 10 min.

The Kirtle

August 12, 2007

I pulled out my copy of The Tudor Tailor and decided it wouldn't hurt to try out the kirtle bodice pattern. I spent the afternoon scaling up the pattern and making a toile. I even partially boned it and put in handbound eyelets to make sure the fitting would be as accurate as possible.



I followed the directions exactly, except for moving the lacing to the sides rather than the back. There is no way I can successfully lace myself into a back lacing corset. I'm not that flexible!

I tried it on and fiddled with it. I notice the shoulder straps aren't quite long enough for me. I also don't like the neckline. The directions have you stitching a cord along the neckline and then pull the ends to bring the edge closer to the body. While this works to create the correct silhouette, I'm not sure about the historical accurateness of this method.

I lucked out, because except for the straps it fits great. I will have to add about an inch to the back waistline, but that's it.

I'm not certain I'll be using this pattern yet. I'll have to do some research.

Project total = 6 hours

August 16, 2007

I finally decided to try another bodice pattern for the kirtle.

I used the drafting directions found at Ravendreams. It took about an hour to measure myself. I took my measurements while wearing my corset. That way, I can have added support in the kirtle bodice if I decide not to wear the corset. And if I do wear the corset, then the bodice of the kirtle will fit closely. It all works out!

After drafting the pattern I cut out a toile, carefully marking the seam allowances. Somehow, I ended up with an overlap of 2 inches in the front! How in the world?

That's as far as I got. Project hours = 11.5 hrs


August 22, 2007

Back to work. I set up the dummy, corset still on, and put the toile back on her. I pinned up the shoulders where they needed to curve a bit more and pinned the front closed nice and tight.

I drew in the lines of the corset onto the toile, making sure my lines were just outside the actual lines of the corset. I'm debating adding anymore leeway. I decide not to. And I may regret it. :P

Now I grab my overworked seam ripper and take to the side seam. I want the front to lie nice and smooth so I'll be lacing this up the side. Once it's off the dummy I cut out around the lines I drew in, making a new pattern of the bodice. Then I trimmed off the shoulders where they needed to curve and unpicked the rest of the seams. I used the pieces of the toile to make another toile out of the orange twill to double check myself. You know, just in case. It looked okay so I decided to move on.

I now have a front and a back piece of the toile. These I took out to the table and traced onto another piece of paper. I very, very carefully refigured the seam allowances and the added allowance for the lacing edges.
I cut out my new bodice pattern. Total project time so far = 12.75 hrs


Here's where it gets fun. I now get to cut into all those wonderful fabrics I spent hours ironing! I have to admit I'm a little nervous.

First things first, I cut out some canvas for the interlining. I cut the full pattern, without seam allowance, for the front bodice. For the back I cut only the body part - no straps. I did this thinking I might get a better fit. We'll see.

Then I cut out the lining. I'm using black 100% linen. I know I'm not supposed to use black, but black is what I've got. For some reason, when I unpinned the patterns from the fabrics, I placed the back piece in front of me and the front piece behind me. In the corner of my mind I was wondering about this while laying out the top fabric. I really should have layed them out the other way, so it would make sense when trying to remember which piece was which, right? Silly me, eh?

Anyway, I managed to remember which was which and placed the top fabrics with the linings.

At this point, my back was really starting to ache from bending over the table. When I have a craft room again, my table is going to be raised up so I don't have to bend like that! During my break, I run around trying to find my other box of pins.

Successful in the hunt, I come back and begin putting this bad boy, ahem, girl, together. I laid out the top fabric and placed the canvas on it, centering it all around. Remember, the canvas has no seam allowance. This is so I can fold the seam allowance of the top fabric over the canvas without a lot of bulk. I work my way around, clipping the curves as needed and pin everything down on both the front and the back.

Now I get to hand baste these together. I used a white thread so I'd be easy to see later when I pull it out. I also stayed well away from the edge so the stitches wouldn't get caught later.

After basting, I took them back to the table. Oh my back!

I laid out the front and placed the lining on it, smoothing it out. I flipped it over so the lining was on the table and I could make sure the top fabric/canvas layer was centered all around. Then I clipped where I needed to clip, flipped it back over and pinned all the edges. I did this for both pieces.

Now I get to sew again. I'm doing all this work by hand, so the hours are really stacking up!

I very carefully, using a blind stitch, attach the lining to the top fabric/canvas layer. At some point during all this stitching, I recall that I forgot to put one of my leather thimbles on my finger. I'm really going to regret that! :D

Both pieces are finished, and basting stitches are removed.

Now I'm ready to put this all together. I started with the side seam. I placed the two edges right sides together and whipped the finished edges together. When I pulled it open they were butted up to each other very nicely. Luckily, I checked my progress before I got all the way up the seam. I noted that the two sides were not the same length. So I undid the lining from the larger piece, trimmed it back and redid all the finishing work. Then completed the side seam.

I had to redo the strap ends as well. It seems I didn't think to make sure the two edges matched up! I've made a mental note not to do that again.

At this point I've spent 6 hours on the bodice. I'm calling it a night.

