Bumroll

So, right now I have this crazy itch for 18th century stuff... so I'm busting out things left and right and having fun doing it. :)

note: A bumroll is another undergarment used in the 18th century. It was used to give the illusion that a woman had larger hips and rear, a sign of fertility (so they say).

Here's my bumroll and how I made it:

Ingredients:
1 Old Pillow case
21 plastic bags
Thread

Cost:
$0

Time to prepare:
45 min.

I got my idea from this site on how to measure it. It says to take a measurement of your hips, and take away 4 inches. This measurement (28 inches in my case) is what the inner oval shall be. From there I modified because the lady who makes this is 5'11'' compared to my 5'2'', and I would have looked ridiculous on me. At the very back of mine, I measured 5'' from the center oval. On the sides, 3'1/2''. Then you just connect the dots to make the crescent shape


then you cut it out:


then sew it together according to the directions on the site and stuff with your plastic grocery bags:



sew up the opening and add ties:


TAAAADAAAAA!!!!! bumroll.


This was totally easy and thrifty and I like it :)

Finished Grey Dress

This is my finished "Nun Dress", as my brother calls it. I don't think it cost me more than $12, which is quite an accomplishment I think. :)



I made the collar and undersleeves from a cheesecloth of all things! I got them both done in about 2 hours. I'm excited to start making new bodices for this dress, I think that it will be a very nice and practical dress for whatever I may need it for :D

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Here it is without the under sleeves:


And here's me with my mommy!

18th Century Stays

I have always wanted an 18th century Stays(as they were not called corsets until the 1800's) and on Friday, I just decided I was going to make'em.

Ingredients:
13 eighteen-inch Heavy Duty Cable ties
52ish fourteen-inch zip ties (regular strength)
1 1/2 yards of canvas material (for me)
1 1/4 pkg of double fold bias tape
thread

Estimated Time:
took me 15ish hours (over 3 days time)

Cost:
$21

I started with this handy dandy site called the Custom Corset Pattern Generator. This site is for Elizabethan corsets, but I had a plan: The basic shape of the Elizabethan stays and the stays from the 1700's are pretty much the same. I put my waist measurement as 2'' smaller than I am, from 25'' waist to 23'' and used the pattern generator for the basics of my pattern and customized my pattern further by looking after this diagram that I found somewhere on the internet. The bone channels were derived from this picture to give a more "18th Century Look". I also added straps, tabs around the bottom, and a rounded bustline to the generated pattern to make it more like the pic.

(if this is your photo and would not like me to use it, tell me, and I'll get rid of it)

My pattern ended up looking like this:


The blue lines are for the heavy duty zip ties, while the red lines are for the regular ones

After cutting out my fabric I sewed the necessary channels for the bones (as indicated above). This didn't take too long, as you're sewing straight lines. But, the hard part came when the ties were ready to be put in... In order to guarantee that the cut cable ties won't pierce through your corset while you're wearing it, they need to be dulled after they're cut. This is most easily accomplished by burning the ends. BUT this stinks something terrible, so by all means do it outside!
After I finished with that horrible ordeal, I inserted them where they are supposed to be.

So my stays were pretty much done by that point, only the bias tape, straps, and eyelets needed to be finished. I sewed the straps on by machine, but the rest I did by hand. It took a long time but I'm glad I did it.

I now have to repair one of the bones from the back of the stays b/c as you can see it popped out of place:






I'm very happy with how this turned out... and fortunate to have had these sites for help:
ElizabethanCostume.net
18th Century Stays
Mara Riley
La Mode Historique

If ya got any questions... just Holler!

Tea House

I just wanted to get this out here for you all to see.....

If you like loose-leaf tea or need any tea supplies, this is the place to go. The owner is my aunt, who started her business not too long ago. She offers tons of organic teas and herbs, all of which she knows the health benefits that come with each tea. I'm very impressed with how wonderful the teas are.... My mom and I have been drinking loose leaf teas for as long as I can remember and in all of our years, we've not encountered such wonderful teas anywhere else!

