Sunday, May 08, 2005

Robe Francaise: Muslin



Here's the completed Muslin for the Robe francaise. I'm wearing it inside out, because I was pinning a few seams that needed adjusting. The only fitting issue I'm going to have is through the neck/shoulders area where there is too much fabric - this causes gaping from the shoulder to the bust area. I think I can solve the problem by sewing larger seams at the shoulder seam, which maked the pattern fit smoothly like it should. The sleeves fit well, and the understomacher (that front part of the dress) seems to fit right where it should.

The lining pieces do not match up with the pattern pieces exactly, so I'm a little nervous about how I'll transfer the changes I make on the muslin to the pattern itself.

This week I also did a little bit of work on a corset I bought off of ebay almost a year ago. I'd always been very dissapointed with it: it's a pretty blue satin 18th century corset, but very poorly made. After waiting for 4 months to receive it instead of the promised 4 weeks, the edges of the corset were left raw and unbound, the legnth of the corset was a ridiculous 5 inches too long (so I couldn't sit in it), and there were these silly unboned tabs that just sort of hung off the corset and didn't do anything.

Since my fully boned corset (pictured underneath the muslin above) is so uncomfortable, I thought I'd alter the blue satin corset, and see if I could make it work. I did a lot of cutting and handsewing one evening in front of the TV, and I think I have a much nicer finished product now. I shortned the corset, cut off the useless tabs, and bound the edges. It's a little short in the waist, which unfortunately seems to be a design flaw, but it's MUCH more comfortable, plus it actually has a wooden busk that makes it very period. Pictures to come!

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