pandaemonaeum | Some recent work

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Some recent work

http://www.whitbydraculasociety.org.uk/gallery/MasqueBall2006/DSCF2602

Corset and skirt by me. This is a Bohemia corset (mix and match panels of fabric on my standard underbust corset) worn with a custom fabric bustle skirt. The lovely lady wearing the outfit is Gabrielle, from Gothic Haven (www.gothichaven.com), who won 'Best Mask'.

http://www.whitbydraculasociety.org.uk/gallery/MasqueBall2006/DSCF2609

Joanne, the 'Queen of the Ball' (in silver and white) is wearing an underbust by me, made in metallic silver PVC. I'm still looking for a clear picture of this; hopefully the professional photos will show this to its best advantage!

EDITED TO ADD A CLOSE UP: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/CatBalou/wds%20ball/2006WDSMaskedBall009edit.jpg

http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u139/gillytheperkygoth/?action=view¤t=CIMG0019.jpg

Andrea (the lovely LittlePinkFaery, who makes beautiful wigs, www.littlepinkfaery.co.uk) wearing a custom underbust and bustle apron in green/ gold Chinese silk

http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u139/gillytheperkygoth/?action=view¤t=CIMG0018.jpg

Pat, wearing a burgundy R & G corset with contrast cream stitching, and a matching burgundy tafetta bustle skirt :)

http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u139/gillytheperkygoth/?action=view¤t=CIMG0001.jpg

And last but not least, Laura (ladylilith83) in a custom white and purple BonBon corset, with a matching shrug. I also made the net skirt and the matching white lace overskirt. The mask is Laura's own handiwork, as is the wig :)

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i love them.

andrea looks HOT HOT HOT.

and that corset (the one pat is wearing) is super.

Thank you :)

Andrea looked even better in the flesh :D

oooh **blushes** I was about to say that is a really bad photo of me compared to the ones I mailed you at my yule ball!

But I accept compliments graciously **still blushing**

I know, but I haven't gotten round to uploading them anywhere yet, and this one was sitting there waiting to be exploited... :D

I will be posting some of the Yule Ball ones, I want to add a 'Gallery' section to my website so I can add all these lovely pictures I have :D

well you are one talented lady!

I still want you to do a military costume for me for October- but thats a way off yet!

Gorgeous work as always :D

Wonderful!! All the outfits look smashing!

But where are photos of you????

You have inspired me to take out that Simplicity pattern - I love what you did with it.

ladylillith83 looks stunning in it. What a perfect fit! Did you have to make many adjustments to the corset?

And the R&G looks awesome!

YAY!!

Thank you! There were a few more of my bustle skirts, I need to track down some photos of those too! (Aah, Vogue 8003, how easy it was to adapt, and how popular it has been!)

I didn't have any photos taken, as 'Most Haunted' did quite a bit of filming of me, and I'd had enough after that! Apparently the show airs on 23rd February, so I must track down someone with Sky to tape it for me.

I find the Simplicity pattern is actually a really good fit, if the person has a 10"+ difference between their bust/waist or hips/waist. Certainly cutting it short to give the underbust corset (worn in the first and second pictures) makes it incredibly flexible - Joanne is 5' 7 or so and a size 12, and Gabrielle is a little shorter and more curvy than that. I have narrowed the rib cage measurement a little as the proportion on the pattern is out very slightly, but otherwise it's a great corset for those with an hourglass or pear shaped figure, with some adjustments to the bust. Once I realised that the pattern included wearing ease, and you should cut the size 2 down from your usual, and I had chucked the rubbish they wrote in place of sewing instructions in the bin, I got along great with it. To show you how much I use it, I have actually worn two copies of the pattern out, it has been traced so much :o

I really like the shape that the Simplicity gives! I find it much more flattering than the LM. Too bad that the measurements on the pattern is waaay off.
Man - tomorrow I am definitely going to trace the pattern off and construct one! You have inspired me, lady!

I always trace my patterns onto baking paper - lasts forever! And I was reading in my Quilting for Dummies book (one of these days I am going to make a quilt....one day) about using freezer paper. Apparantly you can iron the waxy side onto the wrong side of the fabric, and it will give a temporary hold without ruining the fabric. Then just cut around the pattern pieces. Have you ever heard of anyone who has tried that yet?

You have inspired me, lady!

Yay! I like to find different ways to use existing patterns, saves me a lot of drafting and re-cutting ;)

I always trace my patterns onto baking paper - lasts forever!

I have never tried baking paper, but I now use wallpaper lining paper. It's a little stiff, but it's hardwearing and cheap.

Have you ever heard of anyone who has tried that yet?

Strangely, I have! My friend Gillian used it for a baby's quilt, and some patchwork hats. They came out beautifully and she said it made her life a lot easier. Ghost's mum also recommended it to me when I was thinking about making some patchwork bags for craft fairs, as she used it when she started quilting 5 years or so ago, saying it was a nice easy way to get started :)

Freezer paper is normally used for appliques, but I think it would work well for normal pattern pieces, no?

You know, I have gotten to the point where I really can't be bothered with drafting. I would rather use a pattern as a block. Saves a lot of time. And really - it is the end result which counts the most, right? I am so sick of this "I draft my own patterns" snobbery. Those are usually the corsets which look like ass.

Slightly OT.......would you let a customer wait for over 6 months for an order???

