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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Photo dump time!

It's been a couple of weeks since I've updated this...but I've been busy (doesn't feel like it since most of it was slow handsewing). So you, gentle readers, get to see a lot of pictures! Was that from a book, "gentle reader?" Not that that's saying much. I've read how many books?

The big project that I'm almost done with is my straw covered bonnet. The brim took about a week and a half to cover. Then I was struggling to get the bavolet (the curved part in the back) to sit correctly. Turns out the brim and the bavolet was supposed to be connected by wire on the edge before all of this, but that wouldn't have worked at all. So it's a big shoddy at the corners, but for my first bonnet, that'll have to do.

The acursed bavolet. Figured attaching it to the top and covering it with another strip of straw would be best


The inside of the bonnet, since you can't see my stitching anywhere else. All that time...


And the bonnet as it is right now!



I worked on two other things, my pleated skirt and a duct tape dummy. The dummy was...interesting. I had one of my sisters help me, and since I was making this over my waist and hips, there are just some areas that you shouldn't be touching on your sister, so I had to help with pressing down tape. ^_^ I stuffed it with the stuffing you use for pillows and stuffed animals, and newspaper/fabric scraps/plastic bags, putting the stuffing in the middle so the outter wall wasn't as squishy. The waist was too big, so I used a combination of slashing from the top, repositioning, and retaping, and taking a strip of fabric and cinching the waist as much as I could. It's not pretty, but it'll do. Now I just need to make a stand for it...


And finally, my pleated skirt. This one I've been putting off (and working on my bonnet instead) because it's awkward hand sewing. So after I machine stitched the top (it's going to be covered up, so I don't care how it looks) I slipstitched the bottom closed because I want NO movement of these pleats.

A closeup of the slipstitching, since I like detail pictures on how people do what they do

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After that, I got some tape to reinforce the back. I was thinking of just tacking it to the base skirt, but quickly realized that was more trouble than it's worth, so if I do tack it, it'll be mostly held up by the tapes.

So here's where I am with that:

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Oh, and bonus, because I was tired of doing all of this crap last Friday, I decided to spend my time in the sewing classroom drafting a basic bodice from Fashions of the Gilded Age. Wasn't expecting much...but it turned out well! And other than ease in the bust and messing around with the armhole and sleeve length, it looks that it might fit!


So yeah. Next project is my bodice mockup, not the drafted one, but the Truly Victorian one. Then fixing the overskirt mockup since I can't get the fit right. I have a lot of work to do before the end of March...

2 comments:

  1. I always get so nervous when I sew on straw, like every stitch I make is RUINING THE MATERIAL and is going to make the hat fall apart.

    I love the colors of that skirt!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I was like that when I first started, but by the time I got to the brim, I didn't care too much anymore. I figured that it was a well made hat, so the straw shouldn't be flimsy that it can't stand a poke from a needle.

      Thank you! The color stuck in my head, so I kept them. Doesn't it just scream spring?

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