Working

[frualeydis]

I made a lot on the 16th c. corset yesterday. The thing that stops me from finishing it is that I need another spool of buttonhole silk for sewing boning channels and the last 3 1/2 eyelets, which are reinforced by metal rings on both sides. As Janet Arnold says, it is clumsy, but I don't think it will be too bad. I'm currently sewing the three layers of the tabs together before binding them with pink grosgrain ribbon. But I can't try it on "for real" until I have bought more thread so I can finish the eyelets :(

Yesterday I won the bidding on the absolutely wonderful book Fashion and eroticism from the victorian era to the jazz age by Valerie Steele. I had only read the corset-book from her before and though I like it a lot it is popularly written. This book has a much more theoretical approach and I love it. And now I can have my very own!

I also ordered 5 different swatches of silk taffeta from Denverfabrics. I need taffeta both for a corset and for a dress. I would have preferred satin for the corset, but silk satin is very hard to find.

Comments

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Oh my. That book sounds fabulous. And I can't wait to pictures of the new corset!

The only place I've seen silk satin is DenverFabrics. Too bad they didn't have the colour you need.

fabric

[serenalyons.livejournal.com]

Did you look at the drapery taffetas? They have some fabulous heavier weight silk taffetas hidden over there they are in the 2.3-2.5 oz/yard range. Scroll down on this page, past the shantiques, (whatever that is?) and they have 4 different satins there. http://www.denverfabrics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SI-sa

Re: fabric

[marymont.livejournal.com]

Silk Shantique is shantung one side, satin the other.
This fabric contains slubs
which are characteristic of
the fabric and are not defects.

So they say. Sounds like what they used to call "antique satin" which back in the day we thought was really cool for making SCA wear, before we learned about "first quality" and why slubs aren't it.

Some day, hope it's soon, I will be able to convince myself that I'm rich enough to spend (without guilt) money on something that isn't from the clearance table.

Re: fabric

[serenalyons.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've just never seen "shantique" anywhere else. Not that I shop too many other places either...

I have guilt. I find the fabric is a wonderful salve for the guilt. The fabric is more powerful than the guilt. especially silk taffeta. Nothing is better or more powerful than the silk taffeta. ***drool***

Re: fabric

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Yes, one of the swatches (patriot blue) was from there. Last time it took two weeks for my order to get here, but then it got caught in the customs which really shouldn't happen now. I'm waiting. I can't afford fabric shopping at the moment, but one can always plan and dream.

Eva

[pinque.livejournal.com]

Oh my I'm jealous! That book is excellent, and really does explore the beginnings of various popular myths about corsetry and the fashionable figure.

I think the University of Auckland has a reasonably old copy of it.

At global fabrics right now there are some silk satins. But they are getting really bad at actually getting it now. It seems to have become more and more difficult to come by in the last couple of years. They used to have some really lovely duchesse and other heavy satins, but now theres satin back shantung and some thing stretch silk satin.

[frualeydis.livejournal.com]

Is that an on line store?

Eva