Mrs. Lovett costume almost finished

I finished the project as much as I could while I wait for my husband to fix the serger. I had changed out the white for black, and ever since it won't weave the thread like it used to.

I finished the skirt and decided to add some gothic brick-red bias tape to the edge of every ruffle (3 packages got me barely there!) I also finished the corselet, which really looks good with the clear red sparkly ribbon. All I'm waiting to do is serge the edges of the shirt, as it is made of a black sheer chiffon. Should look good once it is finished.

All I need is a pair of black mitts and some red and black striped stockings, as well as black lace and eyelet for the neckline (which I am having a hard time finding).

The only problem is that the black cotton I had to match to the chiffon picks up lint everywhere....looks like I'll have to carry a lint brush in my pie basket!

Three Dresses for Three Perfect Little Ladies

Since Ike and my first year teaching got in the way of making these last year, I finally decided summer to be a great time for a large, fun project. I decided to make my three cousins true-to-the-period Victorian dresses using McCall's 5131.

The pattern suggests to use cotton, but I decided it would look best in taffeta, since it was designed with all that fancy trim that would have been expensive back then. That way, they would match me and my husband in class.

When I went to NYC last summer, I had gotten cranberry and green taffeta, thinking my nieces would be in my wedding. (Didn't happen for a number of reasons.) So all I need is a third color (navy blue?) for the third. I've been looking on eBay lately but not much luck.

I've already finished the undergarments for Paris, including a chemise, pantalettes, and petticoat. I'm tempted to lace up the pantalettes to make them all frilly, since I have so much left over from the wedding, but I think I need to finish the rest of the outfit to see if that would be going overboard. Sure would look cute, though.

The underwear has been super-easy to make. It's the dress that has been the source of my upset lately. I started cutting the cranberry thinking if I messed up, I can always get more (yeah for $7.99/yd at HL!!!) Well, I didn't think of how the dress was made with 2 tiers, and I didn't notice that I had to cut 4 of the same pattern, 2 on the shorter line and 2 on the longer line. It's very confusing, since there are so many cutting and shortening lines I ended up cutting 4 shorter overskirts instead of 2. Looks like I'm going to have to go to HL soon...

I finally found the key to working with gimp trim. I remember having an awful time with it when I was making my first Dickens dress. You start out sideways, going frontways and back again until it's good and secure at the end. Then you go back into the middle and turn lengthwise. It's easier than using that clear anti-fray stuff because you don't have to wait for it to dry.