Historical Sew Monthly 2019 - April - Upping Your Game

Historical Sew Monthly 2019 - April - Upping Your Game

Make something that really stretches you and
that works on the bits that you tend to rush through or skimp on.

The Dreamstress

Earlier this year I entered the Foundations Revealed Competition 2019 and wrote about it on this post:

Link:  Wright Place, Wright Time Foundations Revealed Competition 2019

While I learned so very much and enjoyed participating, I had stretched myself too thin.  A trip to Chicago was postponed to see the renovation of the Robie House whose art glass windows by Frank Lloyd Wright inspired my creation.  I was so disappointed and actually lost some enthusiasm in the project when that occurred.  Then I had organized and would be teaching three classes for a Victorian Valentine Weekend social and educational event.  Victorian millinery, fans, and parasols are not light subjects and I had not taught them before so it was preparation from the very beginning for classes that would satisfy beginners and experienced costumers.  Attendees had paid for this event and I owed them my very best which meant putting the Competition entry secondary.

But through all of that I did finish an entry and displayed it on my antique early 1900s caged dressform.  I did not place in the Competition.  The makers range from absolute beginners to professionals and there is so much creativity and sharing and learning just by participating.  I was pleased.  But I wasn't satisfied.  I knew I had not stretched myself as I had planned and even though the Competition was over I was determined to finish my dream.

There were items I wanted to enhance on the entry:

1.  Corset:  Revised lacing from standard to fan lacing.
2.  Corset:  Addition of a modesty panel to emphasize the lacing which was inspired by the art glass windows.
3.  Corset:  Addition of a belt and closure.
4.  Corset:  Additional flossing.
5.  Addition of a coordinating petticoat/skirt.
6.  Enhance the level of presentation.

This is the inspiration for my entry:

This is my entry before my enhancements:

I loved the black flossing on the lower edge of the boning and repeated the same flossing across the upper edge of the corset.  Next step was to learn the fan lacing.  Sliders, the ingenious apparatus in the center of the corset in the following photo, were patented by Samuel Camp in 1921.  The fan lacing method can also be completed by attaching the lacing to a fixed side piece.  Both methods then allow the lacing to be threaded through the grommets and guided to the sides of the body where they become a belt.  This is then tightened all at once by the wearer.  It is an incredible idea!!  Although my corset is representative of early Edwardian, 1908, much earlier than Samuel Camp's patent, there is evidence of fan lacing on corsets in the Symington Collection  Those corsets use the fixed side piece I mentioned earlier.  With the guidance of an online tutorial in Foundations Revealed I practiced fan lacing using two different colors of ribbon so that I can easily see the method.

With the fan lacing practice complete I add the foundation belt and place the corset on the dressform.  I add the gold silk fabric I intend to use for my modesty panel.  The fan lacing works!  I'm so stunned by this method!!  A little tug on the side belt and the lacing smoothly tightens.  It's amazing!!

To make this more of a complete look I've designed a petticoat using black cotton overlaid with the same white embroidered organza I used over the corset coutil.  I want to highlight the hip pads in this revision as they were completely under the corset in the original entry.  The hip pads and bust pads were made from the same gold silk as the back of the corset and it's a beautiful third color.  It also matches the vintage belt buckle I've won on auction and the antique embroidered velvet ribbon I will use over the functional belt..

With the petticoat finished it is time to complete the corset with the black fan lacing.

I've put a year into the thought, research, design, and creation of this entry.  While I didn't have the time to create my original dream, I loved the display of the 1908 recreated corset on the antique caged dressform.  These new design elements have made the creation decidedly more modern and I need to revise my presentation as well.  The only other option I have is my standard dressform.

In an etsy online shop I discover a pattern to cover the dressform and think that would be a beautiful way to make changes for any costume or corset I create.  Time to up my game with my dressform!  An inexpensive online pattern and $1.50 for fabric with the correct stretch is a perfect way to do this.

In a few hours there is a complete transformation!

Now is the time to assemble everything into the entry I had envisioned so many months ago.  Please enjoy my revised Foundations Revealed Competion 2019 entry in the second of five levels - Apprentice.

