Materials and Pattern

I bought the hoop already made, but I used this pattern for the chemise and corset, aka payre of bodies.
This wasn't my first choice because I thought I would look bad in it but the corset makes all the difference. This one looks more fun, anyway.

This gooooorgeous trim is from eBay from a seller called heritagetrading. It is handcrocheted and hand-beaded with teeny little pearls in India. I sure hope it wasn't made in a sweatshop. It sells for $17.99 for 4 yards, free shipping from India! Shipping was very quick, too. My mom asked me, "Where's the blood??" but even she agreed it was too good of a deal to miss, and anyway, I don't think you can find goodies like this anywhere in the states. Being hand-made is even better. God bless the person who is talented enough to do this. Only problem is, it's a very deep gold and the trim I had chosen for the forpart of the skirt is much lighter. Might have to forego the forepart trim or get some new that matches.

This was also from eBay from a seller called lilys_fabric. It sells for $12.99/yard and you can get as many as you want. I love it!!! It makes a fantastic forepart.

I dn't have a photo of the blue velvet I bought on eBay since it was so long ago, before I moved into the new house. Alas, I lost the info on it so I'm not sure what I paid or where I got it from. All I know is that it was 7 yards of 54" wide cotton velvet (yes, cotton, not poly!). The yardage is a hair short on the sleeves, and I don't think I'll have enough for the outer part of the lower sleeves, so I think it'll all be in black as a nice contrast. I've seen the same done in that YouTube costume show I saw so it must be legit. I'm thinking a black real silk taffeta might do the trick. I'm also thinking of a medium-weight white silk for the false sleeves since I don't need too much. Jeez, this gown is gonna cost me about $300 at least when I'm done with it. Better be worth it. I got tired of my husband being asked to have a photo with random people, and me being left out, so if this one doesn't catch anybody's eye, nothing will.

And if anyone is to blame, it's my husband. He started it when he shopped at Pendragon and got all that fancy garb!!! So he better not complain about it!!!

Change of mind - English to French

I couldn't make up my mind worth a crap about the English vs. French gowns. I didn't think my Marilyn Monroe-like figure would ever remotely look good in a French gown, but to my delight, I was wrong! (Might have to do with switching meds and losing a lil bit of weight! Yeaaah!)

I had started the summer off making a lightweight summer 16th century corset, made of plain muslin and lightweight plastic boning (the kind you get in a small roll from Dritz). It was actually fairly supportive without having to be made out of coutil, which I usually use to make my corsets. Sad thing is, the muslin was too wimpy for the grommets, and my grommet tool was sticking because it was old and worn, so it ended up that the tool stuck so badly that I had to rip it out. Needless to say, I need to get a more expensive one that will last (it was from Wal-Mart). My husband was gracious enough to put in the grommets in the expensive coutil one that I had to remake.

I always get my corset supplies from http://www.corsetmaking.com/CMSpages/CMShome.html . They are a little expensive, but I think they all are. They are, however, fast on shipping. The only things I can really complain about is that they only offer one type of wooden busk and it's too long for my torso, so I'll have to have my husband to cut it and sand the edges so they will be rounded. Also, their lacing is really cheapo nylon or something and it got shredded going through the grommets, so now I have to keep a lookout for a cotton kind. I thought since I'm small, I would need the shortest kind, but it's really not good for anyone because even I can't use it - my husband has to completely pull it out when I get in/out of it. My Victorian one has lacing that hangs way down. Can't win.

I'll admit, it really is weird having a corset that opens in the back only. There's no front "emergency" exit, as it there is in the Victorian kind. However, I think this center wooden busk is much more supportive. I like it a lot, surprisingly enough.

The only thing that kinda upset me, historically speaking, is I found out that ladies really didn't wear corsets till later in the 16th century. I found an awesome set of videos about a costume presentation in England from last year. They undress one of the ladies so that you can see what they wore under and how it all works together. It has almost answered all my questions, and now I have a clear picture of what to do and what not to do. Not that I can afford to do everything exactly like they did (Texan autumn is nothing like Tudor England weather) so at least I know what I plan on doing "wrong" so that I won't die from the heat.

Here's the link. Be sure to enjoy the other videos. There's about a dozen of them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZk9zLSzfPo