I found my fabrics! And a reasonably do-able pattern for the corset (some of them are SO complicated!). The skirt, I'll have to wing. It's much fuller than the one in the pattern, but I'll use that as a base to start with.
I got REALLY lucky with some of these fabrics. The red and black stripe was $1 a yard at Wal-Mart! The tiny black and white polka dot wasn't much more. And the others, I bought at JoAnn's with coupons. In total, I've spent just over $50.
Here we have a start. The corset, I made in three layers. The first two are sewn out of inexpensive cotton and are boned at the seams. The third I sewed on top of the first two, once the bones were in place. That way, the top layer is nice and clean, no channels.
The trim is pinned on at this point, to allow me to tweak the fit of the corset at a later date. It's loose at this point and will need to be taken in. I won't completely finish the corset until much closer to conference time, probably around February.
The shirt is sewn from two panels of the tiny polka dot and two panels of the larger. I thought that made a nice contrast. It's knee length.
Here's a closer shot of the corset, with the lace pinned in place. It'll create a little more modesty, since I'm full in the chest. I like the way it curves up and then back down in the center. I did that by accident when I was pinning, but liked it so much, I decided to keep it that way. It's practical too.
Next comes the tedious part: the skirt's ruffled lining. Last year, I made a red cancan outfit for the EC fantasy ball. The skirt was HUGE, extremely full. And the lining was loaded down with yards and yards of satin ruffles. It felt wonderful swooshing, but it weighed a ton, so much that the skirt kept sliding down over my hips and I had to safety pin the stupid thing to keep it up.
This time, I'm going to be practical. While I loved the movement of all those layers of satin, I didn't enjoy the weight. It was HOT too. I'm going with narrower, pleated ruffles, alternating the black polka dot with a fine, sparkly red tulle.
Here's a picture with one layer sewn into place. It takes forever to pin and sew them all in. This is NOT my favorite part. One down a bazillion to go...
Ruffles sewn and bustle complete. Happy sigh. It's coming along nicely.
To make the bustle, I simply ran one long seam, creating a huge tube of fabric. Then I sewed one end of the tube closed, turned it right side out and pinned the other end to the waist of the skirt. Finally, I eyeballed it as I gathered the "poofs", trying to balance them to keep the bustle straight. There might be an easier way, but I like the random look of the gathers.
I was obviously needing my V8 this morning when I took this shot. It's cockeyed. LOL But it still shows a decent amount of detail.
A shot of the front with the skirt pinned up, showing the ruffles. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Would've liked to have a few more, but I ran out of fabric and I bought every bit the store had.
BTW, the black straps up on top are part of a store-bought camisole. They're a little off-center in the picture but I can fix that later. I wanted some black up high and loved the flirty look of straps draping over the upper arm. Plus, the camisole will provide a little more coverage up on top, which I expect I'll need.
I'm just about through with this costume. Final step (besides alterations later and the grommets for the back lacing) will be the peplum on the back of the corset. I bought some adorable black and white polka dot ribbon and will be sewing cute little bows at the waist. I so love those little feminine details.
Accessories:
The hat I made last year
Black gloves
Fishnet stockings (over tan nylons)
Black and red cancan boots
Ruffled panties if I can find them
Possibly a tulle petticoat to make the skirt fuller.
