S2621 corset boned and basted

Believe it or not, I am still alive ... even though in the past week I have felt like that was debatable.  I've even managed to make some progress on my Simplicity 2621 corset mockup.  Just very slow progress.  I did finally get all the cable ties cut and filed and basted in ... despite my fat fluffy cat's best attempts to "help" catch the end of the cable tie when I was filing the ends smooth.  So it's boned, and sitting on the corner of my table this morning:

S2621 corset boned and basted

It has cable ties in the middle, but I chose to "hide" them by only stitching the boning channels in the middle two canvas core layers.  I think the pic itself is fuzzy ... and not just me still feeling fuzzy.  Meh.

The entire house has the sinus crud.  Hubby has employed a wet warm washcloth to get his eyes all the way open, and son's voice sounds as raspy as mine ... meanwhile I have been resisting the urge to check my ears after each sneeze to see if any brain matter has been forced out.  Blech ... y'all probably don't want details.  Just that y'all know it's bad when I leave Ren Faire early like I did yesterday.

Since we're not going today - still hoping this mess will decide to clear up and LEAVE the house - that leaves only tomorrow, the official last day of Faire.  I still don't have my new Elizabethan corset mockup done yet ... and last year's version is too stretched out to wear anymore.  Yesterday I went in my denim mid-Victorian again, as my back was acting up and I really needed the lumbar support.

If I can get my few tiny thoughts focused today, I should be able to bind this and put in eyelets (dependent upon headache level, of course).  Here's hoping.

Random garb notes

For future reference, some garb notes after spending almost all of yesterday at Ren Faire:

• Must make friend's Tudor cap, since I did promise him he would have it no later than Memorial Day ... a week from tomorrow!  Even if it does end up too hot to wear it, he still needs his matching Tudor cap to go with his doublet.
• I finally found my other red petticoat, the one with the fleur-de-lis contrast panel.  How did I "lose" a bright red petticoat?  I folded it in half and hung it on a regular hanger ... next to fluffy-poofy sleeved shirts that hid it.  (*Sigh!*  *Loud audible sigh!*)
• I have decided I should make a top to go over the smock and corset/bodies instead of a full overdress.  Not only will it be quicker and easier to sew, but that will be less skirt to maneuver in the porta-potties.  That's also a major reason I do not have a farthingale planned ... I just can't imagine the logistics of the portapotty use with one on.
• Must finish the new corset this week!  Last year's model is just too stretched out to wear even one more weekend.  It just did not feel right yesterday.  I'm over half done now ... boning channels sewn, so what's left is to cut and file the cable ties (I am not making this one period correct at all), floss them in, then bind and put in eyelets.  If I get my (*donkey*) in gear I can get it done, plus the Tudor cap.
• More wistful cringing at improperly worn corsets ... the number one mistake is wearing them too loosely.  Yeah, I know, I know ... any corset made from a "Big 4" pattern has too much ease in the pattern (Butterick, Simplicity, McCall's are the major offenders, I haven't seen one from Vogue that would qualify as a Ren Faire corset yet) and most folks just don't know any different since corsets are no longer daily wear undergarments (or in my case, outer garments!).  I saw a lady in a wonderfully-sewn 18th century stay (colonial period, probably Butterick 4254 in fact!) who had the room in back to lace it up tighter.  I don't nitpick on spiral lacing since I haven't made one laced up that way myself ... but if she had tightened it properly it would have been perfect!  Even with jeans shorts and a modern knit top, since my mind works that way.  She certainly wasn't the only one yesterday in a too-loose corset (HOW can that be comfortable??) just the one who really caught my eye.
• To top everything off ... I want a new smock/shift/chemise for next year.  My hankie linen one worked a little too great last weekend ... the temperature never even cracked 60F, and it let every tiny breeze  through and up, so it will definitely keep me cool next weekend.  Well, as cool as I can reasonably expect since the petticoat and corset aren't linen (although the new corset is lined in linen).  So, just what am I wanting?  An Irish leine!    Silly me ... I am expecting it to be a gathering nightmare on the sleeves, but darn it, I want!  I don't know why this has popped into my tiny brain, because I haven't seen an example of one at Faire yet ... but for some reason that idea moved into my tiny brain last night and is still here even with coffee.

