The · Sewing · Projects · of · Heapha

Costume Description:
A friend of mine told me he was going to run a Cathulu by Gaslight game at the upcoming con, and I immediately started dreaming of the cool Victorian costumes that I could make and to be honest it did sort of spur of an as yet unsatisfied obsession. 

The Victorian costume total quickly rose to 10 – 6 females and 4 males. The following is each in it’s own section.

Lady Adelaide Bourke

Patterns Used:

TV170 – Petticoat using the natural form era option
TV225 – Fantail skirt, using the trained option
TV328 – Split Pannier Overskirt, only one way to do it.\
Ageless Patterns – Bodice – though I had to make a lot of changes

Pattern Sizing:
All the Truly Victorian patterns sized like a dream and I was a medium (corseted). The bodice said on the website that it only came in one size, a 36inch bust and 28inch waist. I measured my corseted self and it was perfect to these measurements..... unfortunately the pattern was not. After practically redrafting the entire bodice and 3 trials I managed to get it to basically fit though I think I lost some of the original design in the process. I am however happy with the finished look so I won’t complain about it anymore here.

Fabric Used:
My original mental image had this in black and white striped taffeta, in reality this was harder to find than I had thought. I located the bodice and overskirt in a small shop in Cabramatta. It was $10 a meter and I fell in love. I don’t know technically what material it is but it is a medium bodied bronzy brown satin like fabric with a printed cream floral pattern and a velvet floral pattern over the top. Truly unique and I thought perfectly Victorian. 

I had numerous problems with this fabric in the overskirt, the main being that it just didn’t sit right. After much deliberation and discussion it was decided that the reason it didn’t sit right was because the velvet made gathering almost impossible. My mother came up with the answer to gather it on a drawstring instead of just on a seam and the problem was solved.

The bodice is flat lined with denim, which I think may be just a little too heavy for the top but the TV patterns all said to flat line in denim and I could see no reason not to transfer the concept to the ageless pattern. Owing to the stiffness of the denim I decided not to bone the bodice, after all there was enough foundation in the corset and denim flat line.

Originally the skirt and “accents” were to be in a cream satin bought for $2 a meter in Cabramatta. But the following day at a Spotlight relocation sale I spotted the pale gold dupion silk for $20 a meter and decided to go with it. The fact that it scanned at $10 a meter was even better. It cut, sewed and wears like a dream, can’t talk about the beauty of working with silk enough, but best of all it warmed up the brown unlike the original cream. 

I should also mention that the petticoat was made out of a medium weight poplin that was bought in a batch at the same spotlight closing down sale. After it had been made I decided to finish it with a cotton lace with the ribbon fed through in a lemon because I love yellow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern:

TV170 – Wow goes together so well, fits like a dream and looks pretty. Putting the bottom ruffle on sucks but there is little that can be done about that realistically it is just that I am an impulsive person and the ruffle takes time.
TV225 – I love this pattern, it is so quick but so effective visually
TV328 – given it is two square type shapes that get gathered or tied in different places this pattern can get a little unwieldily to work with. I also didn’t like the panniers as much as I thought I would, so I had to do some fiddling to get them to sit right.
Ageless Patterns – This pattern was not fun to work with. The fit was completely different to the measurements it said it would be and all the excess was in one piece at the side. The pattern was originally printed in the 1800’s so my guess is a more experienced seamstress would be able to work it fine, but not me. I got it to work in the end and that’s really all that matters. There was no instructions at all, and points on the pattern where the drafter had made an error and simply written ‘oops’.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:The Truly Victorian patterns needed next to no changes, only that instead of gathering the front of the panniers I pleated to get them to lie flatter, and the gathering method of drawstring which was used because the material needed it.

The Ageless pattern took an entire rework to make the side piece actually work at all, something like 4inches was taken off it. I also raised the neckline because my corset stuck out the original hight – but this is hardly the patterns fault, I am a high busted person.

I also put onto the front a gathered bust in contrast, it was something I had seen done on a wedding dress I had liked and wanted to try out. Attempt 3 seemed to be the right way and though it is by no means perfect I think it is very effective. 

I bought the cameo thing and the drop beads at the stitches and craft show and added them to finish off. Originally I wanted red beads and a red gem not a cameo. I also wanted to put a red velvet ribbon line above the dangles, around the bottom of the bodice, and to edge off the overskirt. 

This changed as I couldn’t find red dangles I liked, the cameo went with the dangles I did find and once they were put on I sort of decided the red ribbon would be a bit to much.

The closure on the back (I think it is meant to be the front but like I said it isn’t like the instructions told me to make it the front) is closed by hook and eye, though I added some elastic loop tape and buttons for decoration, they don’t hold the top shut though as the elastic couldn’t take the strain without gaping.

Conclusion:
I almost gave up on this one at least 3 times. I am so glad I persevered through the “it doesn’t xxx right” stages and kept going. I look at it on Mavis and can’t help but smile.

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