JUNE 18, 2011 Adventures in Corsetry! Reproducing a 19th century gusseted corset	In January of this year, I wrote about a new adventure I was embarking upon- trying my hand at making a mid 19th century gusseted corset. Until a few years ago, corsetry was something I avoided like the plague. And up until now, I had never made a gusseted corset. Not wanting to attempt to draft a gusseted corset pattern myself, I opted for a commercial pattern instead. The pattern:  Martha McCain's Simplicity pattern #7215. The Results:       Here are some of my final thoughts on this project: The good- A few of the issues I had when I originally starting building this corset have been resolved. Remember, those minor fitting issues I ran into? (The bottom front of the corset wants to protrude outward a little. This is a result of the flat steel busk not wanting to round itself over the belly area. I think using a spoon busk would correct this, but at this point, I am not willing to take this corset apart and try to insert another busk.) I fixed this by 1. wearing the corset and allowing it to conform to my body (also known as "breaking the corset in") and 2. gently bending the end of the steel busk inward. I also doubled the amount of grommets down the back of the corset and added additional lacing to adjust the snugness around the hips. The bad- The very back of the corset wants to roll a bit. A friend of mine is a professional corsetier and she uses a great deal of poly boning in her work. However, she always uses steel boning at the very back of her corsets. I can understand why. This part of the corset needs more substantial body support than what poly boning can offer (even if you double it). I think next time I make a corset I will use steel boning at the very back. I lovingly call this my monster corset because it took me as long to make this corset as it does an entire mid- 19th century ensemble! But overall, I would recommend this pattern from Simplicity. It is very comfortable, controls the waist and bust area nicely, leaves the hips free for movement, and creates a gorgeous mid 19th century silhouette! To read earlier posts about this project, see January 2011 post
JUNE 13, 2011 Mid 19th century clothing commissions/ follow-up photos	Recent Museum and Film work: (Images courtesy Island Farm)     (Images courtesy Dreadful Sorry)
JUNE 9, 2011 Custom commissions for Conner Prairie	Last weekend (June 3-4) marked the opening of Conner Prairie's new interactive exhibit entitled 1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana. As terms of my contract, I was asked to hold off all discussion of this project until it was unveiled. Now that the exhibit opening is past, I am free to discuss my participation. In addition to advising on appropriate historical attire for this project, I created a total of 13 garments for this exhibit. Two of the dresses I designed are worn by the key actresses in the Journey's film.  The third dress I created was a young girl's dress for an animated figure playing a violin. I provided the corsets, chemises, cage crinolines, and petticoats for the both the actresses and the permanent displays as well.   Two 1860s era day dresses. At right, a dress for a young lady about the age of 15. Both gowns were featured in Journey's film 1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana is based upon General John Hunt Morgan's historical cavalry raid on Indiana. It also explores the roles women and children played and how they supported the troops. For more information about this exhibit, please visit Conner Prairie's website. This program runs from June 4-October 30, 2011.

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