In vain have I struggled...

... it will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I hate and despise making stays.

I finished a pair of 18th century stays yesterday. Big woop. I don't know what it is but I feel kind of 'meh' about them.

They're white, linen and cotton, bound with bias tape, boned with plastic bone and zip ties. The pattern is the same as with the Chinoiserie stays, though I arranged the boning a bit differently.

A couple of photos here:

The angle of the straps is a bit off. Might fix that later.

Red and white stockings

I'm back! Not that I really went anywhere but my blogging break was a bit longer than intended. I have a lot of stuff going on at work and with dancing, and there are also several projects on the sewing table so it should be a busy year and no mistake.

Yesterday I finished knitting a new pair of stockings and I'm very pleased with them. They are a simple toe-up model, the pattern is my own and I used a common toe and gusset increase method, as well as a common heel option for toe up socks. The yarn is silk and merino wool blend and I knitted the stockings with needles that are maybe 1-1.5 in metric size.

I chose to tie my garters above the knee because these stockings have tendency to droop and I don't see why my knees should be bare.

I knit the socks in the round with double pointed needles and that's why the change of round can be seen at the back and on the sole.

The Courtois dress revisited

I recently made some additional underwear for the Courtois dress and today I finally took the time to photograph them. The new things are a little underbodice, natural form hoop skirt and a balayeuse hem frill for the skirt.

There are pictures, of course :)

The first layer. I'm very scandalous and don't wear the bloomers, mostly because I don't have a pair. Note to self: put on stockings and shoes before the corset...

The underbodice and the hoops. It looks ridiculous but is actually very useful. It keeps your legs clear of the mass of skirts and frills and general froufrou. I had misplaced the buttons intended for the centre front opening while I was sewing this so here the centre front is basted close. I mean to add the buttons later.

Playing the harp wearing this was VERY difficult.

The underbodice. I'm happy with the fit. Extant pieces seemed to have a longer hem or a basque, but I was short on fabric and time and chose to make a waist lenght version.

Petticoat. I'm not entirely happy with this, I might modify it in the future and ad some frills up the back of the hem.

The 1st skirt.

Cancan! Or showing off the balayeuse. I simply gathered two looooong strips of fabric and sewed  them in two tiers on the train part of the skirt.

The 2nd skirt.

And done!

Some period reading. I'm actually halfway through Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd (also a period novel) but it's a bog standard paperback and not as photogenic as my Anna Karenina.

The underbodice back.

And the fronts. I made this entirely from stash, that's why the lace doesn't go all the way to the front....

Past 18th century projects revisited

Last weekend I finally had time and energy to take a look at the 18th c. garments I have made so far. I decided to take some proper photos of them all to see how they look and fit. Here are the results.

Pockets, embroidery pattern from Eggiman's Yllebroderier

Yellow stays

Will. Not. Laugh... The silliest piece of clothing I've ever made, the pocket hoops. After the pattern in Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines.

Not much of a bum roll, I think I need to fill this up a bit or make a new one.

A smug expression is essential.

Eeek! Legs! I knitted the stockings; a very plain toe-up model, the yarn is silk-merino blend.

Green taffeta petticoat. Very lightweight, very nice to wear.

The petticoat with a caraco, fichu and ha hat made out of paper yarn. I like this ensemble the best.

Embroidered buttons with a different flower on each of them.

Working that politely disdainful expression. "Out of my way, peasant." I threw on the paniers under the petticoat even though it wasn't cut and measured for them. Still, it kind of works.

Hope my bum looks big enough.

These aren't that wide.

An anglaise-type gown. The taffeta is maybe a wee bit too shiny.

Robe retroussée dans les poches.

The sleeves were inspired by that blue caraco in KCI collection.