They've got to be easy to remove...

So 2 new burlesque routines were put together recently, 1 of which was a double-act so lots of costuming has been a-foot.

The corset is entirely spiral steels to allow flexibility for dancing in. It doesn't have a busk as it stays on for the whole performance and as I had to make 2 of everything it kept cost down too! When I first made it I put 2 wide inflexible steels at the centre front which gave a lovely flat front but had a couple of drawbacks.
1. As it was based on the same pattern that I had made for an entirely spirals corset, the flats stopped it tightening quite so much at the waist and although the silhouette from the front was gorgeous, the back lacing had that upside-down 'V' of a poorly fitting corset.
2. It didn't work very well with a bra as it made the underwires dig in.
3. It was a lot more difficult to bend over in, which was essential for my solo act, which used the reverse side of the corset. (Yes, reversible too!)

The skirt is a riot of liquid satin and garish colour. The complimentary skirt was made with the blue satin that you can see in the trim and pink and yellow ruffles. Everything had to be overlocked or roll-hemmed, including the ruffles as liquid satin unravels quicker than a ball of wool in the clutches of a kitten. I was hoping my Ultimate Ruffler would make light work of this, but sadly it just wasn't up to the job and I had to gather by hand. It wraps around and the ribbon waistband turns into a side-tie for easy removal.

This is the reverse of the corset, which I designed to go with my other new costume. This saved me having to make yet another corset for the event, and saved money obviously. It was a little tricky trying to work out how to do the lacing panels without interfering with either side but I was very pleased with the final piece. Both outers are 100% cotton with a cotton coutil sandwiched in between.

I really didn't know what I was going to do about the modesty panel - in the end I just made a loose one that the person lacing me up could push into place for me. This corset was an absolute nightmare to lace as it had to be so loose in order to get it over my head, it needed so much tightening once on and I'd accidentally bought a new type of lace with no slide whatsoever. Trying to get it off in a hurry was no fun either as the easiest option was to just unlace -tricky on your own at the end of the night!

Kitsch... I think I can manage that...

Well it's been a busy month or so behind the sewing machine so hopefully the drought of blogs will be replaced by a tidal wave. Starting with this one.

This was my outfit for the kitsch-themed Dystopia night. I had to find quite a lot of fabric for decorating the venue so was in a good position for getting myself some perfect prints. In the past I've been rather reticent about buying fabric online - "you need to feel the schmatter" as a good friend of mine would say. However, despite a slightly annoying colour mix up it was a very successful venture, including this rather funky cotton tattoo print.

The dress pattern is a Butterick Retro Collection pattern - retro patterns re-drafted for the modern seamstress, a godsend! The pattern and instructions were simple and easy to understand, and the sizes were much more modern too. I had originally intended to make the wiggle dress version which is what I made for my mock up, but at the last minute I decided a full skirt had more kitsch value. It took about a day and a half - not bad at all.

The contrasting corset has been made with the pink tattoo print on the reverse so hopefully it will function as a reversible corset. This will make the busk a little weird I think, but I'll see how it goes - I only finished putting the grommets in an hour before the event so it wasn't able to do up very tight sadly, it's based on the simplicity 9769 which gives such a wonderful curve to the waist. It has a bit of a strange height (about mid nipple) which works quite well over the top of a dress but not on it's own.

As for accessories, I made a facinator with a kitsch-tastic button and a healthy amount of white veiling. Sewing into memory foam is always a bit risky for tearing, but I made good use of UHU too :) There was also a matching croissant handbag that sadly I have no pictures of, based on a 1940s pattern. I made it from the pink fabric with a rose decoration made from the blue fabric of the corset.

I was a bit concerned it was overly demure for the event, but the entire outfit went down very well and I received a lot of compliments which was really lovely.

I also performed at the event, and created a couple of little gems that I will post about as soon as I get some pictures.

Such austerity...

I think this is a 40s or 50s pattern. It is one of the one's salvaged from my grandmother's house. She must have been fairly waif-like back in the day. This pattern is for a size 14, which falls somewhere between a modern day UK8 and 10.

With some pattern modification and inserts though, I managed to make this.

It's made with a really light and floaty dress fabric bought on a 13m roll, so expect to be seeing more of it! They didn't exactly go too low with the necklines - this is the more daring v-neck style! The pattern asks for shoulderpads but I just couldn't bring myself to do it...

I need more and more dresses as summer approaches and I have a few old patterns to keep me busy!

Quilting from the heart

Ok, so this isn't one of mine, I haven't reached that point of my life yet. All my attempts at quilting lie in various carrier bags where they have been abandoned as my attention wandered to other projects that offered so much more in the way of speedy gratification.

No, this beautiful quilt and cushion have been painstakingly pieced together by my loving mother. Fabrics chosen to reflect my devotion to 50's kitsch, including some genuine 50's pieces from a recent clearout of my (passed) grandmother's house.

I love my new quilt, it makes quite an impact in my living room and is spurring me on to paint the furniture I've been wanting to do for a while, namely to make baby blue and pink a bit of an accent. Apparently the cushion was run up for a workshop so was a bit of an added bonus for me, hurrah!

Plans plans plans!

I do have a couple more things that I've made recently, including a very decadent Victorian inspired burlesque outfit that I will talk about as soon as I organise pictures to go with it.

However, there are a few things in the pipeline as the sun starts to shine and summer approaches. I have a NEED for more skirts with a good twirl-factor, and dresses I can just sling on and have an instantly glamorous outfit. Luckily (with a little help from a very wonderful friend) I am just about to acquire this little beauty to keep me company in the shop. It's a vintage version of the modern workhorse I have at home so I'm trusting that it's going to be a good little runner - and it looks gorgeous too!

I'm very excited :)

Che Guevara silliness

This was what I made my father for Christmas. I did a hell of a lot of knitting in the run up to Christmas, nearly all of which went horribly, horribly wrong. The only other ones I managed successfully were Jackie Chan and Ghandi but sadly I don't have pictures of them.

That dress finally!

I completed this dress a while ago but I've been slack about getting the picture up on here. I decided not to put the featherweight bones in in the end as I didn't want them getting creased and looking rubbish. It does roll down a little at the back, especially when wearing a corset, but I think that could be fixed for future incarnations. It needs a decent petticoat which means I need to spend some time with my Ultimate Ruffler! In this picture I'm wearing it with my longline white underbust corset which looks great on the waist. It is wearable without a corset though, which is lucky for dancing :)

Thanks to Chris W Parker for the photo x