slight change of tack

[mandie_rw]

We might go to a Boer War event this weekend at a local-ish fort (if it's not 90F, which it probably will be), so I felt vaguely inspired today to start fixing my beige cotton print bodice instead of continuing on the dinner dress bodice mockup. It's not really wandering very far off, as I want it for Belvidere too...unless it's hot enough that I have to wear the Ugly Shirtwaist yet again.

I can't remember what details I posted about the bad fit of the beige print bodice so I'll recap - basically I used my pattern taken from a fabric mockup that had stretched a lot and I didn't realize (that's what I get for being lazy and not cutting it out on paper the first time I used it, for my first natural form dress a couple years ago!)...so I sewed it almost all together before realizing it totally didn't fit. Not like, oh, I'll just have to add an underlap and put the buttons all the way over, but the CF edges didn't even meet, and the armscye was pinchy at the front. Which I then tried to easy-fix by letting out a dart, fussing with the shoulder seams, and pretending it fit, and I got it pretty close to done before acknowledging that it'd be embarrassing to wear a bodice that fit like that. Which was where I left it the week before Belvidere last year! I knew I'd have to take a good bit of it apart, and Didn't Want To.

So, more recently, I took the step of undoing all the work I needed to, to start fixing the damn thing. Took the collar and sleeves off, unpicked the bottom facing, boning and the waist stay from the side seam and took said seam out. I pinned rough strips of fabric into the let-out seam and tried the thing on with a corset today to check and see if that side-seam-fix would be my best plan. Yup.

It's going to be a very stupidly-shaped piece of fabric once it's fitted, but it'll work. And less obvious than sticking something in CF, which was the only other option (best practice would have been to just recut the fronts, but I don't have enough fabric left for that!). I may have to piece in the front of the armscyes (as I'm a meticulous seam-trimmer, and had already notched/tacked down all the SA, of course) and put a wedge in the sleeve armpit since it was a smooth-fitting sleeve and the armscye might now be too big for it...but maybe not.

I put the second dart back in the fronts, and I'm in the process of sewing on 10,00 hooks & bars, since I think my best plan is to have the closure done before fine-tuning the weirdo side-wedges!

All this and I'm fairly sure it'll be too hot on Sunday to want to go to the fort anyway. But I want this bodice fixed up either way!

Comments

[chocolatepot]

A Boer War event? That's interesting, what's it about/how did you get a Boer War event in PA?

[mandie_rw]

Isn't it, though! Honestly I have no idea how they came up with it/if it's any good, haha! It's at Fort Mott in south Jersey (apparently they're an 1870s-1890s-built fort so the dates are generally right...?), which we've never been to, so it could very well turn out to be horribly lame! A FB friend that we've met at a couple of Rev War things invited us, so we'll see. (Or maybe not.)

[mala_14]

When I glanced at this, I thought Boer War said Beer War and was like, hm, that could be fun. Stretchy mock-ups are the WORST! Best on getting the bodice fixed!

[mandie_rw]

Hah! A Beer War would probably be more fun. xD Thanks! It was such a dumb thing to do, too...because really, I know better than that! Ah well. Keeps me humble, LOL.