Anna's Fabulous Silk Bustle Dress!!!

In a last ditch effort to finish the dress before Anna left town, we got together last night and finished sewing the bustle and bodice of a dress I've been helping her with. You can see several steps of the dress at her evil laboratory.

After we took this picture, we even added pleating to the edge of the underskirt. There's a little bit more trim that Anna can take home to finish on her own, but she has a completely wearable bustle gown. We were both very proud of the fit!! The bodice especially goes on like a glove, and doesn't pull anywhere! The triumph of the muslin strikes again!

Completed Civil War ballgown!!!

Completed!!!

Okay...the dress needs a little bit of ironing (and I may go back and do a bit more trim), but it's done.

I have to admit that it's pretty much as uncomfortable to wear as it looks (good lord, how did women dress in these things???). So let's see...underneath the dress, I'm wearing a chemise underneath my corset so the corset doesn't rub my skin, my hoops, a petticoat, and then the heavy lined and boned dress. There's even a little bit of padding in the bodice so you can't see my corset line. I had on so many layers that I was sweating after five minutes, and couldn't quite manage to lift my arms up. I think a comfortable day dress (cotton!!! And not 18 yards of fabric!!) is moving up on my wish list.

It is pretty, though, isn't it? And it does fulfill that girlhood dream of a HUGE dress.

Completed bodice!!!

Hey all (or the few regulars who read my page!!) :)

Did LOTS of sewing this weekend. Most of it was helping out Anna with her to-die-for silk bustle dress. Visit her evil laboratory to see pictures of the finished skirt and apron. We have a picture with her also pined into her bodice. All that remains is the bustle.

I also got a chance to do lots of handsewing on the bertha. I finished applying the bias tape, sewed on the trim, and then handstiched the next of the bertha to the neck of the bodice. And voila!!! A finished bodice. I'm going to add a privacy panel in the back, sew hooks to the top of the skirt (to keep it from seperating from the bodice) and hem the skirt. Then, I'll be able to mark this gown as complete!

Projects Moving Forward!

Hey All,

Just wanted to drop a line and let you know that I am still working on my c0stumes. I'm currently hand sewing on bias tape to the bertha for the Civil War ball gown, making fabric choices with Lauren for her Jedi Robe, and helping Anna with her fabulous bustle gown! If you haven't, you should all go see how her dress is progressing at her evil laboratory. We made all kinds of progress this weekend by fitting her in a muslin of the bodice and cutting out the entire dress (and of course, we went to the fabric store!!! muhuhuwaaaah!!). I had some pictures from cutting out the silk, but I didn't want to steal her thunder, so go look at her website for pictures!

One minor nuisance: I decided to take advantage of G Street Fabrics' 50% off pattern sale to buy the jedi robe pattern...and grr...they were sold out. What's the deal? A week after halloween and suddenly the costume patterns are gone??

Next Project: Jedi Knight Robes!

Yay!!! Upcoming project!!! My friend Lauren and her boyfriend Jeff have asked if I can make them reproduction Jedi Knight oufits from the new Star Wars movies. Since there's nothing I love more then sewing on someone else's budget, I of course said yes. :)

We'll start off by making the robe (or cloak) since it's the most expensive part of the costume. The Jedi Padawan website has a lot of great information on how to make Jedi costumes. I've already done a lot of research, and have decided to go with the Simplicity pattern pictured above. I'm be making view A (it's the one that's shown in the bright blue) but I'll alter the sleeves to make them more full, and change the hood from a point to a rounder shape with no seam down the middle.

Lauren and I have already begun to scour the online fabric stores and are considering different types of wool that might do well for this project. So far, this fabric is the leading contender. I'm failry sure the rest of the outfit will wind up being out of a nice linen of some sort unless I can find some really cheap homespun.