Viva Victoria! Part 1 Undergarments

           My family and I are attending the Victorian Society of Colorado Grand Ball in September. This will be the first historical event I'm taking both children to so this should be a lot of fun!

I decided to make my outfit first because I'm the only one that isn't actively growing (between the first line of this post and the last, my son hit a fantastic growth spurt 😖) First things first, the undergarments!

I am using Truly Victorian 108, TV E02 and Laughing Moon #100 for my undergarments. 

    

     This is my first time working within these eras and I FULLY recommend these patterns. Now, they are not for beginners as they assume that you know several terms and techniques.  Even so, I was about to complete all four pieces in about a month. The first thing I made was the shift from Laughing moon. 

This pattern required gathering almost immidately after cutting. As many of you know, I have a love hate relationship with gathers. I love how they look, I hate the process of making them. It's such a waste of thread. The gathers here are at the bust and back to fit it into the yoke(the neck and shoulder line).

 This pattern also required a LOT of hand sewing. You could use a machine here, but flat felling just comes out neater when I hand sew it.

 I did have to grade the pattern a bit because I'm rather pear shaped and patterns don't like that.

 New technique for me! I love this effect at the bottom! I always assumed in pics that the lines at the bottom were ribbons or something like that. In reality, it is a series of folds, firmly pressed and sewn down. I'm also trying my hand at embroidery.  It's not very good yet but that is recognizably a flower. Practice, practice, practice.







I used the same split bloomers that I made for my first foray into Elizabethan (I didn't know enough to know that those came MUCH later) from Simplicity 2890 (discontinued but this is the updated version)

Next up is the bustle. This was actually the second fastest piece in the undergarments since I completed it in 4 days. I'll admit, I was a bit intimidated but it was actually the same level of difficulty of as a round hoop skirt.

Ruffles Ruffles Ruffles!

Boning Added

Side View

Next up, the corset. I went when the Silverado gored corset and I had fun with this one. I used a curtian panel I thrifted a couple years ago for my top fabric. I flat lined it with cotton broad cloth to make it a little less transparent.

 Lots of top stitching for strength on this one. 1/16 of an inch is incredibly difficult and shouldn't be allowed.

adding grommets. Please excuse my quarantine nails

The boning in this pattern is almost entirely dependent on your individual sizes.  I added 2 "extra" bones for back side "squish".

Trim added and finished!

Last but not least, the corset cover. It's a precursor to the camisole and it prevented corset lines in your outer outfit. Since this is for evening wear, I went with the evening cover. Less bulk at the shoulder.

I decided to decorate with a lace insert and ribbon that matches my corset, just to tie the whole thing together. This is also a new technique for for me.  I ended up following this very helpful tutorial from Sarah Classic Sewing.

Cutting away the fabric underneath

Pretty!

 I am absolutely thrilled with how it all came together! Hopefully, my "unmentionables" will see lots of use for a long time. 

It's COLD!

The weather here is a lot colder than usual for this time of year and I decided I am NOT going to do like I did last year and get caught without a good warm coat. I picked up Butterick 6604 and went with black suiting, black rabbit for the collar and a teal lining. 

I totally forgot to get pics of the cutting process, but if you've seen one, you've seen them all really. Working with fur is a new experience. It. Gets. EVERYWHERE! It really does. The sheer amount of fluff was impressive really. 

adding lining to base

pleating is always a pain

Just as a bit of fun, I decided to put my initials on the bottom hemline. I used Holiday ABCs from Embroidery Designs for this.

More Lining and facing. 

I love this coat and I hope to get many years of use out of it!

Please excuse the mess on the floor. Sewing spaces should NEVER be carpeted. 😒

Quick Piece

I was approached about making an "elven style" cloak for hunting/LARPing. I've made half a dozen cloaks but this is the first functional one I've made. 

      I bought some water resistant faux suede and some water resistant lining in the same earthy brown. I just happened to find a really neat clasp that matched the woodland theme. 

           I started by cutting the whole length of suede and lining into a giant semicircle. Then a pin-sew-bag turn to make the"body" of the cloak.

So.many.pins!

The hood was more complicated. To make it less ordinary, I pulled from the look of Assassin's Creed. It is difficult to photograph because the mannequin is a child size, but you get the idea. 

 

After attaching the hood to the body, I attached the toggles to the cloak just below the neck. I'm pretty happy at the finished product and I hope the client is as well!

A Suit Fit for a Dandy

I got an interesting call from a friend saying he wanted a suit, but not just any suit. He wanted a Victorian suit. Specifically the gray suit worn by Young Dracula in  "Bram Stoker's Dracula". I've done a few modern men's pieces, but not enough to be anything remotely expert level on it, but I agreed to at least research it. 

                    After a few weeks of researching and asking questions and tips from a friend of mine who specializes in Victorian wear (thank you and a big shout out to Kristen D Foggie at Black Orchid Atelier) I accepted the request. I started with the vest because I've done a million vests before and aside from the collar, it's the same construction. I went with the Butterwick B6339 pattern so I could get the unusual drop collar correct. I completely forgot to photograph the process because I'm highly distracted by the actual assembly process these days 😁

First things first, the shirt I had to really search for this one because a modern shirt just wont do when the entire rest of the outfit is circa 1890. I used the Men's Victorian and Edwardian Shirts Pattern by Laughing Moon Mercantile. Just let me say that this pattern is absolutely NOT for beginners. If I didn't already know a few of the terms and processes, I would have been extremely lost. I used collar #46 (high neck collar) so that the cravat would sit properly. The pattern called for "collar studs" instead of buttons which is a new term and a new fastening technique. Hooray for learning new things!

Collar studs and matching cuff links. 

                    I went with McCalls 7003 for the jacket and pants. Now the collar from the movie has an extremely angled point. I figured it was to be more "batwing" like. In real life, I have NO IDEA how the costumers pulled that off. After going through 2 1/2 yards of muslin in an attempt to get the angles correct, I finally threw in the towel and just did it as patterned.  The result is nice, just not a full on copy, which was disappointing to me if no one else. 

               Though I may have been disappointed with bits and pieces of the suit, the groom was pleased with the result, which is all that really matters, and I was happy with the fit (only one fitting throughout the entire process is SCARY). Wishing a happy and long marriage to Chad and Erikisha Lanctot! Thank you for letting me be a part of it!