Life In A Corset: Episode 1

This series will be about ups and downs of wearing a corset.

Last weekend I wore my corset for about 20 consecutive hours. First I wore it with overalls to an outdoor meeting for Pioneer Farms upcoming productions. Wearing something that close fitting in Texas heat is a bad idea. If I hadn't been wearing a tube top underneath, my corset would have been smelly and gross. I then changed into nice black flared jeans, victorianesque heeled booties, and a quarter sleeve tan blazer. My corset functioned as my blouse. I wish I had remembered to get a picture but suffice it to say my friends said I looked professional and I thought I looked fabulous. This ensemble I wore dancing. Not at a club bumping and grinding but at a dance studio that hosts teen dances. When I say "dance" I mean waltz, tango, salsa, jitterbug, etc. I decided that I wanted to wear the same outfit to church the next day so I just slept in my corset. It would have been a pain to get out of it that late at night and then try and get it on the next morning. For the most part it was comfortable to sleep in. There was just one zip tie that was sitting oddly on my hip and was digging in but overall I had no trouble sleeping. The next morning I just got ready for and went to church and then wore it till the late afternoon/early evening. I will say that I couldn't eat as much in one sitting as I'm used to but I was hungry more often so I ate more than three times.

Stay Beautiful <3

Live Like We're Dying

Allow me to bare my soul for a moment....

     Last night I had a dream. In the dream I was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given 2-4 weeks to live. The cancer was so advanced that chemo (or any other treatment) would only extend my life by a few weeks. I opted for no treatments so as to live my last days with a semblance of normalcy. Immediately after leaving the doctor's office I went to a friends house and told him that I would die soon. I bawled my eyes out and he comforted me. Once I had calmed down he asked me if there was anything he could do.

Let me side bar here, I have thought about the things that I would want to do if I knew I was going to die soon and at the top of the list is have sex.

So, in my dream I basically propositioned him... And then backtracked and explained how unfair that was to him since sex is more than just a physical act and bonds the two participants to each other. In other words, he would feel my death in a way no one else could. I went on to tell him that I was conflicted and knew that no matter what I shouldn't have sex outside the confines of marriage. He offered to get married... I thought about it for a second and then realized that wouldn't be alright either because marriage is an institution developed by God to better further His kingdom and marrying a non-Christian at the very end of my life solely to have sex without the guilt of fornication was not a solution. 

 His response was to encourage me to seek God's will for my last days and to look for ways to further His kingdom through my situation. After that the dream skipped to after my funeral when my sister found an unpublished blog post that explained why I didn't tell everyone that I was dying, thanked my friend for not taking advantage of me and instead pointing me in the opposite direction so that my last days could shine bright for Christ, and encouraged him to return to his Heavenly Father.

This dream reminded me that, while most of us don't have cancer or any diagnoses that tells us we'll die in a month, we are still terminal. Every one of us is dying. We don't know the day or the time, it could be tomorrow or ten years from now, but our death is inevitable. And even when we're at death's door as Christians we are still called to further God's kingdom and point others to Him. Even after we're gone our lives, our legacy should be pointing others to Christ.

 With this in mind, why is it so hard to live like we're dying?

Christine Daae Bodice

I didn't have enough money to buy a pattern for the bodice so I had to figure out how to make my own pattern. I found a tutorial on drafting a sloper (I think that's what its called). Its basically a bodice that fits close to your body and has a high neckline. It's a stepping stone. Once you have your sloper you can then add or take away to create the right neckline, hemline, etc. I lowered the neckline and made sure the bottom front angled to a point. I used lining, interfacing, an invisible zipper, and the same satin as I used for the skirt. I would suggest adding just a little bit of boning to the front to make the bodice lay smoother. Essentially, I used the same construction method as the corset with on alteration. Rather than sewing the sides and leaving the top and bottom open, I sewed the top and bottom and left the sides. The shoulder seams should be the last things sewn together. I put the zipper in upside down because it wasn't a separating zipper and I needed the waist to be able to come apart so I could fit it over my shoulders.

 I used three different kinds of lace trim to decorate the bodice. I would suggest for the largest lace to use lace fabric. Trace the neckline of your bodice onto the lace and then from there create your desired shape. The trim tends to curl up and that is not attractive. I just layered the smaller trim on top. I also gathered and layered some tulle and attached them to the underside of the shoulder straps. I plan to work on those and make them a little more professional than they are right now.

 

And pics from the masquerade....

 I hope you enjoyed this little series.

Stay Beautiful <3

Christine Daae: Skirt and Bustle

For the skirt I used pink costume satin and white tulle, about 8-9 yards of each. I used the same pattern I used for the petticoat. Truly Victorian 1865 Elliptical Skirt - TV247.

Similar to the corset I made two skirts, one out of satin and one out of tulle. I stitched them together along the top edge and then added the waistband.

I placed some thick elastic in the waistband to add some stiffness. The first part of the waistband was sewn on the sewing machine but the inside edge I stitched by hand.

The bustle consisted of two large rectangles of satin and tulle (like the skirt), what looks like a rectangle with a semi-circle added to one end, and three small rectangles similar to the waistband. In order to keep the tulle and satin together I placed one piece of tulle on top of one piece of satin and folded under the edges a quarter inch all the way around and then just stitched around the edge. Repeat. The small rectangles were folded in half right sides facing each other and then the sides were sewn. Both of the rectangles were gathered at the top and bottom and the other one was only gathered along the top straight edge. At the top of the bustle, the first tier was sandwiched in a rectangle just like the waistband. The first and second tier were joined in pretty much the same way but there was more fabric sew through. The second and third tiers were sewn together in the same way. I had to sew the tiers together by hand. Each garland was wired and taped together with floral wire and floral tape. I used roses, peonies, and a dahlia in shades of pink and some peach. I hope to find a large pink rose for the bottom tier rather than the current flower in the center.

