Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in liellen's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005
7:08 pm	Ack I never posted pictures of #6! I've already finished #7, and begun #8! Hum. Well,the gold was beautiful. I didn't like the fit as much as I'd like, but that's partially due to the length of the underbust portion. I've altered the pattern again and again, and eventually wound up altering it so much it's not even recognizable. I'm now using my own pattern. I'm going to take pictures of #7 today, hopefully to upload soon. #7 is a cream number with flowers and a bit of gold printed on. I worked really hard on the matching on this one, and think I did a reasonable job. I used golden duck as a backing material and a soft blue edging, to match some of the flowers. #8 will be black fine-wale corduroy. I haven't decided on the edging yet. :) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 26th, 2005
1:52 pm	Backing it. I chose a cotton duck in a gold color to back this corset. I made the lining and stitched it on, following the stitches on the boning tape. I really should find another way to do this part. It's a pain in the neck to do it this way. I'm putting a dark gold seam binding ribbon along the edges. I'm also laying a line of it down along the edges, behind the busk and the grommets. It should be interesting. I haven't adjusted the sizing yet, because this one was already mostly cut out. I'll adjust the corset up and down after this one. I have made sure the grommets were very close to the back bone, even though it's a 1/2 inch bone. It seems to be working really well so far - the entire area moves as one piece, rather than flopping around. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 20th, 2005
6:56 pm	I had this one already cut out So I'm making #6 very much like #5. I have this fabric - silk dupion, quilted onto a poly backing. It's a lovely gold/pink/sage color. And I got my parachute cord - that stuff is great! I laced #5 up with it, and will wear it a bit to see how good it is. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 17th, 2005
3:35 pm	Picutres and the Problem There's always at least one pattern. It'll get better. One of these days! Ok, here are the pictures of the corset. I'll post a few and link to the rest, so those who don't want to see all the details don't have to. This is the back. This is the right side. This is the left side. This is the view from the front. I hate my belly. :P Now for links: This is the corset, prior to putting it on. It's all laced up! This picture shows the inside of the corset, where I whipstitched the seam allowances together to keep the pieces from shifting too much. This is another view of the same stitching, showing how it looks laid out. This is the inner layer of the corset, constructed but not attached to the outer. I showed both sides, the part with the boning tape and the side that would be against the chemise. Closeup of the same thing. I took a picture of the grommets - you can see where the back bone is shifting in its casing. This is bad. :( Closeup of the top few grommets, showing the distressing amount of space in there. Grommets! I placed the ones at the waist closer together, to see how it worked with the tightening there. I really like this method - my waist got smaller, and I had less constriction elsewhere. The Outside layer - showing the matching I worked so hard to do (I need to use an easier pattern for this!). Closeup of the top, at the front of the corset. Closeup of the front - bottom of the corset. Here you can see the fabric buckling a bit around the back. The bones shifted a bit. Eep? Left side, with the bones-shifting problem showing a bit. I took out the steel bones and replaced them with plastic cable ties for the later pictures (the 'completed' ones), and that helped a lot. In the future, I'll have to keep in mind that, when I'm using steel, I have to allow barely enough room for the bones. This is the problem. I am working on a fix for it for this corset, but it's going to be jury-rigged. What I want to know is: How do I prevent this? I don't even know what caused it. What do I need to do to ensure that it doesn't happen? For now, I'm stitching 4" bones across the waist and top and bottom of the back only, which has made a nice, flat back area. It's kind of neat, and I'm seriously considering running with it in a pattern of some sort. But I want to know what I did wrong that allowed this, so I don't need to do that. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 13th, 2005
10:58 am	I have to lace it in white. Corset 5 is finished! I'm lacing it up today. I used an old-gold ribbon to edge it. I did something interesting with the layers. I stitched the boning tape to the inner (duck) layer, after just flat-pressing the seams. I then took the seam allowances, and rather than trim them, stitched them together. Basically, the pieces slowly came together as whole 'chunks' of corset, rather than being stitched and treated as one fabric. I wanted to see how and whether that would work. The bones seem a bit loose this time. I wonder if it's possible to stitch a little _too_ close to the edge on the tape? Or maybe it's just the sheer curviness of these seams - I altered the sizing pretty heavily. Well, lacing it up in white is disappointing, but it's all I've got. I can't find my one black lace. I really ought to go out and try those parachute-cord lacings people were talking about, for color. I hate dying my own of anything. It's so messy! We'll see how it works, and how it looks - I'll post the pictures after then. (Comment on this)
