Truly Victorian Talma Wrap TV500 bustle era outerwear

TV500 Talma Wrap

This is the second time I have made this wrapper. The first one I did was for a neo Victorian gothic costume. It was made out of black faux suede. This new one is made out of a light weight wool jacquard coating. I found this fabric on Marcy Tilton's website. Much of her fabric is for the modern garment maker. As a person who does make some of my own every day clothing I am familiar with her product. I decided I only want to make one wrapper, so it should be a dark color. Navy or black goes with everything. Also I wanted something of decent quality that will last. So once I spotted this fabulous fabric I knew it must be mine!

I cut the size large and no fitting was needed. I recommend stay stitching the curve of the sleeves. It is very easy for them to stretch out during construction. The Talma goes together quickly and I had zero issues with the pattern or instructions. It is bag lined and has a ribbon waist tie on the inside. Haha! Basically a bustle poncho! Not a whole lot to review really. It does take a bit of trim, 7 to 8 yards I think. Also, if you live in cooler climes you can add a flannel underlining. I have lightened the pictures a bit to show detail.

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!