I have no pics for today ... yesterday's intentionally mismatched outfit (for "pirate invasion" weekend) is pretty sweaty since we easily were into mid-80s (Fahrenheit) after last weekend's cold.  At least I had the "mighty umbrella" at the ready for when the sky opened up in late afternoon - this IS Tennessee and it IS spring.  About 45 minutes before the sudden downpour, some kids in their late teens or early twenties were laughing at my weapon of choice, since I carry my umbrella on my dagger frog.  I was looking for them as everyone scurried to find shelter ... just to have the last laugh.  OK, I sort-of have a pic ... my very feathered tricorn hat, which stayed dry!

Feathered tricorn "pirate" hat

Hmmm ... I've added a feathered pin to the other side since this pic was taken ... it's quite the dandy's hat.  Not a single feather got wet yesterday - a good thing since some of them are dyed!  I learned the hard way on Halloween '09 that the dye will run in rain.

Hubby and I dressed up in clothes I've made

One more pic ... the official pic of hubby and I before going into the banquet last night wearing a bunch of clothes I've made:

dressed up in clothes I have sewn

If you've read this blog even just a week, you know what I am wearing: B5355 tunic in silk charmeuse (yes, I was petting the sleeve hems during the speeches) and the Butterick 5221 knee-length shorts in linen.

Hubby's shirt is much older ... the first thing I sewed for him last year.  It is Simplicity 7030 in an offwhite linen/cotton blend, and he still loves it because it is lightweight, cool, washable (he dripped chocolate sauce on the sleeve during dessert!), and best of all he picked out the decorative stitches and was able to ask for two pockets instead of the standard one.

I have to confess: yesterday afternoon as I was ironing hubby's shirt I was cringing.  Ye-ouch ... it looks so sloppy to me now, but almost a year ago I was quite proud of it.  When I remarked on this to hubby, his response was oh-so-predictable ... make him a better one!  He'll still wear this one to tatters because he likes how it feels.

So, along with all my other want-to-sew-now projects, add in a new dress shirt for hubby ... and about four more casual shirts that I already have fabrics for.

Better pic of Butterick 5221 shorts

Hubby is home now, and honestly, I really did just press these!  LOL  Meh, it's linen ... it's allowed some wrinkling.


Wearing Butterick 5221 shorts

 I forgot to mention in the previous post ... I have just enough of this linen left over to make a matching hat!  Now I just need to decide on a hat pattern ... and debate between fedora style versus a brimmed sunhat style.

Butterick 5221 view A shorts mirror pic

Got'em done ... finally found my motivation today (something about needing them to wear this evening!) and they took me less than four hours because I stopped for lunch before hemming and the waistband.  Since neither of my guys are home yet to snap a decent pic, but I still want to show them off ... here's another good example of why I probably shouldn't post up mirror pics:

B5221 view A mirror pic

Hmmm ... are those spots on my mirror?  Or paw prints?  Probably spots as high up as they are ... and it also looks like I'll need to press these again before leaving out for son's sports award banquet.

My only problem on this is at the hips where I graded from a size 18 waist out to size 20 hips ... if I hadn't been so quick to topstitch the outer side seams down I could have fixed it, but I was "on a roll" at that point.  I am pleased with the mock fly this time ... I also interfaced it this time!  No floppy fly on this pair.  I was intending to do a blind hem, but when I double-checked the instructions, they call for some funky regular hem with zigzag raw edges and slipstitching .... odd.  So I did a more traditional hem.

I think I'll still do up view C with hidden side seam pockets and the cuffs out of the black silk/linen suiting.  But first, I need to finish my ren faire garb before ren faire ends!