Total project time = 18.75 hours


August 23, 2007

So my fingers are really hurting today. But I'm determined to get this bodice done!

At this point I'm thinking I'm ready to begin the eyelets. Unfortunately, when I place the two edges together, one side is longer than the other. So I have to unpick, trim down, and refinish that edge. I make a mental note to fix that blasted pattern before I forget!

That took another hour and a half. It probably shouldn't have taken that long, but for some reason I've become a little specific about how my stitches look. Maybe it's because of the amount of time I'm putting into this project. I just want it to be RIGHT!

So now I'm ready to begin the eyelets. Now I know a lot of costumers hate putting in eyelets. But I actually find it quite relaxing. I've perfected my system so there's no stress. Unless I break the thread or something. :P

Despite several interruptions, 5 hours later all my eyelets are done. I grabbed my lacing cord, whipped stitches around one end, (the other stays tied to the bodice), put my stuff away and ran to the trailer to try it on my dummy.

Voila! Bodice is done. Now, remember how I said I might regret not giving a little more allowance around the corset when I drew those lines in on the toile? Yeah. I goofed. The shoulder straps ended up being too thin to cover the corset straps, and the back is cut way too low for some reason. I can't think how I did that? :[

I'm not worried about though. I plan to wear this without the corset anyway. Though now that I think about it, I probably should have put another layer of canvas in there for a little more support. But, on the other hand, the bodice of the gown will have some extra support, plus a stomacher over that to create a nice smooth torso.

I think it's all going to work out nicely. Total project time = 25.25 hrs

PS I'll add the pictures soon!

January 25, 2008

Well, it's a new year. I'm finally getting some more work done on this dress. Today I took the day to actually lay out my fabrics and cut the panels for the skirts.

I started with my lining fabric. (and it's a good thing, too!) I measured out my front panel, making it the same size as the 2 back panels would be, so I'd have extra fullness at the hemline. But, when I rolled out the rest of the linen for the 2back pieces, I ran short. Grrr. So, I did what any thrifty Elizabethan woman would do. I made my front panel one of the back panels, cut another back panel, flipped the leftover fabric and cut a new front panel, this one a little less generous, but still enough to make a decent skirt.

Next, I cut out my top fabric and then I cut a piece of canvas to line the front panel with. Except the canvas ran short too so I had to do some piecing to make the angles work. No biggie.

Next step was to sew up all the seams. I left one side seam undone about 10 inches as this is where the opening is on the bodice.

Everything was hand-stitched using a back stitch. And then I called it a day.

Project total = 31 hrs 35 min

January 26, 2008

I wasn't planning on working on the dress today, but I had some time so I figured, why not?

The first step was putting the layers all together. Those skirts are heavy! By themselves the linen and the lightweight wool don't feel very heavy. But after putting them together, wow! Because the two layers are quite thin I decided to use some wadding for the pleats.

So I used some natual, needle punched quilt batting. I cut strips about 6" wide and 45" long. I placed 2 pieces of the wadding end to end and stitched them together without any kind of seam allowance so there wouldn't be any lumps there. Then I placed this long strip between the layers of linen and wool and basted it all together.

Now the fun begins! I yanked all that fabric around the dress form, over the hoop and petticoat, to see what kind of shape I was in. And that's when I realized my mistake. I put the opening on the wrong side. Grrr... and here I thought this was going to happen without a hitch...

So, out comes the seam ripper. I undid the finished edges of the opening and stitched them closed. Not a problem. The problem came when I had to rip open the other side and put in an opening. Because this is hand-stitched, I can't just stitch over like I would on a sewing machine. So I had to go all the way down the seam to where I'd last tied off. On one seam that was only a couple inches past the 10" opening. But on the other it was a good 16" extra. Bummer. But I did it. And used up all my black thread in the process. Luckily, while cleaning up a little later I discovered another spool...

Anyway....once the new seams were done and I finished up the new openings I put it back on the dress form to see about those pleats.

I'm not happy.

The front panel just doesn't look good. I don't know what the deal is. I play with it again tomorrow...maybe...

Project total = 33 hrs 35 min

January 30, 2008

I was totally phyched to get going and I pinned the bodice to the skirt and was just about to start whipping those babies together when something caught my eye:

I DIDN'T FINISH THE UPPER EDGES OF THE SKIRT!!!!

D'oh! I'm such a dweeb. So it only took a few minutes to unpin them. I measured the raw edge to see how much binding I needed, cut a few strips off a scrap of wool, stitched them together and started pinning again.

I stitched through once on the front, turned the binding, pinned again, and commenced stitching.

This, of course, took a little longer, but I finished it!

Project total: 35 hrs 40 min

February 6, 2008

Now the fun can finally begin! (And it's my birthday!)

I repinned the bodice to the skirt. I pushed all the cartridge pleats toward the center, carefully pushing the center together and marking it with a pin. Once I had it all pinned together, I flipped it right side out to take a peek. Looks pretty good here doesn't it?

I took a quick break to eat some cake (jello cake -yum!) and then washed my hands and got back to the dress.

