Here comes the bride!

So this was the year that two of my closest friends decided to tie the knot, and I was really pleased that Red asked me to make her outfit for her special day. Red wanted an overbust corset, and two different types of matching skirt: one long with a small train for the ceremony, and one knee-length circle skirt to be worn with a petticoat for the party afterwards.

I was very confident with the circle skirt, as I've made a lot of these in the past, and the long skirt was not too complex in design. The first mock-up had a single centreback seam and was made of one front panel and two back panels with a center-back concealed zip. This didn't move in quite the way the bride wanted, so it was re-designed to have a godet starting at the back of the knee. This meant it hugged her behind a little better and the small train fanned out behind her a little more naturally.

She chose an ivory duchesse satin for the ensemble and a standard anti-static polyester for the skirts. The corset was lined with white cotton and inter-lined with corsetry coutil.

In order to avoid any obvious bulges under the corset, I made both of the skirts without waistbands. I did this by making the linings a perfect copy (but with slightly higher hems), folding them under and understitching the seam allowance.

The corset was based on a Harlots and Angels overbust pattern as I have found their patterns to be very reliable and have a really good waist curve. My bride is quite top-heavy and we wanted to make sure that there was no chance of any ‘slips’ during the dancing. We both wanted to avoid cups due to the aesthetic and the complexity, so the mock-up corset was quite rigorously tested. The bust seams were nipped in just above the top curve of the breasts, and the underarm line was raised a little to hold them in at the sides. I deepened the sweetheart neckline a little for just the right amount of sexy(!) and bound the edges in the same fabric.After much experimentation with a mock-up in coutil a combination of flat steels over the tummy and spirals over the bust point to allow for the steep curve was the solution. Most of the rest of the corset was boned with spiral for comfort as they are flexible in 4 directions and tend not to dig in or restrict movement.

We chose some really long decorative silver aglets for the laces which were cornflower blue to co-ordinate with the petticoat she wore under the circle skirt. These both tied in with the very pretty and unusual union flag shoes that she got from Irregular Choice.

Photo shoot pictures to follow!

Pinstripe prettiness

The 1957 Clare McCardell dress pattern has been sitting with my patterns for far too long. When I heard about the competition from Evadress I knew it was the perfect time to stop procrastinating and make myself a fab dress. It takes a fair heft of fabric to make and sadly the bold monochrome print jersey I originally planned for it was short by about a metre! I ummed and ahhed over the pinstripe but I'm really glad I went with it. The grain in the raglan sleeves works beautifully and there's something very pleasing/potentially slimming about the diagonals meeting centre front and back.

It was all a bit of a dream to put together to be honest, the zip was probably the fiddliest part, as zips are wont to be, and I learned an interesting new technique inside the underarms or protecting the clipped curves with a small bias covering. It makes sense when you think about it, with no armscye seam allowance to protect it, that's an area of high stress to have just a clipped seam on.

The dress itself is wonderfully comfortable (I've been wearing it at work all day today - and I got so many compliments!) and the fabric is quite an easy-care and resists creasing quite well. The front of the skirt is a fairly straight pencil skirt look, it's the back where all that fabric went! A mass of pleats at the back give it a brilliant swish when walking and pulls the whole thing into a really flattering shape. I would have liked the sash a bit longer for the bow at the back but that's easily fixed for the next incarnation, which will almost certainly be in jersey this time!

More tailoring, this time for the patriarch.

So my Dad asked me a little while back if I could make him some vintage style trousers. Gee'ed up by the sucess of my golfing knicker attempt I agreed to give it my best shot. He'd been watching a lot of The Hour, he told me, and wanted an outfit similar to one of the stars. I had a couple of (untouched) vintage men's trouser patterns in my arsenal and after some umming and ahhing and concluding that front pleats might not be the most flattering for anyone with more meat on them than a rake, I chose a flat-fronted, 1934 wide legged style.