Historical Sew Monthly

The Challenge: Upping Your Game
What the item is: Early Edwardian corset and petticoat.
How it fits the challenge: The corset was created for the Foundations Revealed 2019 Competition in February. Since then I have learned fan lacing which is exhibited on corsets in the Symington Collection from 1911 although I used sliders patented by Samuel Camp in 1921. I added a modesty panel to highlight the black fan lacing. I also added the petticoat which is cotton overlaid with the same organza used in the corset. I had flossed the lower boning edges previously and added the same flossing to the upper edges. The hip and bust pads were part of the original corset creation but I'm displaying them differently here for visual emphasis. The front organza trim is reflective of the corset garters that would be worn on this corset and I've used them to lift the front edge of the petticoat to display the layers beneath. One of the things that I tend to skimp on is display of my finished creations. For this Challenge I made a cover for my adjustable dressform and added the leaf embellishments. I also added a vintage buckle with antique embroidered ribbon I've been saving for years.
Material: Coutil, silk, organza, cotton.
Pattern: Truly Victorian TVE01 1903 Edwardian Corset and Edwardian Rose Antique Patterns 1903 Ladies' Petticoat
Year: 1903
Notions: Steel corset boning and busk, channel tape, grommets, embroidery floss, thread, poly fill for hip and bust pads, vintage buckle, antique embroidered velvet ribbon.
How historically accurate is it? All technique and pattern detail is historical. The display tends toward a more modern appearance.
Hours to complete: Heavens!! I've lost count!! I've been working on this since last summer!!
First worn: Somewhere In Time Event October 2019
Total cost: $325

Wright Place, Wright Time - Foundations Revealed Competition 2019

"I know the price of success:  dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."

Frank Lloyd Wright 1867 - 1959

The Frederick C. Robie House is a U.S. National Historic Landmark on the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, USA.  Built between 1909 and 1910, the building was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is renowned as the greatest example of Prairie School, the first architectural style considered uniquely American.

Wright designed the Robie House in his studio in Oak Park, Illinois between 1908 and 1909.  The owner, Frederick C. Robie, was only 28 years old when he purchased the property in May 1908.  He and his wife, Lora, a 1900 graduate of the University of Chicago, selected the property to remain close to the campus and the social life of the University.  The Robie family, Frederick, Lora, and their two children moved into the house in May 1910.

The steel beams in the 9,062 square foot building carry most of the building's weight to piers at the east and west ends.  As a result, the exterior walls have little structural function, and thus, are filled with doors and windows containing 174 art glass panels in 29 designs.

Attending the University of Chicago had been a dream of mine, but as a welfare child it seemed an impossible dream.  In a long career path I was finally accepted into the University program to pursue my doctorate in International Business in 1990 and fell in love with this architectural icon.  The Robie House has only recently received funding for a full renovation which is scheduled for completion within the next few years.  Tour groups must wear hard hats to see some rooms but the work continues.  Thankfully, most of the art-glass can be saved including my favorite design of which I have a small recreation at my home.

The angular crossings remind me of the lacing on a corset, the house itself with the steel beams like a well-fitted corset.  The purpose of both is to create beauty and elegance as well as to support and protect.  To honor the Robie House and the years when Lora Robie was enjoying her new home's creation, I chose an early Edwardian corset style to create for the Foundations Revealed Competition 2019.  Lora may have worn such a corset style as she walked the campus and watched the dream of her new home become a reality.

Research of the Early Edwardian Era from 1902 to 1909 defines the a lady's fashion silhouette as having a low, full bust and long hip creating a "pigeon breast".  The straight front of the corset gives the figure an S-bend.  The bust sits lower and may be artificially exaggerated with padding and ruffles and other methods as the corset flows away from the ribs, while a hip padding may be placed under the corset to give the impression of an arched back and rounded hips.

As this is my fourth corset, I am still learning many basics.  I have grand visions of beaded and intricately flossed designs but decide, instead, to focus on learning the basics of the sculpture of this era.  I decide to begin with a Truly Victorian pattern as my base which allowed for a toile that I could then customize to fit.  The pattern states "This pattern is recommended for persons with previous corset making experience."  I'm ready!

