The Hufflebustle - Trials and Tribulations

Two weeks ago I experienced an object lesson in why we make mockups.  I was working on the Hufflebustle, and it was time to start on the bodice.  The Truly Victorian patterns (I was using TV466) have a complicated system for choosing which size to cut, and you'll likely have a different size for your back pieces, your front pieces, and your sleeves.  This was all new to me, but I put on my corset and had Brian the Engineer take my measurements to determine the sizes I would need to use.  I came up with size G for the back pieces, size E for sleeves, and size C for the front.  It struck me as odd that the front and back would be so radically different, but I was willing to try it because the method was new to me so what do I know?

I used old bedsheets for my mockup fabric, choosing a pale green for the main bodice, dark green for the shawl collar and cuffs, and white for the center "vest" front and collar.  This would give me an idea of how my finished bodice would look with different colored fabrics I planned to use.  I knew I wanted to extend the shawl collar pieces all the way down the bodice front, and I was also planning on doing the shorter sleeve variation without the cuff.  But as long as I was making a mockup, I might as well make both variations so that I don't have to make another mockup later if I want to use the pattern as-is.

So on the left you will see the changes I made to the shape and length of the shawl collar, and on the right you will see the original pattern piece and the long sleeve with cuff.

Original

Modified

I left the design of the back as-is.  I was particularly excited about the fun pleated tails at the center back, though I did not realize at the time that I had tacked them the wrong way:

Now when I tried it on my dress form, I instantly knew something was wrong.  The mockup fit my dress form, Anna, almost perfectly.  The problem with that is that Anna is the same size I was when I was making my wedding gown over three years ago.  I have since gained weight, had a baby, gained more weight, lost most of that weight, and changed shape.

So it's no surprise that when I tried the mockup on myself, this happened:

That's as close as I could get it to closing.  I quickly realized that the culprit was my corset:

I had made it for my wedding, and it fit me then.  But I had altered the commercial pattern (I think it was one of the Simplicity mid-1800s ones) because it was too big in the bust, but I altered it poorly.  Now that I have much more bust than I've ever had before in my life - thank you pregnancy! - my corset was compressing my bust instead of allowing it to expand and lift.  I had already known I would need to correct this issue, but I was hoping to put it off until after the gown was made.  Well, clearly that would not do.

I dug up the scraps of brocade leftover from making the corset.  (See?  It's a good thing I hold onto everything!  I'm not a hoarder...)

And I made bust gussets.  I tried it on and marked where I wanted the gussets to end, then took it off and drew a line down to those marks - after removing the top binding:

I stitched with a short stitch length on the machine, down alongside the lines I had drawn, meeting the point at the bottom, and back up along the other side, then cut down the line to the point.

Then I sewed the gussets in.  I was using the method from my Laughing Moon Regency stays, though I wasn't nearly as careful to do a neat and tidy job.  I plan to replace this corset, so I'm not too concerned about making it look pretty at this point.

I did one side, then tried it on to gauge the difference.  It's pretty striking:

Before

After

I meant to re-apply the satin binding at the top, and probably add some sort of drawstring to bring in the excess at the edge, but I really had to focus on the gown now, with the event only days away!  I quickly fixed the other side of the corset, tried it on again, and re-measured myself.  This time I got size F for the front pieces, which made WAAAAAY more sense!  I traced out the pieces in the new size, cut new front pieces of my pale green sheet fabric, took apart the mockup, and put the new front pieces on.  This time I didn't bother with making both shawl collar variations, and cut only my modified version from the same pale green.  I didn't need to check the design again, just the fit.  And I'm happy to say that my corset fitting issues were fixed!  The bodice fit beautifully, and I needed to make no further adjustments.  I left the sleeves off because they had fit fine in the first version, so I trusted that they would fit fine in the final version.

I fixed one side of the back pleated tails, but left the other tacked incorrectly, to remind myself of the difference so I would do it right on the final gown.  

I am super glad I made a mockup (and a half) because I only had five yards of the micro-check silk, and I wanted to get both an underskirt and bodice out of it.  And because I only had to cut the real bodice once, I was able to!  

Twelfth Night 2018

One of my favorite annual events that the Regency Society puts on is the Twelfth Night Dinner.  It's always a treat to get together with other Regency enthusiasts, all dressed to the nines, and eat delicious food while socializing in a historic atmosphere.  And this time there was dancing!  Sadly, I got no pictures of this.  However, I had a good excuse:

We brought Reptar!

And she was a little distracting.

Amazingly, there were many willing volunteers to hold her when Brian the Engineer and I needed a break.