I pulled out my heavy upholstery thread and got started. I was a little bummed I couldn't find any dark grey thread. Is there really no one out there with grey upholstry? Anyway, I decided on a medium slate blue. It actually does blend with the grey quite well. But not invisible.

When you do cartridge pleating the stitches stay in the material - you don't take them out. Here's what I'm not happy about. The pattern I used as a basis for my skirt came from The Tudor Tailor book. I dutifully scaled it up to my size. I marked all the measurements down and I cut the back panels exactly as I should. And you know what? The cartridge pleats don't go all the way across the back! I pushed them together to hide the stitching, so there aren't enough pleats to go from side seam to side seam. If I'd loosened them, the stitches would be seen. Grrrr....

Regardless, I'm not changing it. It's done. But I've made a mental note to cut the back panels of the overgown much more generously to make sure I have the coverage I need.

Here it is from the side. Check out that BUM!!!

Project total = 36 hrs 45 min

March 3, 2008

I have now spent quite a bit of time working on the hem. I put the kirtle on the mannequin over the petticoat and hoops and pinned up the hem just a tad longer than the petticoat. Then I did a quick runny stitch very close to the bottom edge. This process took about 2 hours.

Later I tried it on to make sure the hemline was okay on me. A little low in one spot but not enough to cause any problems as the forepart will cover this. So I got to work finishing it up.

I trimmed back all the excess fabric and left in the running stitch. I cut several strips of matching wool from some scraps and french seamed them together. Then I pinned the binding to the outside of the skirt, thinking I'd wrap it around the hemline and finish it up on the inside. I stitched for 4 hours - a backstitch, no less- and then got ready to turn it....

GRRR....the stupid binding was too skinny! And I measured 3 times to make sure! Apparently I didn't take into account that the hem was thick due to turning it under and stitching it in place. So, I took out the seam ripper and removed the binding. But I didn't have enough scraps to cut more so I had to figure this out.

I trimmed the hemline again, this time right up to the running stitch, which I still left in place. Then I pinned the binding to the INSIDE of the skirt. This time I only stitched a little bit and then checked to make sure I could turn it and have enough fabric to finish. This time it worked.

I was so fed up with it I didn't bother to backstitch this time. So I did the first line of stitching with a small running stitch with a few backstitches here and there. Then I turned it and finished up with a hem stitch. Another 4 hours later and voila! Hemline complete.

This brings us to a project total of 46hrs and 45 min. whew! And it's not done yet!

March 8, 2008

Today I decided to try on the kirtle with the corset underneath, just to make sure I'm on track here. I'm a little miffed.

I thought for sure I'd be able to side lace this thing with me in it! NOOOOOOO...not happening! So unless I want to remake the bodice, I'm going to have to buy a 4yd length of cord and prelace this super loosely and get into it that way.

And the shoulder straps are too big. Too big! I even noticed (for the first time) that the right shoulder on my corset is too big as well. What happened here? I don't know what I'm going to do about the corset. I really don't want to take apart that shoulder.

As for the kirtle, I sat down and took apart the shoulder seams. I undid the lining and folded back the extra bit by 1/2". Then I put it all back together and tried it on again. I needed another 1/4" or so to make it nice and snug. So I took it apart and again and went ahead and took apart the other shoulder as well, since it was loose as well. I readjusted the length of the strap, restitched everything and whipped the shoulder straps together. This time when I tried it on the straps were nice and snug.

All of this took about 4 hours. I was originally putting this on to measure how much I wanted the black velvet trim to come out over the kirtle bodice edge, since I knew I was probably going to be showing too much chemise. And I was right. The chemise showed about an inch above the bodice line. So I figure, when I get around to putting the velvet on I'll have to nudge it up 1/2" over the bodice line.

Project total now comes to 52hrs 45min. And still not done.

March 13, 2008

Nothing beats a day spent sewing. I spent most of the day today working on the kirtle bodice.

First things first, I had to extend the top line of the bodice with some extra canvas. When I tried everything on last time, I noticed that I needed some coverage in both front and back. So I cut some strips of canvas and pinned them in place along the edges of the bodice. Then I did a quick running stitch to hold it in place.

Here is the back. You can see I needed to add a considerable amount in order to bring the neckline up to cover the corset.

Here is the front with the velvet pinned in place.

And the finished trim. It's not perfect. But I'm not doing it again. In an effort to conserve fabric I cut it in strips and pieced it together, rather than cutting it as one piece. I need that leftover velvet for the gable hood!




Add another 5 hours to the roster, bringing the total to 57hrs 45min.

Petticoat Bodies

June 8, 2007
(from myspace and xanga blogs)

I washed all the fabrics today. Then spent 2 hrs ironing all that washed fabric. Watched a couple eps of House while doing it. I usually watch movies with great costumes, but I felt like watching something funny today.

June 10, 2007

I spent all day Saturday working on the petticoat. I had to draft the pattern from this book,The Tudor Tailor which kindly included the pattern on a graph with the ratios. So I was able to create a full size version of the graph and draw out the pattern. Then, because the pattern was for a smaller person than I'll ever be again, I had to scale it up a bit.