Monday, May 9th, 2005
6:30 pm	Midway point on #5 I chose a butterfly pattern. I regret that - it's a complicated pattern, and was a PAIN to match. In fact, I didn't manage it perfectly. I took tracing paper and cut out the pieces, then drew in the seam allowances. I then went through and traced the pattern - all of it! - all over the pieces. Matching is painfully difficult on this pattern. I am lining it with navy cotton duck. I decided not to flat-fell the seams this time, instead pressing them to the sides and putting the tape on the inner layer, between the two. I like the way this looks. It's nice and flat, and looks great! I took pictures, will put them up when it's done in a day or two. Pictures: (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 4th, 2005
7:58 pm	woops I forgot to add on that last one (yes, I could edit, but I'm lazy). The reason for the subject was the frustration of dealing with rolled-up tracing paper. For most patterns, they're big enough that the weight of the pieces holds the paper down a bit. But these... they roll up! I'm going to have to start ironing it, or buying sheets instead of rolls, if I'm going to do this regularly. The rolling on the paper is driving me bonkers. Current Mood: amused (2 Comments |Comment on this)
7:49 pm	Tracing Paper Ok, so I decided to go ahead and try matching for the first time. I'm glad I read up on this. I would be pretty annoyed at this fabric if I were trying to match it all the way up the seams! Ick! So I'm picking a motif with space at the waist and trying to match it as well as I can elsewhere. It's not really easy. We'll see how it works, if at all. But at least this one should be wearable. :) I think I picked a bad pattern for trying to match the first time. Butterflies all over it. Next time I'll go a little easier and maybe do a big-medallion pattern or something. *chuckle* Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
4:29 pm	Argh! Hahaha - we found the problem. Thank you to the folks at corsetmakers (how on earth do I show that as a livejournal link?), who had the patience to sit there and talk with me about it. 5726 has one piece (the side-front-side-back piece, the center piece of each side of the corset) printed at a 180-degree rotation from all the others. IT SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THAT! Four corsets and a lot of sizing frustration, and I thought it was all me. I compared the 9769 corset pattern (same corset, different printing), and it is indeed right-side-up in that printing. Amazing how so stupid a detail can screw everything up. Beginner's Tip: Don't use Simplicity 5726. Use 9769 instead - it's the same corset, but it's printed properly! :) So... on to the next challenge! With a pattern that finally makes sense, I have decided to move on to a silk brocade with a repeating pattern. I'll line it with navy duck, and make it a two-layer corset. I hope my sewing machine can survive this. :) Current Mood: jubilant (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005
2:40 pm	What a weekend Ok, so I had a really busy weekend. I actually started work on the Chemise from that corset pattern (9769 - same corset as 5726), so I didn't have a chance to work on the corset. I'll be working on that today, and probably doing a bit more on the chemise. I'll get it soon! After this one, I think I'm going to step into the hard part - pattern matching! I'll just stick with this pattern for a bit. As much as I'd like to do other patterns, I think I need to do things slowly. After all, I'm only on #4 of 50. I have time! *grin* I started taking apart #'s 1 and 2. They were cute attempts, but horrible when it came to it. I think I'll leave #3 for now, so I have one to wear, and see how 4 comes out. Oh, yeah, and I have to upload the pictures sometime soon too! (so much to do, so much to do!) Current Mood: rushed (Comment on this)
Friday, April 29th, 2005
5:27 pm	Corset 4 beginning I liked corset 3, it worked well enough, but it's not GOOD ENOUGH. *laugh* So I'm making another. I figured out recently that I had had one of the pieces upside down. One piece, both sides, every single corset to date. *sigh* It explains a lot about the trouble I had with fitting and such. I'll try similar sizing for this one, and see how it works with the pieces THE RIGHT WAY this time! :) Of course, the kids are over, so I won't have tons of time for it this weekend. We'll see what I get done by when. Current Mood: busy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 27th, 2005
