1954 Halter Dress

January's effort has been to make myself this dress.

I found some lovely dark navy cotton with a small and busy cream paisley pattern that I picked up for a song. (I'm trying to branch out beyond black, red and white!) It's really light and floaty - perfect for dancing in! I've faced it with some plain navy sheet-weight cotton.

The wide halter straps are really flattering and I like the modesty of the insert behind the sweetheart neckline. The bust and strap sections were quite fiddly but will be much easier when it comes to doing them again I think.

I've pretty much finished except for hemming and some finishing touches. I'm still trying to decide whether to add the featherbone stays the pattern calls for at the front, though it definitely needs the ones at the back to stop it rolling down...

One thing I did not expect was how true to the picture it would be! The insanely waspie waists of the illustration were merely artistic licence thought I - not so! Good job I'm not averse to a corset as the hip/waist/bust ratio is a bit extreme! I love a dramatic waistline as much as the next woman, but I will be modifying this for future incarnations of this dress.

I hope to finish it tomorrow and I'll post pics asap :)

Resolute

When I was about 13 I made a New Years resolution to never again make new years resolutions. This year I'm breaking it (it did pretty well!) and I'm making 3 resolutions.

1) Wear more silk. This also means sew more silk as my budget doesn't exactly allow for trips to Agent Provocateur every other week! On the few occaisions I have sewn with silk in the past I've run into a fair few problems with its tendancy to fray and it's light and floaty ways. It does also give me the opportunity to learn more about the different types too and I do so want to improve my textile knowledge.

2) Watch at least 1 classic b&w film a week. Ok, not massively sewing related, but I imagine I will be wanting to copy the odd design. I watched It's A Wonderful Life for the first time a few days ago and I just wanted to recreate every single outfit I saw! Please put any recommendations in the comments, I need to build a big 'to watch' list.

3) Make myself at least 1 garment a month. I need to find time to sew for myself too - and not just the hastily thrown together fancy dress things I'm always doing. Things like a dress, a corset (finally!), or even a petticoat.

It's going to be a pretty busy year for me! I'm managing a shop full-time now while still keeping the corset-making/seamstressing side going. I think it'll take me a while to get used to having to be at the shop all the time, but at least my lovely friend Dr Sid got me a handheld sewing machine for Christmas so I can still make progress between customers! I'm working on a bullet bra at the moment, it's a strange garment - I'll let you know how I get on!

Happy New Year everyone xxx

Dammit Janet

This was my very precise Janet Weiss outfit worn to see Rocky Horror in December. The pink dress was made from a 50's tennis dress pattern that I'd bought at a vintage fair a year or so ago. Cardigan is Primarni :)

The pattern was my first truly vintage pattern and didn't have any instructions or printed pattern pieces. Just pieces of tissue paper with variously sized holes punched in. It took me a while to figure it all out, not least because the previous owner had for some completely unknown reason chopped off the shoulder parts of the front pieces! There was some very creative cutting but it came out rather nicely.

I rounded the collar to match the shape of the dress in the film and added a belt. Both were made of pink gingham but sadly I couldn't get a 'Janet' necklace in the time I had.

I even had just enough time to knock together the white lace-trimmed split slip she wears underneath, which was lucky as I realised once I started walking around in it that I really could have gotten away with adding another button!

I even curled my hair and abandoned my signature red lipstick. I looked worryingly wholesome! Baby pink is not a colour I wear much, though I have got the perfect outfit should anyone wish to take me on a date to a milkshake bar...

Christmas burly clothes

The outfit for my xmas burlesque performance was pretty complicated and featured a heck of a lot of red satin! Obviously quick removal is fairly essential in these matters so almost everything was fastened with poppers or ribbon ties.

My choir girl outfit came together pretty well, though involves a hell of a lot of sheeting! With a combination of trims to make the neck ruffle.

Underneath that was a long red liquid satin crossed-halter-tie wrap around dress held closed by a popper over the bust and a wide ribbon belt (that was held shut with a chunky hook-and-eye). I made the pattern for this with just my bust, waits and hip measurements with which I made a basic undarted back panel and 2 identical front pieces with a few inches overlap and long ribbon shapes coming off the top. Originally it was going to be plain halter-style but the crossed-halter looked better and covered more of the outfit underneath. It falls open way too easily but then again it doesn't stay on very long anyway! I may well use some principles learned here for a formal dress in the future...


This is the final piece of the outfit I want to talk about. Red liquid satin side-tie french knickers with an elasticated waist. The white fluff at the side is the corset underneath. These knickers are tied either side by a thin white ribbon. I really liked the way these hung and will be making more, but without the side tie. I went for encased elastic at the waistband rather than stitched on. I might experiment with this. I may also try making them on the bias for a more floaty look.

All in all it went down a storm and I learned some good things making it.

Belated photos of my Halloween costume

It's taken me a while to get the pictures of my halloween costume uploaded. I was really pleased with the overskirt with built in bustle and underskirt with train. Both from Truly Victorian patterns. It's pictured with my black underbust cincher and a lovely hat made by a friend of mine.

Blue corset

It's all finished, and here is the lovely new corset. I hope she likes her xmas present frome her boyfriend :)

Choir boys and corsets...

I've nearly finished a lovely blue satin underbust corset with black bone coverings (designed by the customer) so pictures will follow very shortly :)

I've started knitting some lace to try and relieve the boredom of the skinny scarf but it's slow progress - it takes a lot of concentration away from my M*A*S*H watching! A plus note on the knitting front however, my mother is visiting tomorrow and will be bringing me wool and doll patterns- christmas is saved!

I've been trawling the net for a free choir robe pattern and would you believe it? No-one wants to give away that little secret! Ho hum, doesn't look complicated - I think I can work it out easily enough.

I bought yet another roll of mock up fabric yesterday so looking forward to getting stuck into that, though lord only knows when I'll find the time! I'm away for a long weekend and I'm getting upset and being away from my sewing machine that long! I really must get a life...