I know it worked well for Gillian, she was using 10cm hexagons to make a quilt around 1m x 1.5m, so I think it should be okay. You coul always try a block of quilting to see how it goes, and it it's not working for you, try something else instead?

I occasionally draft my own, but not often. There are so many paterns available now, it seems like making a rod for your own back to draft everything from scratch.

I hate making customers wait, sometimes I have to wait weeks for fabrics to be shipped and I feel so bad for it. I feel bad being two weeks behind at the moment, I would hate to think of a 6 month backlog! I would simply not take the orders, to be honest.

I was just amazed with that post on corsetry. Waiting 6 months?
"oh, but it is sooooo worth the wait"

Cripes - I would be freaking out if I was a customer! If I can't handle too many orders, I simply stop taking orders. Period. And I don't continue taking orders while in the process of moving overseas!! We waited 5 weeks for our stuff to be shipped to Germany. And that is not counting the time from when the movers packed things up and we were stuck living in some ugly furnished house which was provided for us by the german government.

Man - I really had to bite my tongue with that one. Could you imagine if it was one of us who made a customer wait for over 6 months?

Could you imagine if it was one of us who made a customer wait for over 6 months?

I couldn't believe it either, considering the whining that goes on when Meschantes makes someone wait 3 months!

I know her corsets look pretty, but we all know where to get those patterns...

Oh, and Laura's corset has been adjusted to cover the bust, by adding around 5cms to the MF pieces, and curving the top into a more 'sweetheart' shape :)

Did you just add to the top? Interesting....

*goes searching in her pattern drawer*

Hey - have you tried the Truly Victorian pattern yet? I have been fiddling with patterns lately (Mantua Maker is......I dunno)

Not yet, I have my eye on that and the Mantua Maker 1880 as my next purchases, as Vena Cava are stocking them these days :D Is there something not right with the MM one then? Every other TV pattern I have (mostly bustle aprons and a jacket) are excellent, so I am assuming the corset is going to be pretty good.

Yep, on the Simplicity, I add 5cm to the top of the seam between the two MF pieces, then (and this seems to be the key) I curve it inwards,usually by around 1cm on each seam, to cup the bust and hold it in place. Works a treat, as the pattern is intended to end mid-bust it seemed the obvious thing to do.

Ooooo!! I can't wait to start working at it! I ordered some fabric today, and I think I will use it for this corset!
http://www.quiltzauberei.de/oxid.php/sid/89b71973d6fd82dd1643c6564a7a73ca/cl/details/cnid/1ee409a3ff318b8e3.83850981/anid/74e431c34833e6011.99362557/Midnight-Gardens-Rosen-kraeftig---191D/

The MM 1880 pattern.......it does not give a "curvy" look, rather a long, sleek torso look. It is......ok. It covers the "puppy noses", so if you want some bewb-coverage, this is a good pattern. You need to easestitch the curvy pieces. Panels 2 and 4 are total rectangles. Lots of straight lines which have to fit curvy lines. The seam allowance is 1/4 inch, which really helps with the easing. You definitely have to sandwich this one. I made it up in a red/orange/gold shot satin (with a little rose at the top, as usual). I will post photos as soon as I grind the bones and put on the bottom binding.

I have also completed the TV pattern (well, gotta grind the bones and put on binding). Definitely get this one! Lovely shape, and the pieces go together like a dream. I opted for the corset-sandwich method as opposed to *that method* and it worked great!

Oh, that fabric is beautiful!

The MM one will be quite good for some of my customers then, as I have a few who are 'willowy'. I adapted an old Vollers corset for one of them - it really wasn't shaped for her and I re-shaped it - and I even had to extend the LM pattern a little for her torso. That shot satin sounds stunning too, it's nice to see some creative use of colours!

Thanks for the heads-up on the TV pattern, I honestly wouldn't have expected anything less from them.

I use both methods, in fact I use 3 as I use flat-felled seams and binding on single layer corsets, I can see advantages and disadvantages in all of them. I use 'that method' on my cheap corsets as it's so quick, and sandwich on the historical ones, so I know what you mean. Some patterns just aren't meant for 'that method' at all :/

If a client is thin, then the MM would work. On larger figures, you would end up with a "woman in a barrel" look. It reminds me of stays, actually. And it does have a wonderful push-up effect!!
The waistline is marked, as well as where to shorten/lengthen the pieces. I would say go for it - one can never have too many patterns, right?

I totally fell in love with that fabric and HAD to have it. Yikes - I have never spent that much on cotton fabric before! I can't wait until it gets delivered. I also ordered myself a new set of bias bars - have you ever used them? I find them better than bias tape makers - I get a more accurate strip with them.

Yes - definitely get the new TV pattern. For sure!

I've never tried a bias bar, I only bought my own bias makers about 8 months ago, and I really do not know how I managed before I had those. I may have to check out bias bars, as I sometimes have trouble with cutting the strips as straight as I would like.

Some of the quilting cottons make me go :O at the prices, but the thread counts are so hight, and they're so sturdy they are worth it. I got some Halloween novelty stuff and it was great to sew as it had such a nice 'hand'.

Awesome awesome clothes!

Thank you :D It is helped by the fact that the wearers are all so photogenic :D

OOOOOHHHH... all so so pretty! but ♥ to the silver pvc underbust... now that is simply *gorgeous*

you are so talented!!! :)

Thank you :) I have added a close-up of the silver corset that Joanne just sent me, so it can be viewed in all its shiny glory :D

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Some recent work

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