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Post by Mrs. Goblin on Jan 13, 2008 20:14:57 GMT -5
I mentioned a while ago that I was planning on making the "brassiere" based on the Kyoto collection that dawnluckham linked to. Let me tell you how that's going.
I washed a bunch of "natural" colored canvas (the last we had on the bolt, in fact) a while ago. Before Christmas. Around the same time I cut open a paper bag and using the gridded printout (at 8.5x11" size) and a ruler, scaled the pattern up to "true" size, adding a little under the bust and to the straps.
And there I stalled.
Today, Goblin took the tot and I was able to iron both the canvas and some linen for another project and cut out the regency brassiere pieces and the pieces for my other project. Then I found the hemp cording I'm going to use to "bone" the thing.
That's where I am today. Feeling good, but wishing I had more time to sew.
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Post by Mme de Beaufort on Jan 13, 2008 21:56:56 GMT -5
I mentioned a while ago that I was planning on making the "brassiere" based on the Kyoto collection that dawnluckham linked to. Let me tell you how that's going. I washed a bunch of "natural" colored canvas (the last we had on the bolt, in fact) a while ago. Before Christmas. Around the same time I cut open a paper bag and using the gridded printout (at 8.5x11" size) and a ruler, scaled the pattern up to "true" size, adding a little under the bust and to the straps. And there I stalled. Today, Goblin took the tot and I was able to iron both the canvas and some linen for another project and cut out the regency brassiere pieces and the pieces for my other project. Then I found the hemp cording I'm going to use to "bone" the thing. That's where I am today. Feeling good, but wishing I had more time to sew. Pictures~!!!!! Yay.... sarah conner chornicles tonight, followed by Persuasion? Have I died and gone to heaven? |
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Post by cosmoblue on Jan 25, 2008 21:41:54 GMT -5
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Post by Mme de Beaufort on Jan 25, 2008 21:46:35 GMT -5
Now that's another pattern I would like to have.
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Post by Mme de Beaufort on Jan 25, 2008 21:49:03 GMT -5
Oooh, there's a frock-coat pattern in there that looks very good.
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Post by cosmoblue on Jan 25, 2008 21:52:17 GMT -5
Oooh, there's a frock-coat pattern in there that looks very good. I think that Chris ordered that and is supposed to be giving us a review. |
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Post by Goblin, esq. on Jan 26, 2008 18:48:51 GMT -5
Oooh, there's a frock-coat pattern in there that looks very good. I think that Chris ordered that and is supposed to be giving us a review. I did, and I am going to. |
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Post by dawnluckham on Jan 28, 2008 10:44:16 GMT -5
So how has progress on the "brassiere" come? I have used hemp cording only once and it left an unpleasant stain on the fabric when the garment was dampened. I bleached and tried all kinds of other stain removing formulas to no avail, so I've never gone back to the hemp cord. I suppose if the stays were already a dark colour, it wouldn't matter one little bit.  I AM eagerly awaiting the results of your new “lady’s support garment”! ;D |
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Post by Mrs. Goblin on Jan 29, 2008 23:15:01 GMT -5
So how has progress on the "brassiere" come? ... I AM eagerly awaiting the results of your new “lady’s support garment”! ;D Sorry I've been offline so long. That pesky life got in the way. I'm almost finished! I found Teo a new and exciting toy (a toothbrush) that kept him occupied long enough to finish the last hand sewing of the binding this afternoon. Goblin is going to take them and put eyelets in where eyelets ought to be and then it will be done! I took a few pictures of the cording process, but neither Goblin nor I have had much time for pulling pictures off the camera. As soon as it's done I will, of course, try it on and display it for the delectation of the crowd. |
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Post by Mrs. Goblin on Feb 14, 2008 22:18:53 GMT -5
Behold! I have returned, and with pictures. I'm rather disappointed in a) how they look and b) how I look in them. But I think my disappointment has more to do with b) than a). I'll have to see how I look with a dress over them. The front:  The back:  These pictures are after three or four other attempts with my proper regency garments (this is my victorian underwear) and a couple of tries at lacing. Goblin had to help lace me in and tried a couple of different methods before achieving acceptable results with this. I thought these would be the perfect design for me because I tend to droop out to the sides naturally, and the cording/stiffened bits put pressure exactly where I would want to make good cleavage. Unfortunately, the "bra" was rather too slippery over the plain cotton regency shift I have. My victorian shift happens to be made of heavy gauze that has a much better grip, but even that wasn't quite enough to keep the garment from sliding up and off my bosom. I also think the weight of my euphemisms needs stouter pull than is possible from twill tape alone. I'm still thinking on how best to remedy this. I will possibly wear it to our ball this Saturday, but that won't be a very good test of danceability because we'll probably leave early due to the tot's bedtime coming a good deal earlier than it did when he was a newborn. However, it will be a better judge of comfort than a few minutes with the camera. |
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Post by dawnluckham on Feb 14, 2008 22:55:02 GMT -5
Christy, I think they're a good first try, but probably they won't be your final "favourite" stays. I'm wondering if the hemp cording just doesn't provide enough firmness for the design. For my attempt with this design, I decided to use fabric store boning. I wanted something firmer than cording, but not so firm as the types of boning I generally use. I wanted it to be flexible and somewhat soft. The originals are boned with whale bone (I think) which has much more 'oomph' than either your hemp or my wimpy fabric store boning. The back looks good. I wonder if you've got yourself "lifted" into them enough, as the top edge looks like it sits quite low and there is a fair amount of the lower portion of the stays sitting over your rib cage and not containing any part of your breast. Like any set of stays this takes a "scoop, lift, tighten, scoop lift and tighten' repeat maybe several times to get all parts adjusted properly. Like everything, it’s all a learning process.  My chemise, by the way is a fine weight linen. I didn’t have a problem with the fabrics slipping against each other. |
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Post by cosmoblue on Feb 14, 2008 22:58:11 GMT -5
Christy - Do you think that the fit/function issues are the actual garment or the interpretation of it by the pattern maker? The pictures I have seen of those stays on a mannequin seem to fit quite differently. The picture on the Reconstructing History pattern page looks very different than the way they are fitting you.
