Sewing

There is an Easter dress in my stash somewhere.... but I don't think it's coming out this weekend!

I need to finish some things up first. I had a few worn-out dresses I wanted to try to "re-purpose" into aprons. I especially needed a Regency apron.

Below is my version of a Regency apron , made from a gown that was no longer in service. I like the back detailing of a Regency dress, the buttons and gathers, and so I wanted to save that part. I suppose it is more of a grown-up "pinafore" than an apron. I cut off the sleeves, and cut down the side seams, and hemmed up the edges, saving the existing side ties of the gown:

Below is another apron, made from a Regency Jumper that didn't work out for me as well as my beloved pink one did. (By the way, I was glad to see all the Regency-style jumpers on the new Emma movie. They really are so comfortable and good-looking! I hope to make more someday.)

On this jumper I had tried a side closure that was not comfortable, so after wearing it as much as I could stand, I decided to convert it to an apron. Because the front skirt was straight and not gathered, it is a bit too narrow for an apron skirt, but it'll do.

I cut off the offending side closure, and cut down the side seams, and hemmed them. I added ribbon to each side to fasten. I saved the back of this garment, too!

Here is another apron from a worn-out summer dress. I did not save the back to this one! I did save the zipper, though, for other uses! I cut the back and sleeves off, saving the side ties intact. I made a new back piece from the skirt material. The sleeves to this dress were puffed 3/4 length sleeves with lace trim at the edge, and now they are puffed pockets.

Another project recently completed: 1820's style corset. I used the pattern from here, and was pleased with how easily it went together. I had to enlarge the pattern, of course, which was very fiddly to do. The actual sewing wasn't hard at all. There is nothing "authentic" about this except the pattern! I used completely modern methods, but I would be hesitant to use...

... all those metal eyelets again. They came off almost as soon as I put them in. It would take longer, but be better in the long run, to hand-stitch my own eyelets.

I wasn't going to wear this thing if I had to wriggle into it each time, so I made a side opening with hooks & eyes, so I could leave the laces just so, and get the corset on and off easily. It is not exactly "easy" to fasten hooks and eyes on the side, and would have been ideal to have them in the front, but I wanted to use a busk (aka plastic shatterproof ruler!) with this stay in the center front.

To make the new opening, I cut through the side piece, sewed bias tape on the raw edges, and then added hooks & eyes.
The stay is not boned, I did cord it, but just a little bit. I found that the flat-felled seams were so stiff, it didn't need extra help! I think this corset very comfortable, even when I have the "busk" in (a good reminder to stand up straight!).