Proper photos are important!

 

Finally, I have good photos of some of the finished projects lately!  I think that the importance of having good pictures of your work can't be overstated.  And I have to say - I'm just thrilled with how these came out. 

 

All photos, with the exception of the two with Julie Bonney's copyright on them, are by Austin Lang.  While I do well enough with product shots of my shoes, occasionally enlisting the assistance of a professional is warranted.  Julie Bonney is part of the Bonney and Wills Shoe School, and took these two photos at the end of boot school.  Austin Lang is a local (Olympia) photographer who also took the gorgeous cast photos for Tartuffe. 

 

When I do take my own photos of finished shoes, I usually try to go somewhere outside, in nature.  The background is nice, and the lighting is generally pretty safe.  For really good product shots, you simply *must* have proper lighting, and know a lot more than I do about photography.  Costumes are particularly hard to get good photo of yourself - the difference between a selfie or a snapshot in your living room, and a professionally done photo with a backdrop and good lighting is significant.  Austin sure knows how to make me look good!

 

And yeah, this post is basically just picspam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rohirrim-inspired corset

 

 

It's finally done! Yippee!  (And now, updated - see bottom of post for more information...)

 

 

So - this bugger took FOREVER.  I wanted to do a corset based on the armor of the Rohirrim in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films.  I've done several modern corsets - well, what I think of as "modern" - sort of princess seamed, no gussetts, 12 panels.  I wanted this one to be more evocative of the armor shape.  So I went with an Elizabethan style, sort of like the Effigy corset.  This corset shape is much more conical, with the tabs around the bottom, sort of like the tappets on the Rohirrim armor.  It's only 6 panels.

 

 

So - took my measurements and made a pattern.  Cut it out of brown twill (twice - once for the outside, once for the lining) and sewed it together.  The actual hero-armor (remade in lighter materials for filming) was plate hammered into shape, then covered with a tooled and dyed leather overlay.  I painted the twill with metallic latex house paint.  It actually looks pretty good.

 

 

 

Then, I designed the leather overlays.

 

And transferred those patterns onto tooling leather.  Unfortunately, this was my first time ever tooling leather, and I cut out everything - and got it soaking wet.  So the pieces stretched a lot.  They no longer matched the fabric they were to sit on top of.  It was really unfortunate.  So I did it all again.  This time, I didn't cut it out first - I did the tooling first.

 

 

THEN I cut out all the pieces.

 

 

 

 

Keeping with the Rohirrim style motifs, you'll see horse heads repeating.  (You might also notice just the slightest amount of stretching.  DAMN IT!!!)

 

Next, I dyed the leather (Fiebing's Oxblood) and buffed it with a mahogany leather stain so that the tooling would show nicely.

 

 

 

 

Next, time to put the channels for the boning into the lining.  I use bias tape.  I've had people ask why I purchase bias tape when I could make my own.  I figure, why should I make my own when they sell it for cheap at the fabric store, and I have better things to do with my time.  The boning on the front and back panels is 1/2" spring steel, the side panel uses doubled 1/4" spiral steel.

 

 

Then I stitched the leather onto the gold-painted corset.  I chose an orange heavy-duty nylon thread, because I really wanted those stitches to show.

 

 

 

Sewing the lining into the corset was a huge pain in the ass.  For starters, it all had to be hand-sewn, and I couldn't use any of my usual tricks, because of the leather.  So I thought I'd do a blanket stitch around a piece of waxed cord, with brown embroidery floss, to give it some substance.  This was a bad idea.  It looked terrible.  And it took longer to remove than it did to sew it in the first place.  And I'd done one entire side, top and bottom.  In the end, more bias tape was the way to go.  All told, just sewing the lining in took over a week of pretty much working on it all the time, much of that devoted to removing the waxed cord.

 

 

 

 

A couple of months ago, when I was starting this process (before going on vacation), one of the guys at work very kindly drilled holes in some spring steel boning for me, so I could put on the brass swing latches that I wanted to use instead of a standard busk.  I would NOT recommend this to anybody.  If you must use swing latches, find ones that can be riveted to lacing bones (as in, the center to center measurement of the latches is equal to the center to center measurement on the bones that come with holes already in them.)  Spring steel is extremely hard, and the guy who drilled them for me went through a drill bit for every two holes.  So, 14 drill bits.  And it wasn't pretty. 

Regardless, I was able to attach the latches, and to put the grommets in the back and on the shoulders. 

 

 

 

Here it is on me, in a test fitting.  The white ribbon is what I had laying around - I'll need to find something more appropriate.  Also, I'm terrible at tying the laces behind me, so that explains a little why it's not tightened very well, or tied nicely.

 

 



 

 

 

So excited that it's done!  Now, I need to very quickly make a pair of matching boots!  (And the dress that goes underneath it, and possibly a cloak, and maybe a little purse....)

 

 

EDITED TO ADD:

 

So - I made the dress that goes underneath this thing, and discovered a few problems. 

 

Problem #1 - the bottom edge of the back dug into my butt in an unattractive way, and made the skirt underneath poke out weirdly.  Solution:  I removed the 1/2" spring steel boning and replaced it with 1/4" spiral steel boning (because that's what I had available).  Now, the bottom of the back bends outward a little more, and doesn't poke me. 