6:27 pm	binding I'm doing the binding on my third corset. I chose a Nile green ribbon. I know a lot of people have said ribbon bindings will bunch up, and I can see a little of the puffiness, but I've never really had a problem. I'm using seam binding, which is cut on the grain but is a soft material, which does the job well enough for my taste. Besides, it looks gorgeous. I can't wait to try it on and see if it fits properly this time! Pictures! This is the back of the corset. This is the front of the corset. This is the left side of the corset. I don't like the way it holds me in this fabric. I suspect this is because of the slight stretch to this denim. This is the left side of the corset, with my arms down (something I couldn't do in Corset 2). This is the front of the corset with my hand pressing on it - notice the huge difference in size? There's a lot of space in there! Well, ok, it's squishy-me, not open space, but I don't like the way it went there. Should I be concerned about this? Should it be solved? Or is that flat-front open like that ok? This, this, this, this and this are all pictures of the corset as it was under construction. This is a closeup of the boning tape, to show the hand stitching on the inside of the corset (this did a number on my hands. I didn't like what it did to me, but I liked how it looked. *ponder*). In this picture and thisone, I tried to capture the Nile Green color of the ribbon binding without sacrificing the rest of the picture. My camera HATES pale colors, including pencil marks. By the way, it's laced in black because that's all I had. I've since gotten white lacing for it. Current Mood: content (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, April 25th, 2005
6:29 pm	Corset 3: The beginnings I am working with embroidered denim in a white-on-white color scheme. I chose to do the flat-felled seams AND the bone casings by hand, which is taking days. Long days of hand-stitching is making my fingers ache, but it's slowly getting done. I'm using an invisible whip-stitch on the edges of the seams and boning tape, to make it not show as much. I really like the way this corset looks, so far. The hand stitching seems to be making all the difference in the visibility of the boning tapes. I am putting in the between-seams boning now, so I'll be finished either today or tomorrow, and be doing grommets and busks and all that fun stuff. I think when this is done I'll make a chemise and drawers and such, and take pictures of what it looks like with the appropriate underthings. But first things first. Let's see how this stitching looks. I don't know if I can do this for every corset. Is there a way to use a sewing machine to make the boning tapes etc be invisible? Current Mood: thoughtful (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 20th, 2005
3:32 pm	Oh yes - about the boning... I used the cable ties. Cable ties are very thick, and they do show under the corset the way it's made this time. Getting them into the channels was tough work - I will use the 3/4" channels next time I use cable ties, because the 1/2" ones (designed for 1/4" bones) are TOO TIGHT. They seem stiff enough, though. I'm going to lace it up and put it on, just to get pictures even without the sequins being finished on it. Current Mood: chipper (Comment on this)
3:26 pm	Sequins Well, the sequins are going to take a while. I'll do them when I'm sitting and watching a movie or playing a game or whatever. For now, I'm going to start on the third corset. I got my patterns for some other types today, so I'm not sure what I'll be doing. I actually picked up the Elizabethan Outfit patterns from Grannd Garb (EXPENSIVE!). I was a bit worried, due to the huge expenditure on one pattern. HOLY CRUD, though - they come with BOOKS! I have two full ringbinders from these things! I'm impressed. Well, I'm going to see the fit on the corset I just made, and then decide which pattern to use. Maybe I'll go with an Elizabethan one. *ponder* Current Mood: chipper (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 19th, 2005
12:32 pm	Boning the corset Ok, so I had a look and found that my bones were all off-size. What do I do now? I have spiral steel from the kit (which is from the same company and appears to be the same size as my spring steel, by the way). I have spring steel which is great for support, but is all the wrong sizes. And I have a large package of 15" long heavy-duty cable ties. I checked out the cable ties - they're similar in support to the spring steel, very strong. They're a little thicker, but that's ok by me. I mean, they're slimmer than the long-cube-style bits of whalebone that used to be used, so that's perfectly fine for me. And I only need scissors and sandpaper or an emery board to use them. I'm currently cutting the bits to length and sticking them in. I did use two 1/2" wide pieces of spring steel for the very ends, but that's all the steel that's in this corset. I also found my first major mistake for this one, and it's one that I'm sure was done because I was tired and focused elsewhere. I put the grommets right on the end of the corset, instead of between two pieces of boning! Oops. That was a painfully disappointing discovery. I'm going to finish it anyway - I have a long road ahead of me, and I'm not going to give up on even one corset just because of a mistake like this. We'll see how it looks when it's done. Current Mood: disappointed (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, April 18th, 2005
