My experience with Truly Victorian TVE01 1903 Edwardian S Bend Corset

One thing I have been wanting to make for quite a while is an S bend corset.  I am not the most prolific corset maker because it's not my favorite activity. However, I really want to delve into this era and one must start with the proper foundations. I had already made some Edwardian combinations quite awhile ago. Probably my most favorite style of under garments. Alright! Let's go!

Pattern and sizing:

Multi sized with different cup sizes up to DD. The corset had 3 bust heights and 3 hips lengths. Really, I mean REALLY read thru her size selection several times. It will make things so much easier. By following her directions I only needed one mock up. First off don't over fit this corset. Use padding where needed. I have a hip/rump pad that I use under my 1890s costumes because my hip/waist ratio is very small. A little extra padding gives me a more hourglass shape.

What can be tricky about the sizing is waist/bust size. If there is 2 or more size differences between your waist and bust measure you need to reduce your cup size. I wear a D cup bra. Do to my waist/bust size I went down to a B cup. Trust me, it works. I started obsessing about hip size but stopped once I made my mock up and realized I had made them too small. I knew I was over thinking and went up one size in my hip area. I decided on the mid bust and longest hip length. If you have a tummy a longer hip length will be your friend.

Materials:

This is a single layer corset. I used beige coutil for mine. I decided on synthetic whalebone for most of my boning except for the back lacing bones, they are flat steel. She does not recommend spiral steels for this corset, only flat steel. I did cheat and used coutil lacing tape. The real good quality lacing tape isn't cheap. This is the only corset I have ever used it for and it was awesome! The tape has a boning channel on each side of the grommets. I bought mine from Farthingales and they have a tutorial on how to use it.

Directions:

Her directions are very clear. I didn't have any issues at all. There are no clearly marked boning channels on the front pieces. Look at the diagram and you will see where to place them.

Things I did differently and final notes:

I did add a couple extra boning channels on the back/side backs. This is just a personal preference. I also put in a double busk. A double busk is a wide piece of flat steel that you encase in fabric and sew on to the corset near the main busk. It makes it so much easier to do up a busk when dressing and add additional support. I don't do this when wearing a spoon busk. I have found that a lot of regular busks are flimsy and the extra bone behind them helps with that. Here is a link on the double busk process.


https://corsetmakers.livejournal.com/1692950.html

Also here is the type of under busk/double busk boning I bought.

https://corsetmaking.com/extra-wide-under-busk.html

TVE01 is a great pattern. I am totally pleased with the results and I am looking forward to costuming a whole new era!

Trying to be tasteful here....

 Here is my double busk. The bone does not need to be as long as your busk.

 Wrong side of double busk.

 Close up front.

I made some garters using 1 inch overall clasps, satin ribbon, no roll elastic and 5/8 inch sew on metal buttons. The overall clasps come with nail on buttons and they weren't cooperating with me.

Jane Fest 2017 Regency riding habit and an open robe hack

I've been quiet lately. After such a busy summer I had a nice lull in costume activities. I've still been sewing though.

Jane Fest 2017 took place at the University of Washington this past weekend. This is the first but hopefully not the last Jane Fest. The turn out was really great! There was also a ball and those tickets sold out in about 5 minutes. There is a definite desire in our region for Jane but also for Regency costume events. The Washington Regency Society (WRS) and JASNA both had informational booths at the event. We are alway looking for new members and there was so much interest from the public that our booth was jumpin! I also participated in the fashion show. It was very well received, and wow there were a lot of people in the audience! Needless to say for such an attention whore I do get very nervous during fashion shows and the like. I'm sure it shows, but I am also trying to step out of my introvert zone and live a little. I figure if I can inspire even one person to follow their creative passion then my work has purpose. Now, on to sewing!

Regency Riding habit:

I have wanted to make a riding habit for quite awhile. Practicality had been holding me back. However when the fashion show line up arrived in my email I was tagged to wear a riding habit. I easily had 2 months to make it so I jumped right in. The real trick was finding wool in a bearable color and at a good price. Not as easy as one would think. Luckily I ran across some dark brown 100% wool suiting for a sweet price. One of my fantasy garments has been a brown wool hooded cloak lined with rich lavender duchess satin. It is one of my favorite color combinations. Once I purchased my wool I set about looking for lavender velveteen. Again, not an easy task because I was really looking for a particular shade. After looking around I discovered the perfect shade of lavender velveteen at Wm. Booth, Draper. I knew I would be using it as trim on my spencer and for my top hat only. I happily purchased two yards.

