Another Doublet: The Underthings

Yes, I even have a design for the underthings.

A great dress, like a great building, has to be built upon a solid foundation. With Elizabethan costume, that's quite literal. I'll need a corset and stiffened underskirt. Fortunately, the corset was one of the few things I did manage to make myself last year. It's a good'un, too.

The corset is made of a tealish blueish colored wool, with a lining and interlining of muslin. The edges are bound in dark red mini bias tape. I even did that bit by hand. It closes at both the center front and center back. (Yes, I'm still waiting for my body to decide that it never meant to lose weight and put it all back on or something equally unfortunate.) It's boned solidly at the front, and at the center back, with weed whacker line. I use two pieces of heavy gauge line per 1/8" channel. The sides are not boned, partly because I didn't feel like my sides needed a lot of controlling or supporting when I built the thing, and partly because I find myself having to lean over and pick things up a lot at faire, and I thought a little extra flexibility would be nice.

I managed to find a bunch of really small eyelet sized grommets on sale last year -- I think they were meant as part of that whole "decorate your jeans" craze. (Wow, I just reread that and it sounded *old*. Lordy, but I have no idea what the kiddies are doing to be cool these days.) Anyway, I've set those at the front and back closures for obvious reasons, but also in pairs around the bottom of the corset. I'm trying to solve a serious logistics problem -- every time I finally break down and use a priv at faire, something goes wrong. Some or another waist band slips, and nothing is quite comfortable for the rest of the day. Janet Arnold (*kneel*bow*worship*) has pointed out that the Pfaltzgrafin corset had lacing holes around the bottom so that skirts could be tied to it. I thought I'd give that a shot, at least for the support skirt. (The overskirt will be part of a kirtle, and firmly sewn to the kirtle bodies.) I figure if everything is tied together, it can't really drift. I've been wrong before, mind, but the logic here seems sound.

At some point in the not-too-distant future, I'll put up some photos of that corset. At some point after that, I'll start the support skirt. I'm planning on another corded petticoat, because they work so darned well. I have the fabric for it -- a light green, with sort of pickle skin colored ribbon for the spiraled channel. Then I just need to decide which of several things to try as the support/cording.

Er.... Change of plans.....

You know that, "Got a little bent, made a dress" thing I do? Weeeeeeeelllllll...... I've had a craptacular week. And what does a girl need after a craptacular week? Pretty new undies, of course. ;)

I went out to see the man over the weekend. He suggested that,since I'm just a wee little bit panicked about all the sewing I have to do before faire, I could bring my sewing machine if I wanted and do some sewing. But normally, my time with him is my down time. So I compromised, by spending a glorious day working on stuff that was just for me.

An odd change of plans (read: a gift of black linen from Lynn, and a lovely green hat that didn't sell like it was supposed to) has made it imperative for me to have a nice looking green support skirt that will double as a fancy underskirt. Honestly. The logic here really does work. I've actually been looking to make a fully coordinated corset/support skirt set for some time. And I've been looking for coordinating greens. Not that standard issue Ren Faire Green -- something to the celedon and olive range. I've been looking for these for a while. You can just imagine my surprise when I finally found two fabrics that work perfectly! Yeah, they were hanging next to each other in my fabric stash. *Right* next to each other. Where they have been for several years, politely collecting dust while I look at them and thing, "Gee, I wish I had a project for these...." I am so immune to the obvious some times. So I have a sort of iceberg lettuce green silk/linen blend that I picked up at SR Harris in MN a few years ago for the corset, and a lovely leafy brocade in peridot and the same lettuce color that I picked up as part of a sari fabric set in the indian district of Devon some years ago for the corded petticoat. I'd thought the brocade was acetate, which is part of why I've ignored it for so long. I realized my error when I started cutting it. It's silk. Nothing else cuts like silk. (It's a freaky seamstress-zen thing. After a while, you start understanding fabrics through your scissors. I can't explain that.)

Anyway, I now have all the sewing done for a lovely new, fully boned and tabbed corset for myself, and most of the sewing for a new corded petticoat. More details and pictures later.