11:54 pm	About boning and DC... On reading what someone else said, I got curious about my first effort. I know the bones seemed short when I boned the corset, but I thought that was just my inexperience. Someone mentioned that the bones they had bought from DC Enterprises (www.corsetmaking.com) had come up short when actually measured. I went back and measured my steel bones, out of curiosity. Oh my. Almost every set (and I bought a number of sets, a gross of each size I needed for this corset and a few that I needed for other things) came up short by a quarter inch or so! ...... I'm going to have to email them. This may explain some of the bunchiness around the edges of my first corset. I'm also going to start measuring the bone channels now, instead of just trusting the pattern and the boning sizes. This has been quite a shock! Current Mood: shocked (1 Comment |Comment on this)
11:16 pm	I did the grommets Ouch. Four layers of denim and four more of dupioni. X 24 grommets with washers. Ow. My hands hurt! I placed an order tonight for a grommet-setting machine. It looks like a heavy-duty stapler. If I'm going to do this through cotton duck and denim forever, I am _not_ going to do it all by hand. Putting that awl through all those layers was agonizing. It's a good thing I started out with strong hands (although I'll bet they're nowhere near as strong as some who have been doing this for years). I have only to put the top and bottom bias on, bone it, and sew on the sequins and such, and it'll be finished. I'm not too thrilled with some of the stitching-lines - it was difficult to work with the denim. But we'll see if I can hide that. I didn't get enough grommets with my kit to do the corset! They sent a dozen. That's too far apart for my tastes, I've done a dozen on each side. Also, it seems the grommets sent with the kit weren't as black as they should have been - one side (the side I did with my own grommets) is dark black, and the other is silver with black speckles. Is there a rule for how far apart the grommets actually ought to be? I know more grommets means you need longer lacings, but how far apart should they get? Current Mood: mellow (3 Comments |Comment on this)
3:36 pm	wow - denim is tough I haven't worked with denim before. I went straight from cotton and similar fabrics into silk. I still use a wide variety of fabrics, but even the corduroys were softer than this. Pushing an awl through multiple layers of denim is a real workout. My arms will be really strong by the time I'm done here! I do need to get more fraycheck - it gets used a lot in these projects, more than I've used it in other places. The corset is pieced and sewn together. My inexperience with denim has meant that my seams aren't as straight or nice as I'd like them to be. I decided to sequin the thing, partially to hide that and partially because I just like the idea of putting sequins on it. I have just the set too - a roll of black, oily-irridescent sequins all in a single line. I'll probably make some sort of pattern on the corset's outside, and couch the line down. I'm going to do it after I do the bones, because I already put in the boning tape and I'm lazy - I don't want to go back and redo all of that. The silk dupioni does make a very nice outside for the corset. And with the denim, it's already _very_ heavy. My hands are tired! Current Mood: sleepy (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 15th, 2005
6:07 pm	Ow I decided to go with a nice dark blue silk dupioni I had onhand. This raised a few minor issues when cutting the pieces, because dupioni is _very_ prone to fray. I had to fraycheck the entire outside edge of each piece, as I cut them out. This isn't a major issue, but it did triple or quadruple the amount of time it took to get those pieces cut out. As a backing, I chose a dark blue denim. I have washed it in hot water, and then dried it in the dryer. I spent a good half hour with a hot iron and a spray bottle, fighting to get the wrinkles out. I hate ironing denim. My arm hurts (there were a good five or six yards of it). But if I didn't do it, the denim would be in danger of shrinking _after_ the corset was made up. So, a painful but necessary step. I then got to cutting the denim. Ow. Again. Denim is tough stuff, and even with a rotary cutter, my arm is exhausted. Whee - exercise! *grin* They're both dark blue fabrics, although the back of the denim is a lighter color. I'll be stitching them together now, so as to get them ready for the actual construction of the corset. I've bought the kit from DC, which is supposed to contain everything I need for this pattern. It does, BUT it comes with spiral-steel bones. I used spring steel for my first corset, and was very happy with the result. These are so floppy! Are they going to work? Even cable ties are stronger, and those are made of plastic (I'll be using those too, sometime soon, for the experience). I read somewhere that my bust size probably means I should be using spring steel rather than spiral, and I guess I can see why. Does anyone with experience know how good or bad these are? Current Mood: okay (4 Comments |Comment on this)