Patterns used:

Laughing Moon #137 Regency pelisse and spencer. View C with view B collar.
Sense and Sensibility drawstring dress.
Lynn McMasters top hat pattern.

Laughing Moon #137

A new release pattern. I normally wear a size 22 in LM so I decided to go that route. It made up easily and I had no issues with the instructions. I feel like this spencer runs a bit large. The bust is roomy (even for me). I used the non overlapping center closure and I can actually still overlap mine quite a bit. I left off the belt because my velveteen was pretty bulky for piping and though it did work on the spencer body for a small belt it looked wrong. I thought about making my belt out of the velveteen but then realized I didn't want a horizontal line of lavender cutting me off. On my frame (chubby) a continuous unbroken column of color looks more flattering. My advice on this pattern is choose your normal size and one size down and make a muslin of both. I think if I make this spencer or pelisse again I will give size 20 a try.

Sense and Sensibility drawstring dress: S&SDD

AKA my favorite! I am pretty much in love with this dress. It is easy to make and size adjustable. I have made 4 drawstring dresses since summer. You can make one in about 6 hours. The sleeves are a bit fussy but once you figure out the fussy bit they go right in. Since this was a riding habit I made a sleeveless jumper out of S&SDD. I added length and width to the skirt. My train is very short because trains suck in general. The pattern only talks about adding extra width to the skirt for the crossover bodice view. However I find that the skirt looks better on the drawstring dress if you just cut the panels the whole width of your fabric. It adds a bit more oomph to the finished product. On my first drawstring dress my skirt feels so skimpy.

Lynn McMasters top hat/riding hat pattern:

Who doesn't want a lavender velveteen top hat! Since I like fashion drama I used the men's stovepipe crown and the Victorian women's riding hat brim. I knew I wanted a hella tall hat with a small brim. This is not a beginner pattern, more intermediate. It goes together nicely. I did have to finesse the tip and crown to fit together. This caused me to even/smooth those areas out with extra mull. It was worth the extra effort. Since the pattern is unisex sized and no measurements are given I went with size large. My head is 23.25 inches so I did have to take some bulk out of the head opening. She does cover how to do that in the instructions. The hat is a perfect fit.

Open robe hack using Laughing Moon 126 Bib front gown: TNT (tried and true)

I decided to use my TNT laughing Moon 126 as my open robe. I had bought a beautiful sari and was dying to make an open robe but didn't feel like fitting a new pattern. Hacking this was simple. I used the front lining pieces that you tie together under the bib front. I traced off the piece and just re-drafted the neckline to my preference.  Then I added to the front for the closure. I used 2 hooks and eyes to close my robe. The back of the gown stayed the same except I didn't pleat the skirt fabric I just gathered it.

 The original piece is above my traced off and altered version.

Here is the original piece laid over my altered  bodice fabric. 

Since I had run out of fabric for my under gown I had to add sleeves to my open robe. I just used the sleeve from the LM pattern. The under gown was made from thrifted fabric. It is white cotton with a gold metallic stripe. There were some stains on the fabric I had to fussy cut around but it all worked out. I used my Sense and Sensibility drawstring dress as my under gown and just finished the arm openings with bias tape. Easy peasy.

A most fun time! Here are some additional pictures of our long but fantastic day.

 My green silk spencer and matching hat!

The lovely Countess and I before the fashion show.

 The Countess having a chat with Flat Jane.

 Flat Jane saying something scandalous!

 Or funny!

 Flat Jane selfie!

 The Countess, Lady Rebecca and yours truly.

 Always fun with the Countess!

 Dancing at the ball!

I did enjoy four dances even though my feet were killing me! It was a super long day but so worth it. There were a lot of people dressed up for the main event and the ball. My only words of advice ladies, leave the trains off for the ball. I noticed a few young ladies struggling with their trains and it was painful to watch. You don't want your pretty dress stepped on and torn, trust Madame Mimi on this. ;-)

Final Notes:

My turban was made using the Wingeo turban pattern as my base and then I just draped the rest and added some beads and feathers. My pearl jewelry was purchased from inthelongrun on Esty.

Still gettin down with the frumpy 1920s and Butterick 6399!

