To Rock the Rococo

My corset and "pocket" hoops project is finally finished! I'm planning a rococo gown, so naturally I needed to start with the correct underwear. Because I'm a little bit crazy, I wanted to make the underwear pretty too, and chose a horrible hard to sew satin fabric that looks divine. IRL it's more petrol toned, but the camera thinks it's a dark blue. Either one works for me!

The corset was made with Butterick B4254 Misses Stays and Corsets pattern. I have to say the instructions were not very clear, at least for a hobbyist like me, but I do like the boning pattern a lot. The horizontal bones in the front want to fold down on the vertical ones, so I sewed a vertical boning channel behind the center front to keep the horizontal bones where they should be. The side silhouette is just as it should, very straight, so I'm sure the corset will work well under a gown.

The pocket hoops, for which I didn't actually make the pockets, just hoops, are done with The Recollections of J P Ryan pattern. I think I could have done them without any pattern, like I did my bustle cage, but the pattern was easy to follow and the results are good.

I used plastic boning, which is a little less stiff than I hoped, but hopefully can hold up the weight of the gown. If not, I'll pick the bone channels open and insert flat steel crinoline boning instead. The corset was also done with plastic bones, but they seem to work very well for the purpose. The bones have to give and bend with these kind of boning patterns, so plastic bone or synthetic whale bone is the best.

The corset has a pretty low neckline, but historically these were worn over an underdress or a thin, loose top, so maybe the pattern is designed the same way. I don't have a suitable one to try the corset with, but it looks like it would work. I adore the shoulder straps that can be adjusted with laces. So cute!

I still have one sewing project I can finish with the supplies at hand. The 1830's gown just needs boning in the top and trimming of the hem and it will be done. It has a zipper in the back and doesn't need a corset underneath, so it's much less historical but also had parts I hated sewing ;D I've been so busy that I haven't had the time to touch any projects in a few days. I'm taking a first aid course and studying for a drivers license, and then there's regular work on top of that, whew! But soon things will calm down :)