I cut out a toile, stitched it up and called it good. Cut out the good fabrics and started stitching away.

All in all the bodice part alone took 11 hours to finish! 11 hours! And technically, it's not finished because I have to sew the skirts on first. Then I can finish the waistline and finish the binding on the front edge and add 4 eyelets to the front closure. Then it will be done.

Today I snipped up the top fabric (bright red light-weight taffeta) and got it stitched together. But I'm totally bummed about this fabric. While I was pressing it open I noticed this huge gap in the weave right along the fold! And since I'd already cut this stuff I couldn't take it back! But you can bet I'll be opening up the fabrics from now on! So I just changed the way I cut out the panels and made the gap run vertical to hide it in the folds of the pleats. Only the top skirt is done at this point, which brings my total hours for this project up to 14. I'm hoping tomorrow it'll go faster and I'll get the other 2 layers cut and sewn and then all 3 layers tacked together so I can start pleating. It'd be really great if I could get it all done and attached to the bodice! The hemming will take forever, I'm sure.

June 11, 2007

Today I worked on the skirts. I only put in about 3 hrs today. I managed to get the interlining and the lining pinned together at the top, but the two fabrics don't slide at all, so it's going to take a bit of work to get them to hang nice and smoothly. Tomorrow I'll work on that, and hopefully get the top skirt on as well. Then to the pleats! I'm getting there. I'm getting there.

June 13, 2007

Except for hemming all 3 layers, my red petticoat is finished! Total hrs = 21

Left to Right:
Front with opening where you see a peek of the farthingale. Side view. Back with deep "V" and big pleats. Now that I look at the picture, I think I may have to pad those pleats after all. I was thinking I might not need to, but it doesn't seem to flare out like I thought. We'll see after I try it on and see how it looks on me. So I'll leave the hems for now until I decide.

August 4, 2007

I went out to the trailer to get my petticoat today. I finally had some time to work on it again. But, I was soon quite angry. Apparently, the seal around the back door isn't all that great. We had a huge rain storm a few days before and the rain found it's way into the trailer and right into the bag holding my farthingale and petticoat. Sopping wet. GRRR...

I hung them out to dry tonight. I hope I don't have to wash them. I will have to press the petticoat before I can hem it. Which is what I need to get moving on. GRRR

August 13, 2007

Turns out I didn't need to wash them. But it took quite a while to press out all those wrinkles. I'd say about an hour and a half at least. It was difficult to turn all the skirts and keep them lined up, and getting the iron into those pleats! Gah! I really hope I don't have to do that again.

After I got it all pressed out, I put the farthingale and the petticoat on the mannequin and started working on the hem. I decided not to pad the pleats on the petticoat.

It took about an hour to pin up the hem and get it level. Now I just need to try it on ME and make sure it's a-okay. Brings project total to 22.5 hours.

September 9, 2007

I'm not as smart as I thought I was. After all that time spent pinning up the hem, I finally tried it on. DOH! Thanks to my generously padded backside, the hemline was 6" too short! That's a lot of fabric!

Yesterday I pieced together some scraps of the red tapheta and pinned them onto the hem beginning at the center seam and working to the sides. Then I stiched them together and removed the pins. The next, really fun step, was to re-pin the hemline. The front I dropped down about 4 inches, and thankfully, there was enough fabric there that I didn't need to add anything. Which is good, because I only had enough for that back section!

Before I pinned up the back section, I decided that I needed to stuff those pleats after all. Don't do this! If you want to pad them, do it before you pleat! What a nightmare. I've learned the hard way. I also did the historically correct thing by using up my "cabbage" to stuff the pleats. As I gleefully informed my husband, cabbage is the historical term for scraps. So much more colorful isn't it? And since I really hate tossing scraps, this is perfect for me. I'll probably stuff the pleats on every skirt I make now!

I only had enough cabbage to stuff the back center 5 pleats. Which works out fairly well, but I wish I could have stuffed all the back pleats. I wonder if I have any other scraps somewhere? I'd hate to cut up the pieces that are large enough to use for another project.

Anyway, I pinned up the back hem and twirled her around a few times checking to see if the lines are even. It looks pretty good. But I need to press out that seam where the fabric was added on, and then I'm sure there'll be a few adjustments. And while I'm making those few adjustments, I'm betting I'll find a way to stuff those other pleats!

This brings the project total to 25.5 hours.

September 12, 2007

This petticoat pattern is officially a bust. I don't like what's happening here. I spent 4 1/2 hours working on the hemline. I pressed out the seam where I added fabric to the hem and discovered I still don't have enough fabric to cover up where the lining fabric is too short. GRRR

I also noticed that the hemline was very, very light. I thought about using some wadding to make the hem heavier, but decided, since I have so little, that I would save that to pad the pleats on the kirtle. So instead I cut some strips of canvas, doubled it, and added it into the hem. At this point, I don't know if it's going to work out so well.

I set up shop and got to work. I couldn't get it to lie correctly while working flat so I took everything over to the lounge at the RV park where we're staying and put the dressform up on a table. That way I could sit comfortably while working.

