Sara's Civil War Corset

We used Simplicity 9769

Fabric:

Sturdy cotton bottomweight from Joann Fabrics

Grommets, boning, twill tape, bias tape, and lacing all from corsetmaking.com

The Side

Sara goes to Civil War reenactments from time to time and has a pretty nice get-up, but her lime green corset had plastic boning and didn't give much support, so she decided to order the materials to make her own metal corset.  She got it into her head somehow that I'm really good a sewing, and so she waited till she would be staying here for two weeks to make it.

The Back

I had the pattern and getting fabric from joanns was no big deal, so we set to work.  For some reason I had it in my head that making a corset was hard.  I guess the victorian ones with all the gussets and things might be, but this one?  nothing could be simpler. :-)  It was tons of fun.

GOOF.

Everything was straight-forward.  Putting in 30 grommets and the busk was even fun. :-)

Busk

I got a blister from lacing her up 4 times that day...just for fun.  But what can I say?  We're nuts.  And now I want one for myself. :-)

We got it laced almost completely shut later, as the fabric stretched, but this is pretty much where it should be.  Look like fun?

Here it is with her hoop-skirt.

50s Polka Dot Jumper

My sincerest apologies.  As anonymous ever so astutely pointed out, this has been the longest 2 weeks ever. :-)  Life moves on.  I am still terribly busy, but I will endeavor to catch you all up on my latest sewing projects. First off... My polka dot 50s dress!

I used Simplicity 3673 view C

Fabric: Blue Leno Shirting from Fabric.com for $1.95/yd

Underlined in a white sheet.

I have been planning to make this dress for quite some time now, almost 4 years i think.  A couple of months ago I got this light blue and white polka shirting on sale and could immediately see it as a fun 1950s dress.  It was pretty sheer though, so It became obvious that it would need lining.  I delayed for a while because I wasn't sure how a separate skirt lining would look with the 12 darts.  I decided to risk using it as underlining and treat both fabrics as one.

  I spent a lot of time making the darts perfect and hand-basting every one of them to make sure it would lay right.

The Back

The Side

 I also served and hand slip-stitched the hem.  It was SO worth it. :-)  This is one of my FAVORITE dresses now.  I will definitely be making this pattern again.  I can't wait to make a 50s petticoat and see it poofed out!

Vacation

Hey guys!  I am working on a couple dresses and other sewing projects, but I won't be able to post for 2 weeks!  Get ready for a bunch of posts in June!

Purple Anniversary Dress

Pattern: McCalls 5752, view C

Fabric: Very stretchy purple floral knit

It has been downstairs for years and I've been trying to get my Mom to make herself a dress out of it for  a while, but being a busy Mom of five and homeschooling and teaching pilates.

The Front.

Well, my Mom and Dad are going on a Mediterranean cruise for their 20th anniversary, so I bugged my Mom until she decided to let me do it. :-)

The pattern was really easy and our serger made it go pretty fast.  I modified the sleeve to match what  my Mom wanted.  I basically cropped the sleeves and added tiny circle skirts to them. :-)

 Because of the crossoverness of the dress, my mom wanted a coordinating top to wear under it.

 The different areas of gathering are so interesting.

 Sleeves...

 She gave me a cami and I figured out a way to cover it without making it look awkward.

I covered the entire front, but there wasn't enough for the back.  Oh well. :-)

The Back.

Definitely cruise wear, but my Mom likes it, and that is cool.  The more I sew, the more creative I feel and the more willing I am to try new things.  Perhaps we'll see a pair of pants on here in the future?  I don't know.  What are you guys working on?