FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Jaenelle
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
Photography of me by Bekki Hare
Outline the story …
For my inspiration I chose the main female character in The Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop. It is a fantasy series with no clear definition of a correlating time in our world I have always gotten a distinctive “mid-Victorian-esque through the 1930's” vibe. This left me with a lot of options which I spent months exploring before finally settling on these designs.
In her late teens her adoptive father invites her friends from all over the world to come stay with them in his expansive home for the summer. For the occasion of their arrival she selects “soft, full, sapphire pants and [a] flowing jacket ” with a “skimpy gold-and-silver top worn beneath the jacket.” Using mostly materials I had on hand I constructed a similar outfit based on this vague description.
I knew I wanted to attempt a corset and that would be my main challenge. The other pieces were from commercial patterns so I added elements to give them a challenge as well. The easiest of these challenges was enlarging the pattern for the jacket and adding a lining.
A lot more hand stitching than I am used to went into this project. I avoid it whenever possible. My skill in that area has certainly improved during the creation of these garments, but it is still by no means good.
Outline the construction…
I started work with the corset. It would take the longest and would likely alter the shape of whatever I paired with it. I selected a corset from the online archives of the Symington collection. I don't have a printer, so I had to trace it off my computer screen. Then I had to figure out how to make it fit. Changing it to fit my body altered the silhouette and leaving the silhouette made huge gaps. After 5 mockups I finally had something I could work with. The main structure is single layer of thick cotton broadcloth with casings made of the same holding industrial zip-ties. I used dead bras as padding for the cups and used the fashion fabric to line it on the outside. It covers the chaos of the hand stitching. I used two zippers, one utilitarian beneath and one fashion on the outside.
The undershirt is made of a modal knit pillowcase with a lengthened dirndl top from Burda. I handstitched what I couldn't use in its existing state and gained a little more confidence with that skill if not any more love. Now I want a dozen of them.
The pants are from silk I had on hand out of Vogue1661. I dyed the silk to cover the wild printed pattern. That was a pleasant new experience. They are assembled using French seams. I tried topstitching the pleats, meh.
I also made the necklace. (It's not fabric) Go big or go home!
The corset has such a nice shape and the fabric and lace look so well together.
Okay, that coat fabric is -everything-! I love the color shifty nature of it. The corset is lovely (as Susanna said) but the coat is definitely my fave!
Love your fabrics! And the lace detail on the corset is great♡
Lovely! I can just imagine Karla bounding in with a “kiss kiss” and them running off to discuss the Tangled Webs. Really well imagined and executed!