A completely different era - Part Four - End of the line

I'm sorry guys I didn't mean to leave you with a cliffhanger like this. I did finish the outfit in time and wore it with great pride, felt fabulous and had such a lovely night out that I completely forgot to get pictures taken of me in all my splendor.

I planned to dress up four you guys last week but an urinal tract infection made me feel in no mode for fancy dress up. I'm still battling this beast and as soon as I conquered it I will dress up, put on the same make up and fix my hair so you can see what I looked like that fantastic night. I might get dear M to dress up four you to but I cant promise that for sure ;)

The corset it self turned out to big, again. M managed to lace it completely shut all the way in the back. I spent most of last Sunday pondering how a 28" corset could close on me...then I compared the shape of my 28" vollers and the corset I made. And it hit me. The vollers has a very straight shape while the 1880's corset is curved. The later makes it possible for my bust and hips to expand while my waist gets compressed. Apparently there are no limit to how much I can lace my waist as long as my bust and hips are allowed to expand...

I also discovered that the stiff steel bones only work at CF and CB on this type of corset. I had put some at the side fronts and side backs and it was not comfortable at all. So I will change those bones to spring steel and then sell this corset for half my regular price since it has been worn twice.

And I will pray that the last changes I made has rendered my pattern to perfection this time :)

Anyway, here are the last two days of sewing madness for this project:

Friday the 4th of December
07:45 Starts to assembly the fascinator with the hot glue gun


(It's almost finished on this picture it's only the bias edge missing and the comb that keeps it to my head.)

08:11 Starts to finish the CB's of the corset

08:34 The CB's are finished and I start with the bottom edge


09:33 Bottom finished and the hard steels gets pushed in to their channels
When that's done I went inside the main house and got my self ready for goin to Stockholm. I spent most of the day and evening there, shopping, going to a shop called Pom Pom Parlour and introducing myself and my sewing business (and hoping that they will like my stuff and wants to sell it) and I spent the rest of the afternoon and the evening drinking tea and chatting with Isis :)

Saturday the 5th of december
09:55 Starts finishing the top edge

10:41 Starts setting grommets

11:12 The grommets are in and the corset is finished!


Cut out a lining for the fascination and a strip of fashion fabric to make a bow out of
Goes inside the main hose and sew a comb on the lining, glue the lining on and edge the hole shebang with hot glue and bias binding. The fascinator is finished!

Then me and M goes to Uppsala for some Christmas shopping. We arrive at home base at approximately 16:30. Then I start to sew the bows and bells to my skirt. When that's done my outfit is done 2 hours before planned departure to the party!

Now M realizes that he needs a cravat for his outfit (He wore this smoking jacket, a fez, black shirt, suspenders and black dress slacks). I dig through the fabric stash and find the left overs from his jacket that I originally planned to make the corset out of and some matching lining fabric. Whips up a pattern for the cravat, cut it out stitch it together and turn it. Do a quick try on M to see that it looks like it should. I does. Great. We hurry inside and I fix my make up, my hair and M laces me in to the corset. While we drive to Stockholm I finish the last on the cravat by hand in the car...

/L