Breaking the Radio Silence
Oh, poor little neglected LJ. I really should work on keeping you more updated, but seems like few people read and/or comment. Oh, well.
I have been a little bit busy since last year, when I posted that wedding dress that sucked out my soul.
I’ve sewn a lot of patches on motorcycle vests (did I mention my fiancé rides a Harley? Yup.)
I’ve sewn one corset for me, for a Halloween fund-raiser at my son’s school, in which I was the Pumpkin Path Queen. I pulled one of my old underbust patterns and built it in one night. Can’t believe it, especially since I used two fabrics for the fashion layer, a glitter net and a multi-hued stretch velvet. My son helped me tip the bones, bless his heart, while I grommetted.
(Please pardon my sewing room. My fiancé is a welder and fabricator, and when he’s not working on a movie, his tools end up living in my sewing room. We have plans to eventually build him a shop so I can claim ALLLLL of my space, but that’s a ways off. And I have two very furry dogs who believe that their place is underfoot, especially when sewing. [I may have to kick them out as I build my wedding dress. I banished them from my sewing room last year when I built that wedding dress out of ivory silk satin. They sat on the other side of the baby gate I erected, forlornly gazing at me. They were so pleased to be allowed back into the room when it was done!])
I just recently built a corset ensemble, in a week (I obviously have a problem saying no). Posted about that in Corsetmakers.
Aaaaannnd, now I’m fixin’ to get started in earnest on my own wedding ensemble, seeing as how the wedding is in a month. No pressure, right? I have all the fabrics and embellishments, though I do need to order more boning. I underestimated how much boning would be needed on that last corset, now I don’t even have four flat steels for my grommet panels!
I drank the Kool-Aid and subscribed to Foundations Revealed, and I’m glad. The a few of the articles were VERY helpful in that last corset, since I was dealing with a bust much larger than mine, and was pretty intimidated by it. I used the free tutorial to make your own pattern for it, BTW, which I’ve had printed out for years now. LOL! I particularly referenced the free article regarding fitting a larger bust, as well as the paid article about creating a push-up effect in the bust, since I was a tad afraid that the breasts in my last corset would either be flattened a-la-mammogram if I took in the corset along the top edge, or be hanging out somewhere around her waist. Neither happened, and I’m still glad I have a subscription. I can afford the few bucks a month, really.
So, now, here is where I am on my wedding outfit. I’m going to be treating this LJ like a Dress Diary. Who knows what I’ll do with it, but it’s here if it’s useful to anyone.
Okay. Here’s my working sketch of my dress. Corset top, long, A-line skirt. Either a bolero or cowl-necked top under the corset, for modesty’s sake. (My future father-in-law will be our officiant.) I reallyreally love Sparklewren’s organic-feeling lace and beading embellishment, so I’m thinking of incorporating that into my corset. Fabrics for the corset are: cow-print sequined twill (long story there), coutil, quilter’s cotton lining, silk dupioni, blue ribbon for lacing, Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, gold beads, glass beads, and possibly chains, in addition to lace and lace applique. The top layer of the skirt will be a lace net, with tulle, and I can’t decide on crepe-backed satin or a mid-weight taffeta (both polyester) or silk dupioni under the lace net. All will change the hang and shape of the skirt. I want “floaty,” and can’t decide if I will cut an A-line or a circle skirt. And I suppose I’ll need a petticoat too. Oy. I bit the bullet and ordered a dress form from All Brands. Size 18, which is still a little smaller than I am, but I wanted to get one that would work for more women than just me. It should arrive next week. I’m really excited to start draping my skirt on it!! And I suppose it will all work out that it’s smaller than I am-maybe my corset will fit it, and I can get nice photographs.
Mah stack o’ fabrics & notions:
Working on the corset paper pattern (first draft).
That first draft was waaaay too low on the top sides & top back, and too short at bottom center front, so I made the following changes:
Which resulted in a corset that would have been GREAT for a night out, but not one I would feel comfortable wearing as I stood before my father-in-law
After multiple (multiple. Like, four mockups) tweaks to the bust, as well as taking out about two inches overall at the waist and adjusting the top of the side hip curve, I finally have a corset pattern that is 99% perfect.
I’m debating adding more reduction, just at the waist, and keeping the hip and ribcage and bust just as they are, for a more dramatic shape. I’m not quiiiite as squishy as my last girl, but I’m pretty squishy.
However, if you’ll notice in my sketch, I plan on making myself a cupped corset. I really wanted a paneled corset pattern, though, in case I feel that the cupped corset looks too much like lingerie. But a cupped corset can help me pad out my bust more, which would be nice. As you can see, my cups don’t exactly runneth over.
So, I’m going to hack this apart for a cupped version. I have a sacrificial bra already selected. I’m not going to bother teaching myself how to draft a cup now, though, thanks to my subscription to Foundations Revealed, I found an excellent article on that. It is, however, full of teh mathz. Oy, not happening now. I’m planning on using my duct tape method from last year.