My aunt was previously a nurse and decided she was going to start a tea business where she can help people with tea, rather than masking problems with prescription drugs. She's extremely knowledgeable of what herbs and teas will do for certain problems and will do custom blends for anyone who needs it. I don't want to sound like an add, but her stuff is exceptional. YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT! CLICK HERE

Summer Sewing Continued

The Progress of my Civil War dress....




The Dress:
This dress is supposed to be late 1850's-early 1860's looking. The fabric is a very sheer and breathable cotton that I purchased for $.75 a yard at Wal-Mart. It's a very pretty grey that you can see different shades in the threading. It's worn over a self-rigged 4 bone hoop bought from ebay.com. (i'll have another post about rigging one of these hoops later). The bodice has front closure of hooks&eyes and will be fastened to the skirt with hooks&eyes attached on the waistband. I've not decided yet whether I'm gonna add trim to it yet or not?

This dress is not to be an "authentic reproduction", of which period techniques are the only that are used. I am just after "the look" using what I have to make it. I've based my dress off of tons of pics I've snagged on the internet. So far this dress has only cost me about $8 in materials (hooks and eyes, fabric, thread, bias tape, etc) and around a week of time.





Bodice:
So, since drafting my pattern I've managed to put together the bodice (well for the most part). It's proven very interesting. My original pattern I made was for only one dart on each side of the bodice. BUT... after looking over many pics I've snagged over the internet, I noticed that I only have a picture of 1 dress that has that type of construction. All of the pictures I have looked at have 2 or more darts per side. So that had to be changed



I've never drafted a pattern, or even made a dress before. Soooooo, this is quite an adventure. My first problem I ran into, was my form is slightly smaller than I really am. >:{ (disgruntled face)... So, it looks great on the clone, but is quite snug when I put it on. Another one, is although I cut the pieces out with over an inch of seam allowance, it's miraculously just barely fitting together with the rest of the pieces. AHH! At the moment I'm trying to make it all fit together without having to make another bodice altogether by adding an extra inch to the middle front seam. I think it will work. But I'll keep you posted.


Skirt:
The skirt I did not draft myself, I modified a discontinued Butterick pattern (no. 6694)that was dradfully inaccurate. I added 4 inches to pieces 17 and 19. After I had sewn all the pieces together I added a number of pleats to make it much more accurate. I have one box pleat in the back to try to create a bustle effect with directional pleats leading to the front. I've yet to hem it, but I plan to use iron-on hem tape, so no seams will be seen. I reinforced the waistband with a random piece of 1-inch thick bias tape. The waistband is going to have a hook&eye closure and opening disguised by a pleat.





*My review of the pattern*
Great for someone as tall as I am (5'2''), but anyone who is taller than that would have to add more length to it, and anyone who's waist is more than 24 inches will have to add more than just 4 inches to pieces 17 and 19, if the same amount of pleats are desired. All in all, the pattern worked well with what I was doing with it. :)

The overall look of this dress is pretty good. It looks like it could definitely be in a picture... and that's what I'm going for. If you have a suggestion or comment I'm happy to hear it! ex) sleeves, trims, other style bodices etc

SUGGEST AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer Sewing part 1

I don't have a job this summer, so I'm going to fill it with projects! YAY! Some of these include,

1)Make a clone of myself
2) Make a Day Dress for my mother
3) Make at least one apron
4) Put together some undersleeves

Last night my mom and I started on the clone. It took a good 2 hours to wrap me up and cut me out of it. Then afterwords it needed to be closed up and stuffed. My, Oh, My. It was quite an ordeal, and to boot... I looked like a Protocol Droid (C-3PO). but The end result is quite amazing. I HIGHLY recommend doing this for yourself. It only took me a roll of duct tape, some old newspapers, and a friend to help me. The benefits of this are endless too! You can make stuff for yourself and fit it how you want it, without being awkward trying to pin things on yourself... You can hand this clone to a friend who's making you something if you don't want to go thru the trouble of fittings... You can put your costumes on it for the heck of it... I tell you, it's endless... and AWESOME.




