Stripy Underthings Goodness

Progress has been made on my Edwardian Underthings project.  I have fallen head over heels in love with the Cotton Shadow Stripe Fabric...fabalous!!!  Being home for nearly a week i've been ultra productive and i have a whole nother week and a half before my next trip to NY, pleanty of time to finish up this project.

Even through they are just underthings you *never* know how a pattern is going to fit until you sew it up.  So Saturday i busted out the muslin and cut out the bodice and drawers.  I figured that making a muslin of an open back petticoat was kinda silly.  The bodice was fantastic!  No changes necessary at all.  Very impressive Folk Wear.  Next came the drawers... I got them on, stepped in front of the mirror, and decided that the horror was too much to bear and there was no way i was going to be sewing these are wearing them in public.  I really do not like how period drawers/bloomers usually fit.  I knew that i was going to need to make some adjustments, but this was too much.  Apart from being way too full for me personally they were not balanced, so the legs collapsed and bunched up at the leg opening instead of hanging nearly straight off the hips.  Plan B?  Laughing Moon Saloon Girl Drawers to the rescue!  I made these in a short version for my Victorian Saloon Girl Costume for Steam-Con last year and knew they were fantastic.  I lengthened the pattern, skipped the muslin, and found the ruffles from the Edwardian Underthings fit perfectly on the Laughing Moon pattern, nice.

Current Progress:
* Drawers complete, minus ruffle @ Leg Opening
* Petticoat structure complete, minus ruffle layers @ Hem
* Bodice ... 0% complete

All of the seaming has been done using French Seams.  I haven't sewn French Seams since school...damn do they make things look pretty.  The bodice has been on the back burner while i decide if i have time to crochet some lace inserts this week to accent the top.  THe leaning is towards crocheting the lace because i know how purty it is and the sewing pattern even came with corchet patterns for the different inserts on the garments (super awesome too Folk Wear).

A new skill obtained today was using a "Bias Turner".  Awesome little machine that *super* helped as it kept me being able to feel with my fingers versus the normal burning off off my fingertips in sacrifice to the self bias god.  I needed for the waist casing on the petticoat, and had some left over scraps begging to help out.  I spoke with a friend about these a few months back as she made fantastic bias tape.  "New Mommy - get one ... they're everything we thought they might be and more!!!"






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