And that’s about where I am right now. I have a few chores to get done today, but I’ll try to keep this updated as I progress.
I have been a little bit busy since last year, when I posted that wedding dress that sucked out my soul.
I’ve sewn a lot of patches on motorcycle vests (did I mention my fiancé rides a Harley? Yup.)
I’ve sewn one corset for me, for a Halloween fund-raiser at my son’s school, in which I was the Pumpkin Path Queen. I pulled one of my old underbust patterns and built it in one night. Can’t believe it, especially since I used two fabrics for the fashion layer, a glitter net and a multi-hued stretch velvet. My son helped me tip the bones, bless his heart, while I grommetted.
(Please pardon my sewing room. My fiancé is a welder and fabricator, and when he’s not working on a movie, his tools end up living in my sewing room. We have plans to eventually build him a shop so I can claim ALLLLL of my space, but that’s a ways off. And I have two very furry dogs who believe that their place is underfoot, especially when sewing. [I may have to kick them out as I build my wedding dress. I banished them from my sewing room last year when I built that wedding dress out of ivory silk satin. They sat on the other side of the baby gate I erected, forlornly gazing at me. They were so pleased to be allowed back into the room when it was done!])
I just recently built a corset ensemble, in a week (I obviously have a problem saying no). Posted about that in Corsetmakers.
Aaaaannnd, now I’m fixin’ to get started in earnest on my own wedding ensemble, seeing as how the wedding is in a month. No pressure, right? I have all the fabrics and embellishments, though I do need to order more boning. I underestimated how much boning would be needed on that last corset, now I don’t even have four flat steels for my grommet panels!
I drank the Kool-Aid and subscribed to Foundations Revealed, and I’m glad. The a few of the articles were VERY helpful in that last corset, since I was dealing with a bust much larger than mine, and was pretty intimidated by it. I used the free tutorial to make your own pattern for it, BTW, which I’ve had printed out for years now. LOL! I particularly referenced the free article regarding fitting a larger bust, as well as the paid article about creating a push-up effect in the bust, since I was a tad afraid that the breasts in my last corset would either be flattened a-la-mammogram if I took in the corset along the top edge, or be hanging out somewhere around her waist. Neither happened, and I’m still glad I have a subscription. I can afford the few bucks a month, really.
So, now, here is where I am on my wedding outfit. I’m going to be treating this LJ like a Dress Diary. Who knows what I’ll do with it, but it’s here if it’s useful to anyone.
Okay. Here’s my working sketch of my dress. Corset top, long, A-line skirt. Either a bolero or cowl-necked top under the corset, for modesty’s sake. (My future father-in-law will be our officiant.) I reallyreally love Sparklewren’s organic-feeling lace and beading embellishment, so I’m thinking of incorporating that into my corset. Fabrics for the corset are: cow-print sequined twill (long story there), coutil, quilter’s cotton lining, silk dupioni, blue ribbon for lacing, Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, gold beads, glass beads, and possibly chains, in addition to lace and lace applique. The top layer of the skirt will be a lace net, with tulle, and I can’t decide on crepe-backed satin or a mid-weight taffeta (both polyester) or silk dupioni under the lace net. All will change the hang and shape of the skirt. I want “floaty,” and can’t decide if I will cut an A-line or a circle skirt. And I suppose I’ll need a petticoat too. Oy. I bit the bullet and ordered a dress form from All Brands. Size 18, which is still a little smaller than I am, but I wanted to get one that would work for more women than just me. It should arrive next week. I’m really excited to start draping my skirt on it!! And I suppose it will all work out that it’s smaller than I am-maybe my corset will fit it, and I can get nice photographs.
Mah stack o’ fabrics & notions:
Working on the corset paper pattern (first draft).
That first draft was waaaay too low on the top sides & top back, and too short at bottom center front, so I made the following changes:
Which resulted in a corset that would have been GREAT for a night out, but not one I would feel comfortable wearing as I stood before my father-in-law
After multiple (multiple. Like, four mockups) tweaks to the bust, as well as taking out about two inches overall at the waist and adjusting the top of the side hip curve, I finally have a corset pattern that is 99% perfect.
I’m debating adding more reduction, just at the waist, and keeping the hip and ribcage and bust just as they are, for a more dramatic shape. I’m not quiiiite as squishy as my last girl, but I’m pretty squishy.
However, if you’ll notice in my sketch, I plan on making myself a cupped corset. I really wanted a paneled corset pattern, though, in case I feel that the cupped corset looks too much like lingerie. But a cupped corset can help me pad out my bust more, which would be nice. As you can see, my cups don’t exactly runneth over.
So, I’m going to hack this apart for a cupped version. I have a sacrificial bra already selected. I’m not going to bother teaching myself how to draft a cup now, though, thanks to my subscription to Foundations Revealed, I found an excellent article on that. It is, however, full of teh mathz. Oy, not happening now. I’m planning on using my duct tape method from last year.
And that’s about where I am right now. I have a few chores to get done today, but I’ll try to keep this updated as I progress.