So today, I made use of my new self... I put on some 1860's bodices on it and drafted a pattern for a new bodice. I kind of wanted to just go with it and do an experiment... so this is what I did....

I NEEDED:
1 Clone
Bodice (optional, but be cautious if without. you better have an insane knowledge of 1860's clothing if you decided to go without)
Common Sense (mandatory)
Plastic bag(s)
Sharpie
Sewing Pins
Scissors



I cut the plastic bag below handle to the bottom. Cut the fusing of the corners and pull apart to reveal a perfect new corner! If you do this to the other side and you have a nice big piece to work with.
 Then, Take the bag and place it over the clone where the bodice piece would seem to go.

I pretty much just draped my pattern with the plastic bag. I'm sure others have found this way of doing it, but it was a revelation to me! I was quite proud of myself :)










That's as much as I've done so far. Tomorrow I shall cut the pieces out of my new grey fabric and hopefully get most the pieces together.

Star Wars Crochet

Recently, I've turned my attention to crocheting Star Wars themed projects. in August of last year I was surfing the internets and came across this I just had to make my own. Finally towards the end of winter break I started my project. I hit many many bumps on the road (I'd only been crocheting a month) I had no clue what I was doing for most of it. I just knew I would win. And I did.



My next project was an easy one. After finishing that monster of a project I didn't want to get into anything too deep, for sanity's sake! So, for the inspiration I remembered my High School Music teacher tell me that he'd like to see a Rebel Symbol scarf. I took on the challenge. I finished it not long ago.






Another friend, after seeing both these scarves, wasn't hesitant to say "You should make me something Admiral Ackbar, it doesn't have to be a scarf. Anything. It would be amazing!".... I thought long and hard on this one. I knew his birthday was coming up in May (I was starting in April), so I was working on limited time. I kept thinking of a scarf, but didn't know how it would turn out. Then one day when checking out patterns on Ravelry.com a bright idea popped into my head. ADMIRAL ACKBAR AMIGURUMI !!!!! So I started. Again, I'm new to crochet, had no clue what I was doing, but I knew I would somehow make it work. It took every bit of that month, painstaking 4 hours a day, everyday, of crocheting Admiral Ackbar....and the end result... priceless. And my friend was ecstatic.




My newest project is to be a Storm Trooper for my boyfriend and then a Boba Fett for my brother... The orders are stacking up! :)

ALERT! ALERT! FABRIC CRISIS!

I couldn't hold my silence any longer. With taking 19 credit hours and also having to practice at least 3 hours a day on my instrument, I find it hard to find the time to do anything but school and piano. But I did make some time to purchase over 70 yards of fabric a couple days ago.....

I had heard for about a year that Wal-Mart stores would be getting rid of their fabric section. I took this as a farse and didn't heed any warning. Turns out, the entire stock of fabric at our Wal-Mart was 50% off as well as trims and ribbons. They are discontinuing ALL fabric at Wal-Marts... So y'all need to buy it up. I decided to buy more than 70 yards. :0

I was surprised myself, I came in expecting to spend about $40-$50 on some fabric that I couldn't pass up. Well... they had so many nice fabrics that are all cotton that are perfect for Historic Gowns/Dresses. soooooo I got 2 bolts of some really nice fabric each for $1 per yard! JACKPOT. I also purchased many nice canvas prints that I plan on using for either purses or some 18th Century Corsets (ranging from $0.75-$1.50). And then of course there are other odds and ends of fabrics that can be used for Aprons or whatever I want. I'm excited.

So how much did I end up spending? $137.58 but I have some fabrics for some reaaaally nice projects. :D

NOW, all of this is well and good. I rid Wal-Mart of their unwanted textiles, but what does this really mean? This means that we(the people of Athens, Ohio) HAVE to drive more than an hour to get to a fabric store, and not even a nice fabric store (more quilting goods than anything). This makes me more sad than anything. So, since Wal-Mart kicked Jo-Ann's out in the first place... since there's no more fabric around, hopefully Jo-Ann will be nice and come back to us. WE NEED YOU JO-ANN!

