Rec Leave Accomplishments

So, I am back at work again today. I was actually back at work yesterday, but got so caught up that I really did not get time to myself. It is amazing how many emails you accumulate in one week. Who would have thought? But I did have a very productive week off. Apart from the expensive fabric shopping trips (East Coast and Make It) I managed to get quite a bit done.

VICTORIAN:

My natural form petticoat is complete. I was surprised that it really did not take long to put together. And it is a pretty yellow colour too, just to make it nice. I am thinking that if I get enough time before our fashion show thingy, I will put together another petticoat for underneath. This time a white one. Because lets face it, they used to wear a lot of petticoats back in the day and there is enough room under my skirt for them.
My drawers are complete, but just need to be pressed. I made the ones that come with the Laughing Moon corset pattern out of white cotton voile. So they are nice and light. I was originally going to make them open drawers, but decided that I would be more comfortable if they were closed. Basically the difference is that you sew the crutch seam together instead of finishing each leg separately. So there is no difference in the pattern. It just makes them more comfortable for me to wear.

My natural form skirt is put together. It was very simple to make up and I was really happy that it did not take an age to make. The only thing I have to do now is trim it. But I am waiting until I have made the bodice first and trimmed it to see what fabric pieces that I have left over. I am hoping that I have enough of the bodice fabric to sew a strip onto the skirt at the hem as a thick matching border. I also have cream satin ribbon to pleat on and brown velvet ribbon for the jacket and skirt. At this stage my jacket bodice is partially cut out. I intend to get the rest of it done this weekend, as I would really like this all to be complete as soon as possible.

My elliptical cage crinoline is almost finished. I have put in most of the boning and all that I have left to do is a hell of a lot of hand-sewing. Which is basically the top five rows of boning to be sewn to the ribbon stings. I am really happy with the shape and think it will look fabulous on me. At the moment it is sitting on Polly (my mannequin). But as she has no arse, it sits a little funny. I am pretty sure that it will sit well on me, especially with the corset base to hang it off. The only thing that I am worried about is that the back is so much heavier than the front (goes with the shape) so I may have to weigh it down a bit at the front so that it balances.

I have also put together my first elliptical petticoat. And I just need to hem it but I am waiting until the crinoline is done and I can try it on to get the correct length.

EDWARDIAN

My Edwardian S-bend corset is almost done. It is pieced together with the busk inserted and half has boning channels. It really should not take too long to finish. All I need to do is put in the rest of the channels, insert the eyelets, then the boning and add the bias tape hem. And then lace it on me. I am hoping that it fits well. But it may take a bit of tweaking to get the corset perfect for me. But I will be wearing this one in the fashion show.

OTHER SEWING
And the rest of my week I spend cutting out fabric, and putting together some regular clothes. Namely track pants to keep me warm on the weekends, a Lolita dress, and a jacket that I have had cut out for ages. Overall, I think I was pretty productive. I probably would have liked to get more done, but I know how I work and if I keep going for too long, I will burn out and just get frustrated and make way too many mistakes. Now I just need to spend this weekend finishing things. Like my Natural Form outfit and my crinoline. Thankfully it is a long weekend and we have a workshop on. Hopefully I can get most of it done.