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Friday, April 29, 2011

Prince William and Princess Kate's Magical Day


The happy couple

Associated Press image
 I might be English, but no, I didn't get up at 3 a.m. (Canadian time) to watch the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I have  recorded it and will savour every detail later. I did wake up in time for the church service and enjoyed that over breakfast.

I admit I love the pageantry and the Brits certainly know how to do it right. Kate's dress was perfect. it suited her figure, was elegant and not overdone. I loved the length of the train, which could have gone way over the top and been halfway down the abbey.

I saw the lace sleeves and said "glory hallelujah!" Sleeves will now be back in style for brides at long last. So much more comfortable than strapless, let's face it. The buttons at the back were classic. I have yet to see a close up on the embroidery on the skirt, but I hear it was done by the Royal School of Needlework. It warms my heart to hear traditional skills still being used and honoured. I read Kate chose Alexander McQueen's studio for their mastery of craftsmanship. (That should read "womanship.")

The little bridesmaids dresses echoed the bride and that was a nice touch. The pleats really gave a full skirt without massive bulk at the waist. and the same was true for the bridesmaids.



Photo by Getty images

Kate's sister, Pippa, looked very elegant in her dress. It flattered her and the white was perfect. I was a bit leery when I saw the draped cowl neckline, but it was obviously under control. Way back when, women used to attach a peg of some sort to the cowl and tuck it in their bra, so it wouldn't drift when they bent over. Cool trick and worth remembering.

What did you think of it all?

Naturally, William looked smart in his uniform, but it wasn't all about him, was it? It was about the commoner marrying the Prince with the Queen's blessing. The fairytale dream come true. Long may it last, in blessed happiness.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Almost wordless

You have to watch this video. Tell me if it touches you as it touched me.

http://youtu.be/tRs7thLdwVM

Friday, April 8, 2011

Corsets under construction

I'm making a new corset. This time for the lovely creature pictured here: my daughter. She kindly modelled the white outfit for me, even though the corset is a little small for her. It shows quite nicely, even so.

I am constructing her new corset in dupioni silk, with a brushed denim as the lining. I find denim in the right weight to be as good as the more expensive coutil for a corset. I am giving the design a fair bit of boning, to support the bust and shape the waist.

You can see here, I use boning tape, which is much better than just twill tape. I will use it if I have to, when wider boning won't fit the tape. If you've never used the tape, it has a pocket in the center, which the bone slides into and has a seam allowance for stitching it into place. Perfect for placing bones between seams. I often stitch it to the lining, so extra bones don't show on the outside. Otherwise, I insert bones along seams and I quite like the look of the top stitching down the seams. It needs to be accurate though! You can see  both methods used here.


The eyelets come next. I cut the holes and then use one side to mark the other. This way you get an exact match. I always use double laces, to really cinch the waist. They can be knotted at the waist this way.

The eyelets are stronger when washers are used on the inside. My grommet setter does a nice job with this. I bought my setter from Farthingales and the eyelets with washers also. The black are the eyelets, the silver are the washers.


I'll keep you posted with progress, though I have 1812 corsets for Fort Wellington to do first. It all gets done in the end! Don't you find you juggle several things at once?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Friday, April 1, 2011

Modelling Miss Abbott

Miss Abbot Live
Today I had a photo session with a live model. the costume looks so good on a real person! I took a ton of photos, some of which will be up on my web site soon. It all works very well, the snap-on train, the bustle , everything. I even had her sit down in it, which worked just fine!

Do you think I should use this in my Wedding bells magazine ad?