After a lot of confusion around the fly-area (which was solved by borrowing a pair of similar style trousers and retro-engineering in my head) we had a partially successful mock-up pair. I had extended the length in the body as well as in the leg as my Dad is a very tall man, and as the waistband was just a little bit snug after a big dinner we agreed that a V shaped cut out at the back would work well for flexibility and fit in with the style very well.

The V shape left me scratching my head a little when it came to the belt loops, and whether they were even needed as it was obviously a style for button braces. Bit In the end I thought that it's better to at least give him the options, and the do add a little bit of visual detail.

The fabric for the final trousers was an absolutely lovely grey/green in pure English Wool with a very subtly herringbone weave. It was exactly the right weight for what was needed and it was an absolute bargain! (always helps.) It was unfortunately just a smidge to short, but I hid a seam in the turn ups and get creative with the cutting. It worked brilliantly, and I think he looks the bee's knees in the finished pair, pity you can't see the button-up tank top he convinced my Mother to knit for him at the same time!

Fetch my golfing knickers!

I'm still studying my 1945 tailoring book, though it's seriously hard going! When a friend asked me if I could make him some plus fours for a fancy dress do I jumped at the chance. As it's for fancy dress I don't have to be too worried if it's not perfect, so a great opportunity for me to try with not too much pressure.

The pattern was one that I'd bought over a year ago now, and the instructions consisted of nothing more than a badly scanned envelope from the 1920s! It didn't have any pictures, just 2 paragraphs of badly punctuated text. Needless to say, this was actually quite a challenge for my first pair of men's trousers and the fly is something I'm still not too sure I understand, let alone the crotch guard!

However, they were lined, and had fully working side- and back-pockets, as well as a watch pocket on the front right. I did have to leave the pattern behind towards the end and start improvising, but both I and my friend were really happy with the results - a pair of genuine 1920s plus-fours!

Wedding season is upon us.

A regular client of mine wanted something special for the social whirlwind of summer weddings that is racing towards us all this season.

Having decided on a scarlet pencil dress with halter-neck tie and gathered sweetheart neckline I toddled off to the shops and bought some thick, rich duchesse satin. The weight means that the finished dress has such smooth lines when worn, and suited the fitted style very well.

For the bodice I used plastic boning over the princess seams on the bustier part, and at the back, just to keep everything in place. Metal boning would have been too stiff, and as the boning ends just above the waistline, we should be safe from the 'lampshade' effect that plastic boned corsets sadly encounter.

The finished dress was very beautiful, and after some very last-minute adjustments looked both elegant and glam.

Her favourite dress...

A lady came to me recently asking if I could make a twin sister of her favourite dress. The original was a monochrome polka dot number made entirely of stretch knit. Being as in love with my Brother overlocker as I am, I felt pretty ready for the task :-)

After spending a while studying her dress, tracing it and calculating, I had a pattern drafted and ready to go. My customer chose her own fabric of a sheer black lining (powernet) and a pretty purple floral pattern for the outer layer.

The fabric took some very careful pinning and cutting but stitched together beautifully with a 3-thread overlock. I was a bit worried about ruffling something that sheer and stretchy but it really didn't cause much extra pain at all. I did the hem on my overlocker too, with a roll-hem stitch which left a very neat and pleasing finish.

The wrap over style and all the gathering on the bodice section are both really flattering, I can see why it's her favourite!

Steampunking it up in Whitby

Recently I went to Whitby with some die-hard steampunk friends for the steampunk social. It's a beautiful place and there were some really outstanding outfits on show.

At first I didn't think I'd have anything to wear, but then I recalled my old Victorian pieces I made for Halloween a couple of years ago. Combined with an underbust corset from one of my burlesque outfits that's made from burgundy taffeta with black beading on the upper trim and my red satin bolero style jacket I really started to look the part.

The underskirt is a wine coloured satin with corded gathering behind the knee and a small train, and the overskirt is made from brocade with a layer of dance net at the back to form a bustle effect with the ties inside giving it shape.

I also had a black furry shrug that I'd lined with red satin and had a red satin tie for when it got colder and a matching burgundy facinator made by a friend of mine (Chapeau Carmine on Etsy). The whole look was finished with a necklace made of keys and a brown leather satchel.