Ah, I am learning to love the 20s frump. It sort of grows on you. I you have been anywhere near the Pacific Northwest in the last week you know we have been hot hot hot. Bear in mind most of us PacNW peeps don't have AC in our homes so when the temps soar we get bitchy. Even with hot weather there were two events on Saturday that needed to be attended. Now initially I was thinking of trying to wimp out. However, my tough as nails friend The Countess, inspires me to "just do it" so off I went on our Saturday adventure. I was planning on dressing 1911ish but I was not feeling the corset love with the possibility of temps in the 90s. This is why the 1920s are the costumers friend.

How Butterick 6399 came to be:
I started B6399 for the New Deal Picnic. Actually it was almost done the week before that event and I hated it. It just looked Laura Ashley circa 1985 to me. The sash and big bow were just too much. Keep in mind that this is supposed to be an evening dress. I think the sash/big bow would work fine for the evening dress look; but for a cotton lawn dress it was too over the top.

Size/Alterations/Design Changes:

I am sort of smack between size 20/22 in pattern land. Seeing that this was going to be loose fitting (even the under slip which is described as close fitted) is still somewhat loose fitted. I decided on a size 20. For my 20s dresses I choose to wear a "leisure bra". Like I have ever worn a bra that made me feel like laying upon a fainting couch, eating bonbons and reading a novel full of long winded prose. Nope. However, they make good 20s bras. Ok here we go!

Alterations:
I shortened the skirt on the slip and dress by a couple inches. That sucker would have been a bit past ankle length on me. That is all I did.

Design changes:
This is where I got confused by the yardage requirements on the back of the envelope and had to read through the instructions to understand.

Costume Fabric:
This is for the underdress/slip.

Contrast 1:
Sheer fabric, like chiffon.

Contrast 2:
Scalloped lace.

Underdress;
So once I figured out what the chiffon was for I knew I wasn't going to be needing it. My under dress/slip has a cotton bodice and a China silk skirt. I would have like to make the whole thing of China silk fabric but I didn't have enough. I used petersham ribbon for the straps.

Overdress:
Double edged scalloped cotton lawn fabric with a micro black polka dot. The overdress has a very time consuming closure on the back scallops of snaps. Lots of little snaps to sew on. I skipped all that and made the overdress a pullover. The back neckline is finished with self fabric bias and my arm openings are just narrow hemmed. On my dress front the center panel is a rectangle of scalloped fabric sewn into the V shaped front opening. Then I trimmed it into a V shape after it was sewn in. The model dress on the envelope doesn't have a center piece in the V, that is the slip/underdress you are seeing (teal fabric).

Sash and big ass bow:
I didn't have any fancy fabric for the sash so I used a black cotton sateen. It went together fine but was just too heavy for a day dress. I made a narrow waist tie and added 2 belt carriers at the side seams. Works fine and keeps with the light airy look of my day dress. My belt could be a bit wider but I was in a hurry.

End Notes:
If you skip all the extras; like snappy closures, you can make this fairly quickly. I wound up liking this dress once I left off the sash and added the center front panel. It was super comfy to wear on a hot day. I will wear this one again for sure. If you have a really large chest and small frame I am not sure this could be a slip over. I have a large chest but the rest of me is fairly proportionate to it. If you make a muslin first you will know for sure. If I need a 20s style evening dress I would use this pattern again.

What events?!
Our morning started out with the Kent Historical Society's home tours. Then it was off to be costume judges for a SASS (single action shooting society) event in Renton. I don't normally take pictures at the SASS event because I am busy looking for good costumes. Also there is tremendous gun fire going on and it is a bit jarring. In spite of being spooked by gun fire like a skittish Shetland pony I did have a great time.

 A modern straw sun hat with a tacked on wide taffeta ribbon.

 All along the offset scallop seam is where the back closure is supposed to be.

 Enjoying the Japanese Mimosa tree.

 The Countess being surprised at her strumpet like behavior in her 1890s swim dress.

There was a little horseback riding at the SASS event. The Countess was the only one wearing bloomers for astride riding. ;-) 

Sash and bow. Meh on a day dress.

Under dress/slip. It closes in the back with 2 hooks and eyes.

In spite of my being completely ladylike The Countess awarded me with the best "soiled dove" certificate. She knows me so well.....;-) We didn't have any contestants for this category so I won by default. So you see, the frumpy 1920s is totally the sexy!