I turned the TV to the Travel Channel and popped the air conditioner on, moved the table so I was sitting right in the flow of cooler air and grabbed my box of pins.

After quite a bit of figeting, I got it to hang somewhat straight. It's still a bit uneven, but I really don't care at this moment! blah! On the upside, the canvas helped keep the petticoat from kicking under the farthingale. I was thinking I'd have to put a pleat on the farthingale, but now, it looks like it'll be okay.

I made a quick basting stitch all the way around 132 1/2 inches of hemline. Now I need to decide if I'm going to put a guard on it or just put a welt on the inside where I need to cover up the misshapen, weirdly pieced hem and lack of lining in some spots! I'm thinking burgandy velvet might look nice...although I have been toying with the idea of orange as well...hmmm...something to think about.

Needless to say, I'm not happy with this pattern. It left no allowance for the padding in the pleats, which is why I came up short in the back. Also - trying to make the hem work like this is literally a pain in the neck! Not doing it again.

Project total = 30 hrs.

September 29, 2007

About 8 o'clock this morning I woke up thinking today would be a good day to work on the petticoat hem.

At 7:30 this evening I actually got to work!

I decided that I'm only going to finish up the inside hem. I'm not going to put any kind of guard on the red gown, only the lining. So I spent 2.5 hours cutting 3 strips at 12" wide and then sewed them together and basted the long edges. This gives me one long piece at 10" finished width. Just enough to cover the missing lining.

My goal is to finish it up tomorrow. We'll see what happens! :P

Project total = 32.5 hours

September 30, 2007

Two rows of stitching, 132.5 inches each. I'm still not done with this hem! One more row of stitching to go. So I didn't meet my goal of finishing up today. Oh well.

Project total = 38.5 hours

Sometime in November

A while ago I actually finished the final hem on the petticoat, I just didn't have the time to post anything. It took about an hour and a half for the final hem.

Project total: 40 hours

December 10, 2007

The petticoat has been hanging, rather forlornly, on the mannequin for sometime now. There she stands, silently waiting for some loving attention. I passed by her several times today, twitching her skirts as I rushed from project to project. At last I took a moment to actually try the petticoat on!

I put the petticoat on first to see how much would drag if I decided to not wear the farthingale. I discovered that I have no choice but to wear the farthingale if I wish to stay on my feet. Otherwise I could have a pretty nasty fall.

Then I slipped the farthingale off the rack and put it on the floor. I lifted my brilliant red skirts and tentatively stepped into the puddle of fabric. It was quite a trick to keep the petticoat skirts up so as to get the farthingale around my hips and hooked together! I realized I did it backwards, but that was the plan!

I shook out the skirts and then realized I have no mirrors to see myself! So I enlisted my wonderful little son to help me visualize what was going on below my knees. I asked him if any of the red was touching the floor and he reported dutifully, "No, mom." I spun a couple times and asked how much room I had before it hit the floor and he said, "Well, let's see." He got down on his hands and knees and measured the gap with his little fingers. He held up his thumb and forefinger a good 1 1/2" apart and said, "You've got this much, mom."

What a great little helper! That's exactly how I would have done it too! :D

"German" corset

March 16, 2007
(from myspace blog)

So. In my quest to make a new corset, I've discovered several patterns. I'm now making 2 of them. A German and another adaptation of the English.

I drafted out both patterns yesterday afternoon. I didn't really like the English version, as it has no straps. A problem I will rectify, as I must have straps.

So, I decided to begin with the German Corset. The pattern for it was much more involved and so I hope, as a result, I will get a better fit. I had to take 14 different measurements and most of them I had to do twice! Compared to the English version with only 5 measurements. Hmmm...

I drafted up the pattern, cut it out and placed it against me to draft out the neck and shoulder lines. Then I cut out the pieces from fabric and stitched them together. When I tried it on I found that the neckline wasn't wide enough and the armscye was too big. So I need to re-draft it. Hopefully today.

I think once I have a good pattern for the German, I'm going to go ahead and make up the English, both without and with straps. Just to see.

Oh. And they'll be completely hand stitched. Yeah. I'm crazy.

March 17, 2007

I must be a glutton for punishment, or just plain crazy. Today, while looking through my Patterns of Fashion book I found another corset pattern! This one is totally different from the one I've already made and the two I'm currently making. So I'll have to add it to the list, I guess. OR, I might take that pattern and the english pattern and meld them together.

Since corsets were made by many different people, there would be different patterns and styles of construction. So I think it's perfectly acceptable to meld two patterns to make another. Totally historical.

Today I redrafted the German Pattern, making a few adjustments. Then cut out the new pattern using a heavier material than last time, also making it back lacing instead of front lacing. But, I then realized that I would need to make a pair of lacing strips to attach while doing the fittings. So I could go no further on the corset itself. But, I did get the lacing strips almost done. As of right now I have 7 handbound eyelets to finish and both strips will be done. All total = 49 eyelets! set off center for spiral lacing, of course.

And once the corset is fitted correctly, I'll get to make another round of eyelets on the corset itself!

