Tudor Corset - Pattern Cutting.

This corset's intended fate is to end up under the Mary Boleyn dress. Sometimes I agonise over how I'm going to do something for ages when really, the best thing to do is have a go...and well, make it up as you go along. In the end I used my made to measure dress blocks as a guide - ignoring the darts, knocking off a few inches on the bust and waist and marking in new style lines as required. I have drawn in tabs along the waist line and the only place I have put seam allowance is on the side seams - all the other edges will be finished by bias binding.

Tudor Hiproll

My 'Mary Boleyn dress' needs a moderately sized hiproll to give it the correct silhouette. After a bit of research I decided to aim for the size commonly seen around the 1560s. I cut my pattern for this by first drawing a circle with a circumference measuring the same as my waist. From here I drafted in the shape of the hiproll, it's 3.5 inches wide narrowing to 2 inches at the ends. I also flattened the circle to an oval shape to better fit my figure.



Then I traced off a copy of the pattern and added seam allowance. Once cut out it's ready to lay on fabric.



This is how it's looking so far, i've bagged out the edges leaving one end open for stuffing.

Finished reverse applique

I have finished the reverse applique cutting for this sample for the Mary Boleyn dress. I'm fairly pleased with it although it needs sequins and further embellishment but I have doubts about producing a full skirt panel and it still be in one piece at the end. I may have to look at other options like simplfying the design so that it is less fragile. Or I could search for a fabric with a similar motif and work the embellishment over the top.




Also just a quick update on my muslin chemise to show how its looking so far. The bodice is almost done and I will be sewing it on soon.

Reverse applique - the next steps.

After much tedious stitching made even more tedious when my machine embroidery foot broke (grrrrrr) the design was finished. You can see how I have followed the design on the paper.



Next comes the fun part - ripping the paper away!!! Its one of those really satisfying jobs. I use a seam ripper to get the little bits of paper out of the nooks and crannies. If I have time tomorrow I will begin the process of cutting away parts of the design but for now you can see the stitched (paper free) motif.

The Gold Mary Boleyn dress in more detail.

I have been looking closely at the embellishment down the front of the dress. The intricate design looks as though it may have been appliqued on and then stitched around with gold thread. Then there are the sequins which are mostly a deep, blackish gold or mother of pearl worked over the design with the same gold thread. What's bugging me is that there also appear to be the occasional red, blue or green coloured sequins and i'm wondering if thats just because the camera flash is causing the mother of pearl to catch the light and throw out a vibrant colour.

After much deliberation I decided to have a go recreating the design using reverse applique. I sketched out the central motif and used tracing paper to ensure symmetry. My version is not identical but it's close enough so that i'm happy with it.




Luckily I had some gold fabric to hand which should suffice for the purpose of testing this out. I layered up my fabrics; gold fabric on top, my darker colour fabric underneath plus a layer of scrap cotton on the back for extra stability. Then I pinned a photocopy of the design to the front and its ready to sew.



I managed to stitch about half the design today and I will have another crack at it tomorrow.