Truly Victorian TV405 Vest Basque Bodice my 1870s silk bustle dress plus new undergarments!

This all started with the silk taffeta that arrived looking nothing like the color I thought it was supposed to be. I was expecting an olive-ish greenish something. It is, well... Brown. Sort of toffee colored with a shimmer of golden olive. It left me in a quandary. I was (and still am) planning a pretty green bustle dress. But this fabric, even though not expected, was drawing me in. A challenge. A color that does not quite suit me. I really wanted to make it work. This fabric is papery crisp and has the most delightful swishing sound when I walk around in it. I cruised around the internets and finally landed on some blue and brown micro check silk shantung at Mood. It was 9.99 a yard and the brown shade in the check was an exact match to my taffeta! Plus knowing I was going to use it as the vest part I didn't need to buy 9 gazillion yards.

TV405 Vest Basque:
I had not made this pattern before. It has been sitting in my stash for years (like 4). I know, I am so drama. ;-) The only thing I wasn't digging about this pattern was the cuffs. Those would drive me crazy. So I substituted the sleeves of TV403. They fit great! I found this bodice easier to fit. I think because on my last one I had finally worked out some issues and confusion I had been having. I took out a 1/2 inch fold across the back. As you can see it rid me of the back armhole lump bubble o' fabric I normally have. As usual I shortened the upper bodice 2 inches and I adjusted the front shoulder seam to get rid of that front armhole fabric lump bubble that always wants to become a dart. It did help quite a bit. I had no issues putting the bodice together. It was easy. You treat the vest seam as the second dart. I wound up making that seam a little smaller for fitting purposes. I really love this bodice and plan on making it again. It is very flattering.

The skirts are TV201 and TV305. All worn over the TV108 grand bustle. I also made two new petticoats, and two (yes two!!!!) combination underwear. One is baby pink and one is black (meow!) I will never make a separate chemise and drawers again. Historically accurate be dammed! Combinations all the way!

I decided to just make a basic black hat. It is the same hat base as my kelly green one. Easy and quick! Goes with everything!

Here are all the undergarments:

Truly Victorian Grand Bustle:

Truly Victorian petticoats View 1:

 First petticoat in pink!

Second petticoat in cotton lawn leftovers.

Truly Victorian combinations TV105:

This was surprisingly easy to make. The most time consuming part is all the facings. I recommend using interfacing of some kind on all the facings for stability. I had no trouble fitting this garment and it does go together pretty quickly. I shortened the length on the legs only, for reference I am 5ft 4in tall. I really like the low neckline. It doesn't show at all when I am wearing my gowns. I left off the mini sleeves and just finished the arm holes with bias. I put separate garment shields in my bodices and didn't want any additional bulk.

All in all, I am satisfied with all I have achieved in the month of November! I am especially pleased with some new undergarments. I don't enjoy sewing them very much. But I did manage to keep my focus and get them done. Yay!