Finished Project: Pre-Raphaelite Inspired Choker

I hate throwing out fabric - even the scrappiest of scraps, it just seems so wasteful.  That's how this project came about, it's a fusion of my desire to find a use for leftover strips of fabric and a corset I made a little while ago which I covered in some of the Pre-Raphaelite's paintings -  Pre-Raph Underbust.

This item is available in my Etsy Shop

Finished Project: Pre-Raphaelite Inspired Underbust Corset

Ok, so there was a brief, panic-filled moment during construction, when I genuinely believed this corset was going to be a complete failure.  The further I went with it, the worse the weird, plasticy buckling effect got but once I put in on, it behaved itself.

And there was much rejoicing........

I'm completely thrilled at the way this turned out and now I can't stop thinking of all the interesting ways this technique could be used.

I'm wondering whether this could be pulled off a bigger scale....say 18th Century stays! Hmmm............

New Project: Pre-Raphaelite Inspired Corset

I have always adored the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and have been forever meaning to do something inspired by one or more of them.  This project isn't so much inspired as it a direct homage to some of the gorgeousness those chaps put on canvas.

It's a bit of an experiment with printing, I've never used this technique before and I'm not quite sure how it's going to turn out - but that's part of the fun!  I've used inkjet printing paper to transfer images onto a pale fabric.  I'm using a strong off-white recycled curtain fabric which has a a very subtle floral design on it which I'm hoping will add to the overall texture.















I cut my own corset pattern for this project - I needed decent sized panels to do the images justice.  Once I cut out my fabric I then began the task of collaging and building images onto the fabric.  Getting an image to fit exactly onto a panel proved too fiddly so I used layering to fill in any tricky little gaps.

Here are the finished printed panels for the right side of the corset.

And these are the finished left panels.

The printing has the effect of giving the fabric a 'plasticy' feel with a glossy finish.  The fabric now has much less natural flexibility so this could be interesting,  I just hope it doesn't cause too much buckling as it comes together.

The Lady of Shalott

How could I look at this and not want to recreate it?

William Holman Hunt's illustration of 'The Lady of Shalott', a poem by Tennyson, tells the story of woman cursed to weave the story of King Arthurs reign in Camelot but only through viewing the reflection of the world in her mirror. One day she sees Sir Lancelot and turns her full gaze to the outside world, causing her tapestry to unravel about her. She flees her tower and ultimately dies.

I can't help it - when I see such richness and texture I just want to sew!!!! As always the undergarments will be the starting point. I can't wait to have a go at those sleeves.