There are many new techniques for me to learn with this corset era:  bust gores, hip gores, internal boning channels, and even padding to accentuate and fill to the desired silhouette of that time.  I begin with a basic muslin toile to learn how the pattern works, to decide on the option given for high, medium, and low bust heights, and the same for the hip length.

I choose the high bust option which is designed to hold the bust at about the same height as a modern bra but lower than a Victorian corset.  I also choose the low hip which will still have a beautiful curve to showcase garters.

A pure white narrow herringbone coutil is my strength layer.

Over the coutil I lay a pure white organza embroidered with leaves.  This layer is to give the impression of a windowpane and the longest season in Chicago, Illinois:  winter.  To keep the panels and layers organized I pin them to my dressform and work with them in order.

For the center back panel I use a gold silk the color of the center panels of the Robie House art-glass window design.

The busk is matte black, as will be the grommets and corset lacing and binding to reflect the black lines in the inspiration design.  Although I have been successful with my past three busk insertions, I still have a little celebration when this one is finished and looks beautiful to me!

As I sew the gores and panels I stitch the coutil and organza together at the leading edge leaving the trailing edge free.  When I pin the layers for sewing I form them over my pressing ham to give them some ease which they will need in wearing.

The first new techique - bust gores.  Careful stitching and topstitching and I see a shape taking shape.

The remainder of the panels, bust and hip gores are sewn and the corset halves are complete.

A hip gore close-up and a fit test of the self-made garters.  Loving these bust and hip gores!

The Truly Victorian pattern includes bust and hip pad patterns and I take a break from the corset to sew and fill these.  They are made from the same gold silk as the corset back center panel and garters and filled with a modern poly-fill.

I cannot delay the next step any longer :), grommets.  I don't have a setter so all are done by hand with an awl and a hand setter and hammer.  It takes patience and hand strength and chocolate to get through the 30 grommets.  But eventually they are all in and although I have a nasty blister on one hand, I'm happy.

Curiosity gets the best of me and I have to see how all of this creates the Early Edwardian silhouette.  Those Edwardian ladies were clever!

Now for the second new technique - internal boning channels.  My steel boning is 1/4" wide and the boning tape is wide enough for two bones each.  I lay them to follow the pattern but adapt for my size.  The channel is stitched down the center, then on each edge.  With the back center panel there are a total of 28 bones in this corset, 14 per side.

After sewing midnight black bias binding to the top edge of the corset, I insert the bones.

After sewing the binding on the lower edge I add embroidery flossing to hold the steel bones in place.  As with anything, the more I flossed the better they looked, but they still weren't perfect.  If anyone was that close to see the imperfections they had better be buying me a diamond ring.  :)

With the lacing added I was ready for photos of my Robie House-inspired corset both indoors and outdoors on my antique dressform.  Can you see my dressform through my little window?

I also took some photos indoors.

And then I went to the computer to submit those six indoor photos and my essay to the Foundations Revealed Competition 2019.  I froze.  I had already seen some of the incredible creations by professionals with professional photographers, models, make up artists.  But I had also seen those of us who are still learning and growing and I knew that the professionals were doing the same - learning and growing.  And although I'm crawling still, I can only walk if I keep getting up and trying.  So I submitted my entry which will appear for the public on March 1st, just over a week from today.

I'm stunned and happy with what I've learned in this corset and am now ready to start a new project which will stretch me even further - a recreation of a 1908 double lacing corset in the collection of Edward Jones.  I have been able to purchase his pattern made from the original which assists his tuition for University.

I believe that Frank Lloyd Wright would smile to hear me say that I understand what he meant when he said "I know the price of success:  dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.".  It took all of that for me to create, submit for the Competition and honor a Frank Lloyd Wright place in a Frank Lloyd Wright time.

As a member of Foundations Revealed I have to acknowledge and thank the incredible tutorials, videos, and mentors and supportive members from whom I have and continue to learn so much!  Specific information from Foundations Revealed used for this project include:

1.  Flossing Design Library - Symington Collection, written by Cathy Hay

2.  April 2018 Monthly Mentor Meetup - Edge Finishes

3.  July 2018 Monthly Mentor Meetup - External Boning Channels

4.  September 2018 Monthly Mentor Meetup - Padding the Figure

Thank you for taking time to follow my story!