Appreciation of the Finer Things in Life

So after looking at the corsets today, trying to decide what to do with them… I couldn’t part with any.

Instead, I’ll post about my favourite piece (and best success in corset-making so far;);

The PVC corset :D And matching wristcuffs..

It was a pain in the butt to make, but I don’t think I’ve ever been happier of finishing something than when I was when this was ready. It fits great, I’ve been complimented about it and reduces the waist nicely while still being comfy. And it looks goooooood. And I’ve got a matching skirt, too. ;) It wasn’t actually that hard to work with PVC as I thought, since this was my first time using it, just needed patience and extra care.

The cuffs to go with it, “boned” with rigilene. The lacing didn’t work out too well and it is hard to tie without help, but I’m still pretty happy about them.

Corset:

Cuffs:

It is funny how the “inspiration” starts driving me crazy right when I have tons of other important school stuff and exams to do.. argh!

So, after the trip to France, no new shoes unfortunately.  And not much other nice things either. A hat.. uh, and a necklace and something. Oh well, money saved. :D

Refreshing my to-do list;

- Red Moulin Rouge corset

- Reconstructed bolero

- Fixing a  shirt

-kitchen curtains..

-Making a wallet

-Aaaand possibly a waist cincher out of fake leather, or something green, or PVC… suggestions?

Apart from desperately trying to knit or crochet a winter cap I’ve never ever done a hat before (no wait, I have) but it isn’t worth a mention. This one is nicer. ;)

The base was made by pulling newspaper strips through glue which was watered down a little, and sticking the strips onto a balloon. I first drew a sufficiently sized circle on the balloon to give the idea where to aim. After there was a nice layer of wet paper, I let it dry, and then trimmed it to fit my head. The “kipa” was then covered with black wool fabric and the underside with regular black cotton. Then I sewed one of those little hairdressing combs (that the old ladies use in their buns) onto a trip of fabric and glued/sewed it then into the bottom of the hat. Voila, it holds! Then the icing; a little veil thing from tulle and some feathers tied in a little bouquet glued onto the base along with the rose. It turned out pretty fantastic! Can’t wait for a funeral to wear it… I mean, uhh…

Pic of me wearing it at a club event and looking totally stoned; D’oh!

Grade:

After finishing a bunch of christmas cards, which was very much fun, (and a first time for me using napkin decoupage) I recalled seeing this piece of news in the tv.. Some chick was showing her lovely handcrafted postcards and telling about this new hobby of hers. After a while of googling about postcrossing and whatnot, I found out the name of this fancy hobby was called ATC, Artist Trading Cards, and looks really interesting! Basically people do those little ice hockey-sized cards using various materials and swap them with other people. The reason why I remembered that tv spot was that the chick in it had this really pretty corset-themed ATC card with tiny little eyelets and whatnot.

And from talk to action; here are my new shoe boxes :D It was tons of fun covering them, and they turned out really pretty. They’ve got a small nameplate attached with a round piece of masking tape for easy changing. And a pretty bow. <3 Cleaned all the shoes and packed them nicely, now they’ll stay dust-and scratch free.

This is what happens to your clothes hanger rod thingy when there’s too many leather jackets…

For those not Finnish, the label above means “Minnie Mouse heels” and the rest of the labels… Uhh, derogatory words describing the shoes inside. =D (My mom came up with “slutty heels.”

 Grade for the cards;

And for the shoe boxes:

Well, not quite sewing, but related nevertheless; I picked up some six shoe boxes from the nice lady in the local shoe store, and two rolls of cheap wallpaper and a jar of glue for ~6€. Snip snip glue glue, and I’ll have some nice storage boxes for my little party shoes =) It sounds almost too easy to be true… gulp.

Off to snip snip glue glue, will post pictures when they’re ready! (and the living room rug is messed up…)

Now playing: Iron Maiden! \m/

Speaking of tartan (or plaid, or scot fabric, whatever), which I love, the first overbust corset I made was this. The pattern was a little too big, and I had to cut’n’sew the top edge of the finished product again because it was too long (mock-ups, what’s that?).

It is a little wide in the front, and doesn’t have a bone in the middle, and it’s more like a top than a corset as it doesn’t even take much in from the waist, though it is sturdy. This was my first experiment with synthetic whalebone, and it worked really well. When fixing this corset I got a “heureka”-moment and understood to better sew the whole thing, a method I’ve since used. I might sell the thing, since I don’t use it a lot, but it’s really hard to do so.. My baby. :(

Grade:

Okay, don’t care for Evanescence nor Amy Lee nor this song, but I REALLY want her dress from the “Call Me When You’re Sober” vid. Tartan, ahhhhh! Gimme! I love red tartan :D

Reference pics, not too good through. Pic 1 and Pic 2. And vid.

Hmm, Google tells me that someone already did it. But, it isn’t quite as the original…

Well, if it is out of my reach, maybe I could find the Lip Service Punk Rock Queen Ballgown instead. In Red of course. Mmmmm.

I have this one pattern I ordered from Old Raven and I’ve been using it a lot now, it was made for me “according to measure” but I still had to edit it quite a lot, but now it’s quite near perfection. What I’m thinking about right now, is getting new corset patterns. Vena Cava has some patterns that look interesting, mainly this Late Victorian Corset and Victorian corset circa 1898. Anything with a good nice hourglass shape. :D Recommendations?

Oh and if I get bored with corsets, Vena Cava carries also this and a link to the tutorial. Coooool! Industrial strenght velcro..Mmmmm…..

The other corsets I’ve done have been “outerwear”, but finally finished doing an underwear corset, to wear under snug sausagey tops and such, made of cotton and lace. :D

It has only two layers, but the fabric is this really stiff cotton stuff.. I’m definitely gonna use it again for lining! Used synthetic whalebone as the boning, and some decorative lace and red satin ribbon + cotton bias binding. It turned out pretty good, used a overbust pattern which I modified to be underbust. In the first picture the sides show a little crumpling of the fabric, but it isn’t that noticeable actually. Next time might add a little bit more height to under the arms, but it still quite excellent. Already used it once at a VNV Nation gig last Sunday (w00t!) and it proved worthy and comfy :)

Heh, actually it *could* also be used as a “outerwear” corset at some christmas party, elf costume maybe. ;) jingle jingle. The grommets are by Prym I believe, the type you put into this small plastic setter and bang it with a hammer. I have never had any pop so far, but then again I give them a really good beating (one the neighbors can hear too).

Grade:

Okay, so I should have gone to the shoe store, and shouldn’t have looked at the shoes, and shouldn’t have fallen in love with this one pair.. okay, but I need them for Sunday!

Lovely heel, looks great and easy to walk in, comfy, HOT, and of course shiny PVC! I couldn’t have left them there. And it was pay day and all… And they weren’t that expensive after all.. So, I’ll just not eat for a while and quit partying.. err, yeah. Thank you Trendi-Kenkä! Mmm…. Shoes… *Homer drool*

The leg is a little bit too wide, so I might take them to be repaired, but not yet, I don’t want to part from them. ;)

Back to sewing, now (with my shoes on). ;)