Megan and Reptar

RSV photo

Samantha takes a turn

Stefanie enjoys feeding her

Shhhhhh!

Stylish ladies in yellow!

I think Stacy likes Reptar.

She was very well-behaved, even though the poor kid had a pretty bad diaper rash at the time.  She happily sat in the high chair while we ate:  

There are more photos of the event on the RSV Facebook page.  I mostly have photos of myself and Reptar:  

She spent a lot of time testing the strength of my Dames a la Mode necklace:

RSV photo

This may be my favorite photo of the two of us ever:

I wore my Sheer Striped Gown and Blue Wool Spencer with my Shocking Bad Hat.  Brian the Engineer wore his Black Wool Tailcoat and Purple Velvet Waistcoat.  Reptar debuted a new dress I'm calling the Yellow Buttercup Dress, along with an antique embroidered cap that was given to me at my baby shower last year.

I'll do a separate post on her ensemble soon, with details of how I made her dress.  

The Hufflebustle - Planning and Plotting and Possibly Scheming

I know I'm mixing my fandoms in my title, but what else is new?  :p

I was inspired by Fabric & Fiction, who is making a Ravenclaw Bustle Gown right now, to make my own Hogwarts House Victorian gown.  I was officially sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore.com (even though I wanted to be Ravenclaw), so of course I would need to make a yellow and black dress.  Then last October, when this awesome checked silk taffeta went on sale for $6/yard at Fabric Mart, I snatched it up:

I have five yards of the micro-check and ten yards of the one-inch check.

Ever since the fabric arrived, I've been dreaming and designing - off and on, as I've been rather busy "momming" lately.  And up until recently, I had no event to which I could wear such a garment.  But then I was invited to a Victoria Day picnic coming up in May, and the dress code is anything from Queen Victoria's lifespan!  So anything from 1819 to 1901, which is a nice big chunk of time to choose from.

I briefly considered going 1860s with this gown, as the checked pattern seems to have been more popular at that time than in the Bustle Eras.  But I really, really wanted a bustle gown!  So I started by reviewing the overarching themes of each of the Bustle Eras to decide which one I wanted to do.  For a good summary, check out Historical Sewing's primer here:  Bustle Era Changes - The Highs & Lows in the 1870s & 1880s

This is also a good visual reference - from costumefashionhistory.tumblr.com

I ultimately settled on the Late Bustle Period.  I love both - and the Natural Form Era sandwiched in between - but the Early Bustle Period seems just a little too floofy and frivolous for honest, hard-working Hufflepuff.  Also, my fabric is so loud that it seems much better suited to the clean lines and tailored appearance of Late Bustle, where the draping of fabric creates most of the visual interest rather than tons and tons of trim.  (Someday I will make an Early Bustle Gown - and a Natural Form Gown - because I do loves me some trim!)

Once I had my basic era nailed down, I basically copied Hannah's design method of focusing on the color scheme, animal, and personality traits associated with my chosen Hogwarts house.

Screencapped from Pottermore.com

Color scheme:  Yellow and black - check!  (no pun intended)

Animal:  Badger - Hmmmmm...

Personality Traits:  Basically the nicest people you will ever meet; the Midwesterners of the wizarding world :p

Once I put those three elements together, the design began to coalesce rather quickly.  My Pinterest inspiration searches came across several fashion plates featuring a mock-lapel look that nicely mimics the vertical lines on a badger's face:

So that's rather perfect.  And I have a roughly 1-yard remnant of some black cotton velveteen that would work nicely for the lapels:

I haven't entirely settled on my design for the skirt/overskirt, but the bodice is pretty well set in my mind.  Now it was time to go pattern shopping!  Of course, Truly Victorian was my first - and only - stop:

Now all I needed was a solid, light-colored fabric (preferably silk) to use for the faux vest at the center front of the bodice.  I ordered a couple of swatches from Renaissance Fabrics:

I think the Frosted Yellow is going to be perfect!  Now how much to order?  One yard would be great plenty for the bodice center, but should I get extra for an overskirt?  And I want to make an evening bodice as well, but I haven't settled on a design for it yet.  Would I want a solid yellow bodice?  Or even a solid yellow underskirt to switch out with the checked one?  Decisions, decisions...

I also haven't entirely figured out which checked fabric I will use for the bodice, overskirt, and underskirt.  Should I keep it simple and just use one fabric for the whole thing?  Or mix and match?  Should the overskirt apron be symmetrical or asymmetrical?  I think I need to start draping things on a dress form and see how they shape up.  Wish me luck!