Should be interesting.

March 19, 2007

I just love poking myself with pins.

I finished up my lacing strips and attached them to the corset today. And then I bought some cheap twine to use as a lace, since I made the eyelets a leetle too small.

And then I put it on. A back lacing corset is NOT going to work for me. Nope, nope, nope. After some twisting and turning I managed to fit the straps and take in a bit on the sides, don't worry, I didn't bleed....much.

My next step is to take the patterns and draft out the changes from the fitting. Which also means I'll change it back to a front lacing. And then the process begins again. I'll cut out another pattern, stitch it up, attach the lacing strips and try it on. Once it fits the way I want it to fit, I'll cut out the good fabric and start putting it together.

I've decided to use some of the medium weight orange twill from the farthingale project as the interlining and turquoise linen on the inside and a lovely lavender linen on the outside. And when I stitch in the boning channels I will overstitch them with a medium violet floss, so the result will look like it has stripes on it. I think it's going to be quite nice.

March 24, 2007

I have now made 4 - yes 4 - patterns for this German corset! And I've cut out and pieced together and tried on all 4 of the blasted things. Everytime there is something just a little off. But it makes enough of a problem that I have to go back and fix it. This last one was it. I finally was able to move on.

Today I cut out the new pattern and it works. So I cut 2 corsets from my orange twill for the inside where the "bones" will go. Then I cut 1 corset from my turquoise linen as the layer against my chemise. And I cut 1 corset of lavendar linen for the outside, visable layer. I'm a little unhappy about that lavendar layer, as I had to piece together the front straps and bodice. Though odd piecing is period in construction, I still don't like it. But I was utilizing leftover scraps from a long ago project, so I had to make do. Much like a thifty Elizabethan Woman, I'm sure. :D

And then I had to layer them together and start handstitching all those boning channels. I'll keep the clock for this project as well. So far, with all the patterning and stitching I'm up to 6 hours, plus an hour for making my lacing strips, so that makes 7 hrs. all total. Should I count the time I spent ironing all that fabric?

I guess it's a good thing I bought a new set of leather thimbles! I'm going to need every last one of them, I'm sure!

March 25, 2007

I stabbed my thumb pretty well today. The needle went under my thumbnail. It started to bleed. It's more the shock than pain that gets me. But it's still annoying.

I'm up to 8 hrs now on the German corset. After my last post I sat down and layered the pieces. Actually, I took a bunch of pictures for my web page and then I did the layering, but anyway...

I now have 2 corsets, orange on one side and either turq. or lavendar on the other. And then I took another picture.

Next step: layer them, pin them, mark the boning channels.


I decided on this first German corset (yes, I may yet make another!) that I would make it without any tabs at the waist. Since trying on several versions, I've decided that I will be making tabs, but they will be added after the corset is assembled and finished. The tabs will be finished also, and then attached to the waist line with a heavy thread and overhand stitch.

This is totally period, so I'm cool with adding them on. My effigy corset that I've already made had the tabs in the pattern itself as all one piece, and the boning actually went into the tabs. I like that. This German corset will not have boned tabs as I'm making them afterwards. It'll be interesting to see the difference in how well the skirts will be held up.

I haven't tested the effigy corset yet as I have no skirts with which to test it! Once the farthingale is finished it will be laced onto the corset and then we'll see.

But for now, I'm more interested in getting the boning channels going so I can use my lovely violet floss. I think it's going to be a real beauty.

March 27, 2007

So now I'm thinking....after all this work on this corset, do I want to use spring steel or the plastic cable ties? I'm leaning toward the spring steel, especially since I want this thing to have some major flattening power to wear under the super-sculpted Tudor bodices. But I'm finding it to be an expensive decision...

I looked into the pricing for the steel yesterday. I was quite dissapointed with the pricing. Based on a rough measurement of 1/2" spaces for the bones and the overall width of the corset, I would need 79 bones mostly at 14" long, some at 8" long. Based on the average $.75 per bone, we're looking at over $50!

I could use cable ties and only spend about half that.

Now you see my delimna? I want a nice, heavy, sculpted corset. I don't want the price. What to do, what to do?

I have thought about buying the steel in a roll and cutting, filing, sanding, latexing, and dipping each piece myself. (by the list, can you tell I'm not too excited?) Or, I could get my mom to send me a bunch of steel banding that they use at the pallet mill. Same amount of tailoring work to make the bones, however.

So I'm mostly thinking I might want to just double up the cable ties in the most important places and make a wooden busk for down the front center to keep the corset nice and straight.

Since I'm not at the point of needing the boning, I'm not stressing over the cost. My issue is this: how big should I make those boning channels? Once I start stitching them in, I'm stuck with whatever size I go with, because I'm sure not ripping them out and doing it again! So 1/4" or 1/2"? This is what I can't decide. This is where I'm stuck. I don't like decisions like this. If I choose poorly, I'm in trouble. If I choose wisely, however, it'll be a cinch. Oh, what to do??

March 28, 2007

I've come to a decision. I think.

