Mending a Corset

New Year.  New HSF.  And I'm most pleased that I was able to act on Resolve #1 so soon!  My early teens corset, needed some help: a couple of grommets had come loose and it was hideous plain.  So for Challenge #1, I repaired the grommets and added some lace across the top.

The Challenge: #1: Make do & Mend

Fabric: 100% cotton twill and cotton lace

Pattern: Post Edwardian Long Line Corset from Bridges on the Body.  

Year: 1911-1915

Notions: Thread, lacing, grommets, lace

How historically accurate is it? Still a bit plain for this period, but much better with the addition of the lace.

Hours to complete: The mending: 1.5, the original construction: 4

First worn: Last year's Costume College

Total cost: The lace was in a bag full of trims at the Bargain Basement at CC, so probably around 9 cents for the mending!

Early Teens Underthings

Huzzah!  There's another HSF challenge that I can do!  Here's my submission for #23: Gratitude.  It's an early 1910's chemise.  Who am I grateful to?  Lauren from Wearing History for her totally fab tutorial on lace insertion!

For the pictures, I decided to wear a black tank top under the chemise (a) so that my grandmother can read this blog, and (b) to make the insertion and tucks easier to see.

The Challenge: #23: Gratitude

Fabric: 100% cotton

Pattern: Past Patterns 9206: Ladies' and Misses' Dart-Fitted Princess Slip: Circa 1910-1912.  I made the knee-length version, and didn't sew the darts to make it a chemise, rather than a slip.

Year: 1910-1913

Notions: Thread, lace, self bias-tape to attach the ruffle

How historically accurate is it? I think it's pretty gosh darn accurate except for my not-so-straight tucks.  It's also a bit light on silly frills; I'll just be a middle-class Edwardian

Hours to complete: 4

First worn: This photoshoot, not sure when I'll get around to wearing it in front of actual humans

Total cost: Fabric: $9.00, lace: $12.00

I made the corset back in the summer, so it doesn't qualify for the HSF, but I wanted to give credit to Jo at Bridges on the Body, for hosting the 1911 corset sew-a-long, which is where I got the pattern.

The tank's built-in bra was fighting with the corset, so I couldn't lace it up properly.  Hence the wrinkly top.

Downton Fever

I'm finally catching up season 2 of Downton Abbey now that a friend has directed me to website that streams it (I won't give away my sources here, but if you want to know, feel free to send me a message on facebook). In fact, I decided to do this blog post because I used up my 72 minutes of streaming and I have to be patient for an hour - I am not good at that.

I'm very excited that season 2 is set two years after the end of season 1, as WWI is one of my (many) favorite costume eras. I feel like it's often overlooked as it was just a few short years occuring between the famous Edwardian Period and the Roaring Twenties. The Lavinia Swire has worn some of my favorite gowns, with the waistline dropped back to the natural waistline from the early teens and fuller skirts - the Crawley sisters still seem to be wearing the slimmer late Edwardian styles. Unfortunately, I could find any images of these online, but here are a couple similar styles from the pinterest boards:

c. 1915 dress

c. 1915 dress, Cincinnati Art Museum

Man, that's gorgeous. So, have you caught Downton fever? If you have, is the second season living up to your expectations? (I know that this is opening Pandora's Box, but I must ask) Are you on Team Mary or Team Edith? I have the less popular stance of pro-Edith.

In unrelated news, my sister-in-law is currently giving birth, so this blog will feature some baby pictures soon!

UPDATE: Here's an email from my brother: "Azad Ahluwalia Gohn was born at 2:35am on Saturday, 7 pounds 11 ounces, 20-3/4" long. Mom and baby are both healthy and doing well, and mom and dad are endlessly happy. Photos to come in a few days." YAY!!