 

Problem #2 - those cool swing latches.  As long as I didn't move, they were great.  As soon as my left shoulder went up, they all popped right out of their holes, and the whole corset popped open.  This is... less than ideal.  The problem is that any sort of vertical shift caused the whole thing to fail.  I didn't want to sew the front of the corset closed - it's too hard to get into if you have to completely re-lace it to get into it.  I made a front "modesty panel" from the same fabric as the chemise, and put large rectangles of industrial-strength velcro on both the panel, and the inside of the front of the corset.  Now, to put it on, I velcro it into place, then shut the latches.  Works like a charm, and doesn't allow for any vertical slippage.  Totally invisible from the outside.  Yippee!  The only problem here is that if I want to wear something that's not cream colored underneath, I'll have to cover up the velcro/modesty panel, but I figure a piece of ribbon or something will do just fine for that. 



Belated Corset Update

Black leather *still* hasn't arrived, so still no progress on the next pair of shoes.

Corset hardware, however, arrived on Friday, and the corset is finished.  Here's how it happened:

First up, the beautiful black velvet with little white gems on it is a stretch velvet.  Stretch is not so good for corsets, so I added some heat-bond interfacing, and some ugly quilter's cotton I had lying around, for stability, to each individual piece, and stitched around the edges to hold it in place.

Sewed together the outside.

Added some mis-matched decorative diamonds on the front center panels.  Sorry about the washed out photos - the lighting in my workshop is great for working, but terrible for photography.

 

On the back sections, stitched the lining to the outside at the back edges, stitched a channel for some boning, added grommets, and added another channel for boning - one piece of boning on either side of the grommets.  (This also helps keep your grommets in a nice straight line.)

 

On the front, stitched the lining and fronts together along the center opening, leaving gaps for the loop side of the busk.  Inserted the loop side and stitched it down.  Poked holes with an awl for the studs, shoved them through, and stitched that down, too.

 

It's probably impossible to tell from these horrible pictures, but the busk I got has little diamonds in the studs.  

So, I stitched up the side seams, slipped the rest of the boning into the channels on the lining, laced it up and did a trial fitting.  It was a bit too loose (I've lost some weight since the pattern was drafted for me originally), so I took in the sides a little.

The fit was just about perfect, so I added binding to the top and bottom edges to finish it. 

And here's the finished corset.

I've started on the tutu to go with the corset - I've got the basque made (basically a crotch-length, high-waisted, very tight mini skirt), and have sewn on the first three rows of frills.  I'll try to remember to take some photos of it soon.

Corset Lining

Just a quick couple of notes on the corset lining:

 

Everyone who makes corsets, it seems, has a different technique.  My pieces are numbered (center front to center back, 1-6), and I mark the top of each piece with notches equalling it's pattern piece number.  Since the pieces are very similar to eachother, this keeps me from mixing them up, and it also keeps me from sewing in one of the pieces upside down. 

 

 

I also put a little notch at the waistline, to make sure that I'm lining them up correctly - not so much an issue if I'm making the same pattern as the original, but if I've done any modifications to the top or bottom line, it helps keep things square, so to speak. 

 

 

 

I use cotton duck for the lining, and I don't generally use a coutil layer.  The duck is strong enough, generally, given the use the corset will be getting.  If I'm using a particularly delicate fashion fabric, I'll line it with something with a little more heft - but usually just whatever I have laying around.  I'm not wearing this thing, daily, as underwear - I'm generally wearing it for a few hours at a time as a costume.  The cotton duck holds up just fine under the stress I put on my corsets.

 

Also, I use black cotton duck for a lot of things.  So, when there's that rare 60% off coupon at JoAnn, I buy a whole bolt of the stuff. 

 

Next step for me is to sew together the lining into two front panels and two back panels.  I iron the seam allowances flat.  Then, I stitch on channels for the boning - I use extra wide single fold bias tape.  It's the perfect size for the 1/2" steel boning I prefer.

 

The lady at the fabric store asked why I would purchase bias tape when it's so easy to make it yourself.  Why would I spend the time making it myself when it's just $2 for a package?

 

I don't put channels in the back along where the grommets go - those will be just the layers of the corset stitched together to create channels on both sides of the grommets. 

 

My order has shipped - from Philadelphia.  It should arrive during the week, and then I can get this thing wrapped up.  Today I think I'll get the outside done, so it's all ready for the hardware when it arrives.

Corset Patterns!

Norwescon is coming right up!  I've been invited to join a costume group (Skittles), and have almost finished my costume for this year.  Yes, I'll be wearing the shoes I made (the black and silver flats) with the costume. 

I've got a couple of weeks, still, and would really love to make their costume from last year:

 

 

Everyone has a color, and my color is black.  (I didn't want yellow.)

So, the two big items here are the corset and tutu.  I've been scouring the internet and pestering friends for info on making the tutu, but the corset I've got covered.

Here's a corset I made a few years ago:



It's not cinched tight, but it fits nicely (it's a tiny bit loose, because I've lost some weight, but the proportions are still good), mostly because the pattern was expertly drafted for me by Lori, a friend who teaches corsetry. 

So, any time I need a corset, I just modify the pattern I have.  In this case, I want the panels to be closer to the same size, so I can put diamonds on them easily.  I'll also need the bottom edge to be a little higher, and a little flatter, so as to not interfere with the tutu.  And this particular corset pokes me just a tiny bit under the arms, so I'm lowering that about a half inch, and making the front top line a slight upward curve.  Here's my corset pattern:



I had to make the pattern before I could order the busk and stays.  Luckily, I need an 11" busk, and that's one of the two sizes they carry in the diamond-stud busk.  (I do love me some sparkle!)

I got some gorgeous black velvet with little white crystals for the outside, and a selection of silver and grey fabrics (5" of each) for the diamonds.  I'll be able to put together the lining and the outside, but will have to wait for the busk and stays to arrive to do the finishing. 

So now, I have two project that are waiting for the mail to arrive.  *sigh*