April 18th, First Personal Goal due

So, April 18th is here. I had hoped to post sometime between the last post and this date with in progress photos of the three items I've been working on, but couldn't seem to find the time. But, since I have not managed to perfectly meet my goal for this date, I'll post in progress now.

First up, my Chemise. It is almost completely finished, the only thing left is to sew the buttons and loops at the front neck closure. I have two vintage bone buttons for it that were probably made in the 1930's, but are of the same look and material as those made in the mid 1800's. So I am pretty much on schedule with this one. It is not completely hand sewn, as was my intention. Time was really a problem here, so I ended up machine stitching the side panels and neckline, though the hem, sleeves, and armhole facings are all completely hand sewn. It is made from cotton muslin and cotton thread with flat felled seams. I would guess it is about 50% accurate due to the fact that it is partially machine sewn. Although I have found a couple of surviving dresses from the 1860's that were machine sewn, it would be very rare to find a machine sewn chemise.

On to the drawers. These are also made from cotton muslin and cotton thread, with the traditional split crotch. They are mostly machine sewn, again out of time concerns, but the drawstring casing and tucks at the hem are hand sewn. So, again, maybe 50% accurate. As you can see from the picture I have one tuck left to sew at the right hem, and they are missing the drawstrings at back, only because I can't find any proper cotton cord, so I will have to order some. Here is a close up of the hem.

So, the drawers and chemise are pretty much good to go, as for the corset, that's another story. As of 10pm this evening this is what my corset looks like. 

All the grommets are set, as is the loop part of the busk. The stud half is still in progress. I have not flat felled the seams yet or added boning as I want to lace it up and make sure I don't need to make any more adjustments before the bones go in. When it is finished I believe it will have 20 steel bones plus the busk at the front. It is made with two layers of white cotton twill and machine sewn with cotton thread. I felt better about machine sewing this article due to the fact that there were corset companies at the time. Unfortunately, once the rest of the basic construction is finished I still have to embroider the thing! So, I'm definitely behind on this. The good news, though, is that I can still move on to the next goal as soon as the basic silhouette is accomplished, so I can finished the embroidery as I have the time. I will be using a pure silk thread in light periwinkle for the embroidery, which I also had to order as it is impossible to get in any fabric/craft store in my area. 

All in all, I am pretty pleased with the progress, especially as 80% of what is done I did just this week (Yes, I procrastinated a little). But, that is why I have set these goals, to help myself be better at getting these projects done. I will focus on finishing the corset in the next few days, and after that it is on to the next challenge... petticoats! I will try to get a pick of everything on once the corset is finished. 

     After doing some research over the last couple of days I have decided to go with Simplicity 9769 for chemise, drawers, and corset. I'll be using 100% cotton muslin for the chemise and drawers, and 100% cotton twill for the corset, since coutil is just not sold in any fabric stores near me. One modification I will be making is to lengthen the drawers so they come closer to the ankle.
     I have also settled on Simplicity 4551, dress B, as it seems to be fairly historically accurate for a Simplicity pattern. I will only have to make a couple modifications for historical accuracy, for example, piping the waist, armsycle, and neckline.
     I will also be participating in The Dreamstress's Historical Sew Monthly 2015. You can check her website out here. She has set different challenges for every month in 2015. I'm a little behind, but I hope to catch up in the next month! January's challenge was "Foundations" for which I will be making the 1860's chemise. February's challenge was "Colour challenge blue" for which I will be making the 1860's corset in white with blue hand embroidery. March's challenge was "Stashbusting", to make something out of fabric, trim etc. that you already have on hand, for which I will be making my 1860's day dress out of vintage cotton fabric my husband's grandmother gave me last year. And April's challenge is "War and Peace", to make something that shows the influence of long periods of either war or peace. I am thinking I will make a civil war era petticoat out of an old cotton flannel bed sheet. I do plan on working in different eras for the other challenges, but since I need my Civil War ensemble by June, I figure I may as well find a way to fit them into the challenges!
      So, personal goals, to finish January and February's challenges plus 1860's drawers by April 18th, and to finish March and April's plus 1-2 basic petticoats no later than May 16th. That should put me back on track with the Sew Monthly Challenges. Though, I will probably be making the petticoats first and the March challenge dress last. I will post pics soon, as I hope to start this weekend! Happy Easter!