My Life's Soundtrack

This is one of the note fads going on about the Facebook scene... Since it deals with music, I couldn't help myself.... here goes......

(one puts their digital music library on shuffle and the songs in order are listed under these headings...)



IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?

Opening Credits:
If We Will Follow Him~ Veggietales

Waking Up:
The Immolation Scene~ John Williams.... this is from the Soundtrack of Star Wars EpisodeIII


First Day at School:
Sonatina in Gmajor~ Antonin Dvorak. (it's a playful tune)

Falling in Love:
Stayin' Alive~ the BeeGees
...lol

Losing Virginity:
I Think I Love You~ the Partridge Family
HAHAHAHAHA... that's too bad.

Fight Song:
Forbidden Nectar~ Nacho Libre Soundtrack
i am lame indeed.

Soaking Up:
Hakuna Matata~ The Lion King
yes.

Prom:
Chasing Cars~ Snow Patrol

Life:
Can You Feel the Love Tonight~ Elton John
ooooooh yaaaaaaa... i love elton. :)

Mental Breakdown:
I Will Survive~ Aretha Franklin
that's oddly fitting yet unfitting at the same time.....

Driving:
Bare Necessities~ The Jungle Book
i love my music selections.

Flashback:
Keep Walking~ Veggietales (Joshua and the City of Jericho)
lol

Getting Back Together:
Victory Celebration~ John Williams Star Wars EpVI: Return of the Jedi
this is like the best song in the WORLD!

Wedding:
LOVE~ Nat King Cole
:)

Birth of a Child:
Beauty and the Beast~ from the Disney movie of the same title
my child will either be beautiful... or hairy

Final Battle:
I'm Blue (da ba dee) ~ Eiffel 65
hmmm

Death Scene:
The Racer Roars to Life~ John Williams Star Wars EpI: The Phantom Menace
that's pretty acceptable for my taste. :)

Funeral Song:
Ride to Valkyries~ Wagner
hahahahaha, quite an eventful funeral

End Credits:
He Lives in You~ The Lion King (broadway)
a good one to end with i must say...

Check List Revisted

In an earlier entry, posted around the holidays of 2008, I had given a list of accomplishments to pursue for that long Winter Break that OU so graciously gives. I promised to post with my progress, and have yet to do so until now. Here goes...

1) make 2 chemises.... CHECK!

2) make 2 Pairs of drawers... FAILED (not even attempted)

3) Rig previously bought Skirt from ebay....CHECK! it looks rather nice now.

4) Learn to crochet.... CHECK! I have found a very enjoyable past time and I am now

attempting to make an "Imperial Symbol Scarf"... this is a Star Wars thing. and I'm uber excited to finish it!

5) make 2 under-petticoats..... semi-CHECK! the chemises I made are long enough to serve as under-petticoats.... go me!

the picture is what my living room looked like with a rather odd looking rig. It's a lampshade, with a hoopskirt and petticoat on top of it... this made it easier to add and pin the ruffles.

his is the original skirt I bought from ebay... it's very basic and boring and wasn't long enough for my hoop. My solution to this problem: Add a ruffle to the bottom. this gave it the proper length for my hoop and made it look a little more accurate to days of the Civil War.

This is the *almost* finished skirt. ^^^^^^It has a draw string waist which I intend to remedy a wee bit. This skirt is to be used for presentations to 8th Graders at my old Middle School. I come in during the Spring and give a presentation on Women's Life during the time of the Civil War. This skirt is going to be used for girls to try on so they can experience things a little better :) I am going to keep the drawstring waist but I intend to disguise it by some strategic pleating and seams that will also make it usable for any reenactments my mother and I should go to. (The sash in the photo is not a real sash, but a piece of scrap black fabric. I just needed something to "complete the picture".lol.)

Some time later I will add a more complete "Civil War Reenacting on a Tight Budget". This will show the hoop, bustle pad and chemise(s) That I made work. TOODLES!