Today's project: An Experiment in Corsetry

Years ago in my previous UK life in the theatre I had to 'make' a costume involving a corset.  At the time it proved too far out of my comfort zone and far too far out of my budget so I put the costume together using a kind of bustier, from Top Shop I think.
Fast forward into a different life where I'm now able to sew just for me, and for lots more fun, I've become interested in trying new sewing projects and actually learning the craft, rather than superficially trying to just 'make it work'. I was really inspired by verypurpleperson's blog and reading her post on sewing a corset decided that I was going to try it for myself^

So... today I started.  I chose the Laughing Moon underbust corset kit from sewcurvy.com which comes with all the materials and bits and bobs (spiral boning, eyelets, ribbon, tape) that you need to put the corset together.  Not trusting myself to keep white fabric clean, I went for the black coutil, which is a fabric apparently made specifically for constructing corsets.  It is a very tightly woven fabric, I guess to avoid stretching and to deal with the boning and lacing.  

Today's achievements:  I've managed to successfully..
cut the fabric pieces:

insert the front right and left busks:

and insert the eyelets in the two back pieces:

Being an impatient soul and not having immediate access to an awl, I used small scissors and a 7mm knitting needle to form the holes before hammering in the grommets (I do have a hammer^).  For a first time eyelet installation, I'm quite pleased^

Time for a cup of tea, I think!

Frank: the Stuffed Green Olive Bear

Meet Frank the bear^   

I never realised that I wanted a bear until I saw this on the Purl Bee website.  I was almost tempted to buy the kit which includes what looks like gorgeous (and pricey^)  soft felted wool, but having access to the awesome Dongdaemun fabric market meant it seemed daft not to source my own material.

Olive felt (about 2mm thickness) and contrast cotton for nose, ears, paws and tail

Not being sure of how it would work out, I went for some soft felt and even better that I found it in one of my favourite green shades.  The pattern is available as a free download and the instructions are quite easy to follow.  I'd never made a toy before so I guess I'd thought it would be much harder than it turned out to be... either that or the Purl Bee pattern is foolproof (yes, probably that^).  The pieces go together quickly and the whole bear took only a few hours to put together.

Despite a foolproof pattern, I still managed to make mistakes^^.  As the arms are sewn into the side seam whilst the body is inside out you have to be sure which arm (left or right) you are placing into which socket^  Yep, I got them the wrong way round...  Still - gives Frank that unique Jennifer twist.

Mistakes?  What mistakes?!!

First Post! Finished Cambie

After a long while putting off hemming and tidying up the dangling bits of thread, I finally finished my first Cambie dress.  'First' Cambie dress because, although I'm a bit late joining Sewaholic's Cambie bandwagon,  I absolutely love the dress and pattern and have already plotted out more makes with some other fabrics.  I love the shape of the classic A-line skirt (not being a big fan of drapey gathers) and the pocket inserts are beautifully added.  

My apartment's a bit disorganised at the moment to try taking pictures of me wearing it, so the dress form will have to stand in for the moment.  

I'm quite pleased with the final outcome of the dress; after making the toile/muslin it was quite saggy around the middle so I increased the front darts about 1/2 inch... I thought it wasn't necessary to go up a skirt size as the general size was fine, just a baggy middle (which no-one wants^ not even to hide a big lunch under) and that resulted in a perfectly fitted waistband and skirt. Next time I'm going to have to try to adjust the top - a lack of experience with recutting patterns caused me to cut a bigger bust size then try to make up for my narrow shoulders by taking in the sides and making the shoulders lower, although that didn't quite work.  Oh well... so off to the internet I go to research FBAs, sigh.  The sweetheart neckline ended up gaping rather too much and so, not wanting to undo all of my hard work up to that point (aargh) I decided on a quick fix and improvised a couple of tucks.   Can only be seen if you're staring hard at my bust...  You've been warned^^ 

Ok.. stare at the neckline then. 

Another impressive thing about this dress: the cost (minus pattern and (wo)man hours)^^  The fabric is a soft drapey cotton, super light and perfect for summer.  I love the red colour  and the pattern - although I'm not a confident pattern wearer - and cost a grand total of 4'000 ₩ (£2.33 in today's money) from "New Pattern Man" (not his real name) at Dongdaemun fabric market here in Seoul.  I think he'll warrant his own blog post later.