The top tier is connected to the bottom edge of the bodice by 2-4 hooks and eyes. The other two "joints" (where the flowers are) have light pink ribbon sewn on to each end and they tie around four small jump rings sewn onto the skirt at two different heights. The  three top roses are sewn onto the top joint. The other two garlands are tied to the same jump rings as their corresponding joints with the same colored ribbon.

I had a lot of help making this entire costume from watching YouTube user Traybuff's videos of her Christine Daae dress.

Stay Beautiful <3

Christine Daae Foundation Wear

The silhouette requires an elliptical hoop, bustle pad, and a corset. I don't have any pictures from the making of the hoop skirt and it'll be really hard to describe without them so I suggest you do research if you want to make one yourself or just buy one ready made or in a kit. Try trulyvictorian.net.







A bustle pad is basically just a pillow that you tie around your waist to help hold up the skirts in back and give yourself a big butt. I took a skirt that was too short for me and cut the lining out.

Then I traced out a roughly rounded shape along the bottom getting rid of the A-line.

And cut it out...

Then sew around the edges making sure to leave the top open and then stuff it with pillow stuffing. Sew up the the opening and sew in some string.

Due to the time period I found a tutorial on drafting a pattern for a Victorian corset. I haven't quite figured out how drafting works so I can't really explain how I did it beyond just following the tutorial. Unfortunately, I can't recall what tutorial it was.. There are lots of tutorials for corsets out there so finding one that makes sense to you and will work for your project shouldn't be that hard.

First, I made a mock up out of muslin. Technically you're supposed to make the mock up with boning and eyelets but I didn't have extra boning and eyelets. I really just wanted to check the sizing.

 I deviated from the tutorial on a couple things: the fabric choice and construction method. I used some sturdy woven fabric my mom had in her stash in place of corset coutil and a patterned cotton for my "fashion fabric". I cut out two of each pattern piece from each fabric with seam allowance.

 I sewed two corsets, one from each fabric, then I placed them right sides together and sewed up the sides, not the top or bottom. I turned them right sides out. I sewed channels for the boning at each seam and put in eyelets on both ends... not very evenly... practice makes perfect?

 I used thick heavy duty zip ties for boning. I trimmed them down to the proper length and then used a file to round out the ends. I used two zip ties in both channels next to the eyelets and two in the channels centered over my girls.




 I used more of the fashion fabric to make binding to cover the top and bottom edges and keep the boning in. I used some cheap cord for lacing.


Below is the finished foundation wear... The petticoat I made using a Truly Victorian pattern. Does my waist look tiny?? ;)

Stay Beautiful <3

Christine Daae Masquerade Dress

I have a lot of creative energy and no projects that can hold my attention so I thought I'd try to catch up on my blog.

Back in February I attended a masquerade ball set in 1870 Paris at the opening of the opera house. The ball was set up in such a way that everybody attending had to have an identity of someone who would have been old enough to attend a ball in 1870. They could be historical figures such as Queen Victoria or fictional characters from The Phantom of the Opera. I was lucky enough to receive Christine Daae's identity for the evening. In case you don't know The Phantom of the Opera is a novel, a stage production, as well as a movie. I have seen a recording of the stage production at Royal Albert Hall (if I recall correctly) and the 2004 movie with Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler. Naturally, I had to have a gorgeous dress to match my identity...

This is what I was trying to create. Ambitious, I know, especially for an amateur seamstress but it turned out fairly well in the end.

 

The dress itself has more of a late 1860's silhouette but I think its acceptable. In order to achieve the proper shape I started with foundation garments which I will describe in the next post.

Stay Beautiful <3

"No. No, what have you done?!" -Mother Gothel

So, I chopped off my long flowing locks. It wasn't as nerve wracking as the first time I did it, but it did take a couple glances in the mirror to (a) realize it was me and (b) get used to the lack of hair. Alice Cullen was by far my favorite character in the books and the movies and I loved her hair in Breaking Dawn, ergo the picture above was what I was aiming for. Y'all may not know this about me but I don't like spending money, especially if I can make it/do it myself. No, I did not cut my own hair. I asked my grandmother to. I think I made her day....
     Obviously there are pros and cons to going short once more. I get kind of depressed when I watch hairstyling tutorials on YouTube. Just the other day I watched a Laced Fishtail braid tutorial and decided I would ask my mom to braid my hair that way the next time I went swimming (it wasn't one I could do on myself).... And then realized all my hair was gone. I literally almost cried. So I'm just gonna have to spend a lot of time with my long-haired friends this summer so I can braid and twist to my hearts content. I am also having to get used to using less shampoo and conditioner. Silly, I know, but it's not really something that I think about; just habit. On the bright side, I don't have as much trouble sleeping because my hair isn't getting caught up under my shoulders or tickling my nose. To be honest though I'm really looking forward to playing with the cut and figuring out different ways to style it, and getting in the habit of styling it every day because if I don't I guarantee I will look like a 12 yr. old boy. With heat fast approaching not having hair on my neck is going to feel FABULOUS.
     So far I've only tried out two different styles for my hair. Sunday morning I styled it like the picture I got the cut from and then Sunday evening I threw on a ribbon headband with some flowers on it, hippie style. I'm gonna try something a bit preppy and sophisticated today but I'm not sure my hair is quite long enough.

Maybe I'll start a series on styling short hair and post little tutorials on how I style it each week.... We'll see.

Stay Beautiful <3