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Post by Mrs. Goblin on Feb 14, 2008 23:22:13 GMT -5
The back looks good. I wonder if you've got yourself "lifted" into them enough, as the top edge looks like it sits quite low and there is a fair amount of the lower portion of the stays sitting over your rib cage and not containing any part of your breast. Like any set of stays this takes a "scoop, lift, tighten, scoop lift and tighten' repeat maybe several times to get all parts adjusted properly. Oh, I totally understand the scoop/lift/tighten. I've made corsets before (Ren, Georgian and Victorian.) I've worn corsets doing a variety of activities (lots of musical theatre, volunteer docenting, Ren Faire back in high school, etc...) Part of the problem is simply how huge and heavy my breasts are right now. (Okay, admittedly, all of me is huge and heavy right now, but the breasts are the issue here. ) When I got the bottom edge of the brassiere under/at the bottom of my breast tissue, my breast phlumphed out the bottom with the slightest motion. (Say, breathing, for example.) I just couldn't get the laces pulled tight enough to keep the weight of my bosom contained. If instead of narrow twill tape I used something a bit heftier (corset lacing, frex) it might have fared better, but this was a compromise solution. I do wonder if stiffer boning would help. I may have to try it, but looking at the angles involved, that would put the bottom edge digging into my ribcage at a (roughly) 45 degree angle. Ouch. Yes, I think this may simply not be the right style for me. Pity. It looked so much like one of my most comfortable dance bras. I had such high hopes for it. Like everything, it’s all a learning process. My chemise, by the way is a fine weight linen. I didn’t have a problem with the fabrics slipping against each other. Yeah, my current fitting regency chemise is a very slick cotton (high thread count sateen bedsheet, actually) which didn't help at all. Linen is nice and grippy, even in fine weights, particularly in a plain weave. I so wish I had time to do new underwear properly right now. (Actually, I wish I had time to make a proper fitting dress right now, but that's not going to happen. Sigh.) |
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Post by Mrs. Goblin on Feb 14, 2008 23:29:35 GMT -5
Christy - Do you think that the fit/function issues are the actual garment or the interpretation of it by the pattern maker? The pictures I have seen of those stays on a mannequin seem to fit quite differently. The picture on the Reconstructing History pattern page looks very different than the way they are fitting you. I think the fit problems are mostly a mismatch between the style of the garment and my current body shape. If I were not an expletive deleted H-cup with lots of extra body "fluff" -OR- if the brassiere had a little more shaping (I mean, bias stretches, but it has its limits  ) than is provided by two flat panels, this might have fit me better. I think that on any normal sized body this would be a fine solution. I just happen to look a little too much like the Venus of Willendorf right now.  |
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Post by dawnluckham on Feb 15, 2008 0:16:32 GMT -5
Christy, I went back and looked at my own pictures (Here: regencysa.proboards59.com/index.cgi?board=reviews&action=display&thread=1197601556 ) and then came back to look at yours. I think the stiffer boning does have something to do with preventing the fabric from collapsing. I want you to understand that I am NOT small busted. When I first made these for myself I was wearing a ready to wear size 16-18. I was wearing a bra size 34 G My back is small but my bust is not. And I'm heavy. The stays are firm enough to hold me up. The pictures were not taken then. I'm now wearing a smaller size and my bra size is 32 F - still not small busted. My point is, I think this design can work for you. I think the problem is maybe in the way the cording cannot support the fabric. If you look at my pictures you'll see how much higher the upper edge of the stays is on me. There's a LOT more 'cross-over' of the two half-pieces at centre front. I hope these thoughts can help you work it out. I don't think 'this just isn't the right one' for you. I just think there are some issues that need a bit of 'tweaking' to get it right. |
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Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong? ~ Jane Austen 