If I'm going to spend the next 50 hours doing hand sewing and embroidery on this corset, then I would be silly to use an inferior boning material just to save a few bucks!

I figure that using the cable ties will still cost me around $30. So I'm betting, if I measure out every pocket and order the size I need for each pocket, I'll be spending around $40-$45. And since it's going to take several weeks to sew all those channels, I can save a few bucks every week and when I'm ready for the steel, it won't hurt so bad when I pay for them!

So. Decision made. Yay for me!

March 29, 2007

The corset is beginning to take shape. Really. The back panel is now completely embroidered and I've begun the right front panel. I've now put in 10+ hours into the embroidery plus the 6hrs for pattern drafting and mocking, and cutting, and pinning. For a total of 16 hours! Whew!

It's going pretty easily at this point. The first couple lines of stitching took 2 hours because I was getting used to the spacing of stitches and figuring out how to anchor my thread without making a bunch of knots. Plus, this is my first use of the "stab stitch" and I'm using the Holbein stitch to fill in the lines. Which plainly is a running stitch going in one direction, then turning around and doing a running stitch to fill in the missing stitches using the same holes as the previous stitches, so there is one complete line of stitches with no spaces in between.

The Holbein Stitch was so named for the painter of the Tudor nobles - because when he painted the embroidery of their sleeves, the stitches were identical on the front and the back of the material. Just in case you wanted to know.

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It looks really nice, and the violet thread on the turquoise is awesome! Too bad that's the inside of the corset. Although I have toyed with the idea of making it reversible. For the added challenge, you know. LOL

Yeah. I'm certifiable.


March 31, 2007

I have now completed the left front. Whew!

The corset now comes in at a total of 17 hrs 45 min for embroidery. 6 hrs for development. Net total = 23 hrs 45 min

Another 10 hrs on the right panel and the embroidery for the corset will be done. I'm thinking I might be boning and embroidering the tabs at the waist as well. I won't know for sure about the tabs until the corset is ready for me to fit. Then I'll know if I'm going to need those tabs.

April 1, 2007

I put in another 3 hrs of stitching today. My fingers were getting numb so I called it quits. If I'd kept going I probably could have had it all done. I just couldn't go on.

April 4, 2007

The emboidery is done! I put in 3hrs 45 min yesterday and another 25 min today and finished up all the embroidery, bringing the total stitching hours to 25 hrs 25 min. The corset comes to a total of 31hrs 25 min. And I'm not done yet!



Here is the front and back on my lovely mannequin. It doesn't come together in the front on the mannequin because the mannequin is not "squishable" like a human body. I just had to put the corset on her so I could see how it was coming along...and to help out with the strap placements!

My next step will be to add on the lacing strips and do a quick fitting on myself. Just to make sure it fits. I've already decided that if it's a little too tight, I'll be slicing it up the back (where there is no embroidery in the middle - I left it that way for just such an occurance) and making it lace in both front and back. Which, of course, almost doubles the number of hand-bound eyelets I must make. But the better fit will be worth it.

Now I need to measure out my boning channels, and get the boning ordered. And I need to decide what color to bind this thing in: I have some lavendar and some turquoise left that I could use, but I was thinking it'd look better with a creamy off white color, or maybe even yellow to match the yellow guards I'll be adding to the farthingale....I'm just not sure yet...

April 6, 2007

So, I've now added another 40 min to the embroidery. I decided to change around the order of boning so the 2 lines at the very front edge had to be embroidered.

I worked on it all day yesterday! Put in 7 hrs on the binding. Here is a pic of the binding pinned around an arm hole. And a pic at the end of the 7 hrs. The outside is stitched in place, the inside now needs stitched down.



The bottom of the corset is being left open so I can slip the boning inside. Then I'll stitch it closed. I'm not going to work on the eyelets until the boning is in, that way I'll know for sure if I'm going to have to cut it up the back.

April 10, 2007

I put in another hour last night on the corset binding. And now it is done. I've only the bottom edge to bind once the boning is in. So now I wait.

Embroidery total = 26h 5m Corset total = 40h 5m


June 3, 2007

We're now at 48hr 5min. 1.5hrs was added to embroidery.

The boning material came and as soon as I opened the box I started measuring and cutting and stuffing! Yay! I think, in my hurry, I goofed. I didn't bother trying to straighten the curl of the reeds (they came in a big coil) and so there's a very distinct curvature to the corset now. I'm hoping it will flatten out. I set a bunch of books on it last night, but this morning it was still pretty curved. Bummer. I think I might have to get it wet a bit and see if that helps. I don't know. First time using reeds as boning material. I like the stiffness, and yet I don't like the stiffness. I have to say, after wearing it for a while today, I like my corded corset much better. This one is a little shorter on me, being German rather than English I expected it to fit differently, but I don't think I'll work as is. I've already decided to make some tabs to whip-stitch to the waistline, (boned, of course), in the hopes that it will help a bit with my bumpy silhouette! LOL

So here are some pics of the corsets with the farthingale. The lavendar corset is so stiff (and much smaller, I might add) than the green one, that it won't fit nicely on the mannequin. So once the eyelets are finished and I can wear it for better pics, these will have to do. I'm including a shot of the green one as well. You can see the difference!



