Sweet peas are blooming!
Craftiness abounds
Dove Nest
Gibson Ranch Civil War Reenactment
Nick and I attended one day of the Gibson Ranch Civil War Reenactment as costumed tourists. We both had new outfits to show off, and had lots of fun sightseeing and picnicking with friends.
First, Nick’s clothes. Pants, shirt, bow tie and epic hat were ordered online. I made the waistcoat using Laughing Moon pattern #109. Quilting cotton front, linen back, and contrast quilting cotton lining. 
My dress is a combination of Truly Victorian patterns and making things up. Bodice is TV440 1859 pagoda bodice worn over TV441 Garibaldi blouse. The blouse is the non-waistband version made from a cotton/linen blend. The pagoda bodice is made from cotton seersucker, and has piped seams and facings. Buttons are fabric cover buttons fussy-cut from quilting fabric. The skirt is three widths of material pleated into a waistband. I sewed coordinating ribbon in a simplified Greek key pattern onto a vintage (60s?) hat to imitate a riding hat. 
2011 Crafting Review
An overview of the 2011 crafting year. I know this is way late, but it took quite awhile to get pictures of some of the projects and figure out what was made when. The projects are shown in approximate chronological order. To go directly to my 2011 project page on Ravelry click here.
Click on pictures to link back to a relevant blog post or ravelry project page.
In December Buttercup came home to live with us, and her newly bonded mate Wesley. While technically not a craft, supervising Wesley’s quest for a mate was certainly a project.
Victorian Corset Finished!
I finally finished my latest Victorian corset so to celebrate here is a photo extravaganza, with help from my lovely assistants Tia and Buttercup. It is Laughing Moon pattern #100, Silverado gored corset. I am modeling the corset in a chemise from the same pattern set. 
The corset is two layers of coutil and an outer fashion layer of a thrifted quilting cotton. Boning channels are sewn through both layers, with flossing to hold the bones in place. Boning is a combination of flat and spiral steel. 
The modesty panel, in addition to being too short, is only boned vertically on the sides and tends to wrinkle in the middle. Horizontal bones would fix this, but I probably won’t get around to it unless it gets uncomfortable.
It’s amazing how much the flossing improves the look of the corset. There are a couple of fitting issues that were causing major wrinkling on the sides, but securing the bones in the channels almost completely fixed the looks. In the next corset I make I can hopefully fix the underlying cause of the wrinkling. 
To summarize:
Pros - pretty comfortable, good silhouette (esp. for curiass bodices), looks nice.
Cons - too long in front, doesn’t fit quite right, modesty panel is wonky.
All photos are by Nick Burlett.
Caitlin’s Wedding Dress
Last September my soon-to-be sister-in-law got married, and I made her dress. At long last I have photos from the big day. Caitlin lives across the county from me, so most of our planning and fitting was done by email, phone conversations, and mailing mockups back and forth. I arrived in Vermont two days before the ceremony, and that was all the time I had with the busy bride in person before she needed to amble down the aisle.
First, the main inspiration. Caitlin liked the bodice pleats, neckline, skirt shape and the peek-a-boo underskirt detail. Not so much a fan of all those silly butterflies or the price. Yikes!
(Click on image to go to the source site and see more views.)
Starting point
I browsed every pattern company’s catalogue and website for patterns with a similar shape and neckline. I ended up using a variety of patterns and techniques.
Bodice lining - Vogue 1163, modified front to be a simple V-neck instead of overlapping pieces. (Pictured below, click for link-through.)
Skirt - self drafted, with pocket pattern modified from a pattern I can’t remember.
Bodice - draped on Caitlin.
Dress Details
Bodice and overskirt in ivory silk dupioni. Fully lined in cotton sateen, with a sheer woven cotton peek-a-boo detail around lining hem. Hidden back zipper with functional loop-and-button closure. Buttons (made by Nick!) from the dress fabric. Silk bodice is handsewn, as is the zipper.
Caitlin’s Mom generously dragged her sewing equipment to Vermont so I would have an iron, ironing board, and sewing machine to use. I made most of the lining before leaving Santa Barbara, and prepared some base pieces that would later become the bodice and skirt. The most nerve-wracking flight I have ever taken was that trip to Vermont where I had all the fabric and pieces that would become a wedding dress in a carry-on suitcase. 
Sewing in the buttons.
Doing up the buttons. The button-loops are elastic, but still easier to get through with a crochet hook.
The Finished Dress
Modeling the pockets and showing off some truly kick-ass wedding footwear.
Caitlin was super fun to sew for, and as utterly opposite from a bride-zilla as you could possibly be. Despite a million other things to do she made sure I had chocolate when I was madly sewing in the days before the wedding. Also, the night before the wedding the dress was not finished, but no stress. Morning of, still not quite finished but still no stress! Everything came together by the deadline, Caitlin and Jesse were happily married on schedule, and Caitlin rocked that wedding in (if I may say so) an awesome dress.
Stunning wedding photography by Nick Burlett.
