Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Finished Elizabethan Pair of Bodies!

It's been a long process, but my woefully historically inaccurate pair of bodies is done!
Note my vague attempt at Elizabethan fashion in the form of those collar ruffs, the lady's shoulder poofs, and the gentleman's elaborate doublet. They are obviously a pair, and the blood, the X-ed out eyes, and tongues sticking out indicate that they are most decidedly dead, and therefore are only bodies, a mere shell of a human, no longer possessed of their souls.

Just kidding. I promise I'll stop with the pair of bodies jokes; I just can't resist. I really meant that I'm finished with my conical torso-shaping "corset," although that term wasn't used until much later. Unfortunately, I haven't got any pictures of it on me since it's back-lacing, and I can't do it up myself. It will have to wait until the weekend of the faire when Elaine is here to lace me up. Until now, pictures on Cecily will have to suffice. It's not quite a true representation of what it will look like on me, since unlike Cecily, I am not made of foam, my bust is smaller, and my torso is longer and less cylindrical. But it still looks pretty good, at least to me...mind you, I am not sure what one is actually supposed to look like, but if I were to answer the Pattern Review question, "Did it look like the drawing on the pattern envelope?" I would say yes, almost exactly.

As I mentioned before, I used Drea Leed's Custom Corset Pattern Generator for the pattern; it was easy to use and her directions, while they could benefit from some real-life photos, are perfectly sufficient. Even the boned-tabbed version, which she describes as the most difficult, is not actually that hard to make, just time consuming. I did change the front busk into just more boning channels, as my initial experiments with a wooden paint-stirrer stick down the middle just felt weird and uncomfortable. Other than that, I followed her boning patterns, but with slightly more room between the pairs of bones where the tabs split in order to have space to cut and bind the tabs.

Here's what the inside looks like. It's the same upholstery canvas I used in my 1912 scalloped skirt.

Close-up of the tabs. I wasn't entirely successful at making all my stitches invisible, but I'll just file that under the "good enough" category. I also didn't know what to do about finishing the back edges, so I ended up folding over the outer fabric and stitching it down to make another boning channel. 
I am really happy with how the binding looks with the outer fabric! Even those hairpin turns weren't that bad!

Don't you like my anachronistic lacings as well?
All I had was a couple of mismatched shoelaces. Also, note the extra eyelet.
Summary:
Fabric: The outer fabric is a poly-cotton tablecloth from a bag of donated fabrics, the inner fabric is upholstery canvas of unknown content from the same bag. Not ideal materials, I know, but they were all that I had in my stash that wasn't stretchy.
Notions: Plastic cable ties for boning, narrow double fold bias tape for the binding, jeans top-stitching thread for the eyelets
Techniques used: Hand-worked eyelets, sharp turns with bias binding
Hours: Ummmm...let's just say a lot. I don't think I've ever done so much hand-sewing before! Just to give you an idea of how long it took, binding four tabs took me all of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Will you make this again? Even though this took forever, it was nowhere near the nightmare I was afraid it was going to be. I'm pretty sure it will be a while before I need another pair of bodies, but I would not be opposed to making another one (another pair?).
Total cost: The fabric was free, but the bias tape cost $2 and the cable ties were $8, so all in all, $10.
Final thoughts: I feel like I can't have final thoughts about this yet, seeing as how I haven't worn it properly, but so far things look good? I know that the waist could be smaller, and I accidentally made one eyelet too many on one side (asj&g#@!), but mostly I have decent thoughts about it?

Why, Cecily, how marvelously conical your torso looks today!

And for a poem from a similar time period, my favorite of Shakespeare's sonnets:

Sonnet 130, by William Shakespeare

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

And if you prefer your poetry read aloud, you can even have Severus Snape/Judge Turpin read it to you!

21 comments:

  1. Looks great! Just as it should!

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  2. I plan to make one muself for years but never did.. Loved yours, and loved the inside even better. ;)

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    1. Thank you! It is surprisingly easier than one would think, just time-consuming...I hope you give it a try!

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  3. Ah I love that sonnet! I think cynical girls love that one, I know that's the case with me. You have the best bodies I've ever seen. I love you bodies. Your brains are great, but I must be honest, I really love you bodies...

    strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com

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    1. You're right, I think it's a cynical girl thing. I have always dreamed of being admired for my bodies :)

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  4. importance of being earnest = my favorite play.
    sweet.

    i'm sort of in awe of your corset/garment, there. i am not sure i would ever be interested in doing that and it seems there is a lot there to be happy with! (you can wear it when you go bunburying, perhaps?)

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    1. It is my favorite play too! I will bunbury it up for the Ren Faire, although it seems to be an odd clash of time periods :)

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    2. does a ren faire actually count as bunburying? :-)

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    3. I will change my name to...Ernestine...when I go to the faire to visit my sick friend!

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  5. Your pair of bodies looks awesome. I think I'm going to use this post as inspiration to be brave and work on the pair of stays I cut out and never sewed up. I think you might need to relace them though - check out this article http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/lacing/lacing.html

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    1. Yeah, I definitely need to re-lace them. I have that site bookmarked for when I wear these for real; this was just a quick and dirty lacing job so I could see how it looked. I think you should totally make your stays! It requires some bravery, yes, but mostly lots of time and patience...

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  6. That looks amazing. You are so good at this!

    Also, for a fun reading of that same poem, this skit (toward the end): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxB1gB6K-2A

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    1. Thank you, and thanks for the link! *off to check it out*

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  7. They look great! I think I would have less trouble with the whole "pair of bodies" concept if I could figure out what the pair was. I mean, a pair of pants or a pair of scissors, there's obviously two parts stuck together. But this? Hmm, maybe if there was an opening at the front, as well?

    The outside is sweet, but I must admit the inside is way awesome. :)

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    1. Yeah, I wondered the same thing! I'm guessing it could have been made in two parts, but whatever, I'll settle for the mystery as long as I can keep making terrible jokes about it.

      Thanks for loving my unorthodox insides!

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  8. I think this is most lovely! The outside is perfect for the time period, and the inside is very rock star. I love that :) It came out beautifully, and I am loving all the body jokes!

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    1. Thanks for appreciating my body jokes and insides! I'm pretty sure any rock star would be happy to wear upholstery canvas ;)

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  9. I can't wait to see this on you, Cindy! Nice work! You must feel so relieved to have finished it! I can tell how carefully you made this. You just continue to amaze and impress me!

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    1. Oh Shayna...thanks for being my biggest fan!! I am indeed relieved to have this done!

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  10. You did a beautiful job, and I love both the inside and outside fabric choices--especially the surprise BOLD lining. Very pretty!

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