Here is a close up of the hand-bound eyelets. I found these nifty little rings at the Home Depot, and I found an awl for poking the holes at Big Lots (for a buck!). I like the look of these eyelets much better than the ones on the green corset.


While the metal rings for reinforcing the eyelets IS documentable - the type I'm using is not. But I don't care. These were the only ones I could find without a split. And split rings just won't work - the split always finds it's way out of the embroidery! And I really don't want to take the time to find the soldering iron and solder to fix those pesky little things! I have too many other things that need doing!



June 5, 2007

I've now logged 64hrs 5min on this corset. I finished up the eyelets on the front of the corset (16hrs!) and now my next step will be to put everything on and mark where I need the lacing holes on the waist of the corset and the farthingale. Here is a quick pic I took just after finishing the front.

Farthingale

February 16, 2007
(moved from myspace blog)

I have prewashed and lightened several yards of bright orange cotton twill (left). It's now a lovely saffron color (right).

I am using Juan Alcega's farthingale pattern "for a fat woman". And then I added a few inches to make a slightly wider hoop at the bottom. Again, I used Drea Leed's website for the pattern and directions.

I measured out the lengths according to the pattern directions on Drea's site. Cut the pieces and began stitching! I've decided that the rest of my Tudor garb is going to be done completely by hand. I know - it sounds crazy. But that's my goal.

I pieced the panels together using the backstitch. I had thought to use french seaming, but the twill is pretty thick so the seams are all flat-felled using a top stitch to keep them neat. Instead of leaving one of the seams on the side open several inches for the opening, I'm going to be placing an opening down the front center to line up with my corset. Project time = 5 hours



February 26, 2007

I've now added the channels for the hoops. I used the leftover twill to make long strips. I stitched all the strips together and rolled them up. I measured from my waist to the palm of my hand while hanging down. That is where the first hoop will go, making it easy for me to grab and maneuver the skirts when necessary. I then measured and marked where the hemline hoop would go, but didn't add a strip here. I'll use the self-hem method at the bottom. Then I measured the space between the two hoops and divided it so that I would have 6 hoops total, leaving a little more space between bottom hoops and the upper hoops closer to each other.

I've added another 15 hours stitching which brings total time to 20 hrs.

March 5, 2007

I'm officially insane. I've now spent 24 whole hours hand stitching this farthingale. And I'm not done yet. Left to go: waistband, hemline, and insertion of hoops. Which isn't a whole lot, really, but it will be time consuming to get the hoops the right sizes and then making the hemline exact. But once I'm done it'll be a beautiful sight! Here is a close up of the stitching on the channels (inside). I'm thinking about covering the channels with strips of yellow silk. But it won't happen for a while, because I'm sure I'll want to get moving onto the next piece.


May 11, 2007

I was finally able to put in some time on the farthingale. I wasn't sure how to go about this so I just decided to jump right in. The first thing I did was get the mannequin out and set her up so I could measure the hemline and finish that up nice and neat. Then I adjusted the waist and put in a drawstring for the time being...it'll be replaced by a series of knife pleats and an opening down the front with eyelets so it can be laced together with the corset. Then I took her outside and started measuring and cutting and assembling the hoops. Most everyone has been using a plastic tubing of some sort, but the ones I could find seemed way too soft. I really, really wanted to use willow bents, but they are so expensive to have shipped,and none of the craft stores had anything close. So the very kind man at Home Depot helped me find something that would work, (after I explained exactly what I needed it for!) I bought a 100 ft roll and some connectors and had just enough. And voila! A farthingale!

I need to do a little more tweaking to get the shape just right. The hoops tend to move about a bit while I'm adjusting another hoop, so I'm always going back to fix something. I also think the addition of a bum roll along the back underside will help with the shape. Once I get everything where I want it, I'll finish up that waist band and get to work on the eyelets. {sigh} I'm getting there... now at 29hrs.

May 31, 2007

So, I spent another 5 hours on the thing. All the hoops are now the correct size and shape, I think. The conical shape is a little wide at the bottom, but I don't want to have to make another one of these for awhile, so I'm good with it. I finished up the pleats and the waistband. The opening down the front is finished.

The last thing I need to do is add a closure at the top. Then, when the corset is finished I'll line the corset and farthingale up together and mark out where the lacing holes need to go down the front and on the sides and back of the farthingale.

I'm still debating that satin trimming I wanted to put over the hoops. I think it would be nice, but I haven't found historical evidence that lets me think it would be accurate. And I'm getting tired of working on these - I'm ready to move on! Total hours = 34

June 3, 2007

Another 20 min spent putting a hook and eye (in the correct spot) on the waistband and voila! Finished. I'm am sooooooo very glad it is finished. The only thing I might still do is those yellow satin welts to cover the hoops. But that may be a ways off yet, if ever! From the front it still looks a little out of whack. But from the side it has a very, very smooth line. I'm not worried about the front view, the amount of skirts going over this thing will take care of that! Total time spent on this project is 34hrs 20min.