Bustling around
Today (Saturday) the kids and I went up to the Youngs' house for lunch, a playdate, and some Campfire planning. It went mostly well (they made some awesome bacon cheeseburgers, and really good sweet potato fries), up until Rachel got tired and grumpy. It was past Kaitlyn's naptime anyway, so we tried to let them take a nap together, but Rachel gets mean and obstreperous when she gets tired, and she wouldn't settle, and kept pestering Kaitlyn. So we went home, and Rachel passed out in the car. We got home in the neighborhood of 5pm.
Then Ed and Deidra came over for dinner and social time. Ken and Ed played video games (Ed hadn't seen some of the ones Ken has), and Deidra and I played with costuming. She helped me figure out how to make the bustle big enough to look like a bustle, not just "random huge behind" - it involves a crescent-shaped pillow made of a sock stuffed with plastic bags. It wasn't pretty, but it was about the right size and shape to go at the top of all the frills and ruffles I'd made out of petticoat netting, and it works as a template. I'll make the real one out of muslin and stuff it with regular batting, but I've got the general idea now. I'll wear it on top of my modern petticoat - it's got the right general shape, and I've already got it, so no sense in reinventing the wheel. My blue stripy skirt nearly works on top of the petticoat and bustle; it'll require some seams to be shifted in the top several inches, but that's not unreasonable. I'll also need to add a ruffle at the bottom hem, in whatever my accent fabric is, to make up for the fact that the skirt's too short (only ankle length in flat shoes). The accent fabric (according to current plan) will serve as the skirt's bottom ruffle and bustle drape (yes, I'm mixing bustle periods, I give up), as well as the binding around the top and bottom edges of the corset, and probably the main portion of the blouse / jacket, and some portion of the trim on the hat.
On the corset, I've got the busk in hand, and now I've just got to practice installing it in my mockup before I go putting holes in my real one. If anyone has practice at putting one of these in a garment, feel free to give advice. After the busk is on, there are grommets to put in, and the binding at top and bottom edges, and then it's done!
Then Ed and Deidra came over for dinner and social time. Ken and Ed played video games (Ed hadn't seen some of the ones Ken has), and Deidra and I played with costuming. She helped me figure out how to make the bustle big enough to look like a bustle, not just "random huge behind" - it involves a crescent-shaped pillow made of a sock stuffed with plastic bags. It wasn't pretty, but it was about the right size and shape to go at the top of all the frills and ruffles I'd made out of petticoat netting, and it works as a template. I'll make the real one out of muslin and stuff it with regular batting, but I've got the general idea now. I'll wear it on top of my modern petticoat - it's got the right general shape, and I've already got it, so no sense in reinventing the wheel. My blue stripy skirt nearly works on top of the petticoat and bustle; it'll require some seams to be shifted in the top several inches, but that's not unreasonable. I'll also need to add a ruffle at the bottom hem, in whatever my accent fabric is, to make up for the fact that the skirt's too short (only ankle length in flat shoes). The accent fabric (according to current plan) will serve as the skirt's bottom ruffle and bustle drape (yes, I'm mixing bustle periods, I give up), as well as the binding around the top and bottom edges of the corset, and probably the main portion of the blouse / jacket, and some portion of the trim on the hat.
On the corset, I've got the busk in hand, and now I've just got to practice installing it in my mockup before I go putting holes in my real one. If anyone has practice at putting one of these in a garment, feel free to give advice. After the busk is on, there are grommets to put in, and the binding at top and bottom edges, and then it's done!