I have finished (mostly) the strapless bodice of my dearest friend, Lady Taylor. This is the bodice of her Celtic Ensemble. To refresh your memory, below is the previous construction notes, which I will then add my final comments.

"Lady Taylor's CE strappless bodice is in the midst of construction. I used the same pattern as for my corset (McCall's #4861), but view A. Again there were some modifications. I eliminated the princess seams as before, but left the side lacing for reasons of adjustability (she lives an hour away so I didn't feel I could accuralty gage how much to alter it). As this is a bodice and not a corset, I have opted to leave the fashion fabric exterior off until the "corsety insides" are finished, then apply the pretty sueded material neatly to it at the end. What you see below is the remaining 3 layers. Like my corset, the innermost layers are trigger poplin. The lining is a tan twill, which is actually the side shown in the picture. The plan is to bone it lightly with duct ties and finish the edges with brown bias tape, just like I did above, then fit the exterior fabric and secure by stitching in the ditch at the seams and folding a seam allowance in flush with the bias tape edge and sewing around the edge.
"

So now that your memory is refreshed, here is how the final product was accomplished. I boned it with duct ties, as originally intended, and finished off the edges with bias tape exactly as I had with my corset. Fortunately, I was able to machine sew the tape this time, for the most part... I did hand stitch the corners, as it just seemed simpler that way. I used the finished 'corsety' pieces to cut the pretty sueded fashion fabric with a generous seam allowance, and then proceeded to iron and pin the fashion fabric into the correct shape to fit the exterior of the 'corsety' pieces. I took the pinned fashion fabric and edge stitched all the way around, then lined it up with the 'corsety' piece and pinned it just enough to hold it still. I sewed the two pieces together running the machine down alongside the slanted bones to the right and left of center and down alongside the bones where the grommets go. I followed the same type of idea with the other two pieces that make up the back. I discovered that this held the fabric well enough I didn't need to sew all the way around all the edges like I had initially thought. It appears as though once it is laced on, the fashion fabric will stretch just the slightest bit and lay very smoothly without having to edge stitch the entire project. Instead, I opted to hand sew the edges along the curved places, hiding the stitches in the line of the edge stitching from earlier so it is not readily visible (and looks oh so fabulous!) so that they will not gap in any way and I am assured they will look the way I want.

Now I will explain why I say 'mostly' in my descriptions of its completeness. See, I want this grommet press thing that I found on ebay, but I can't afford to purchase it at the moment, so this bodice is as complete as I am able to do without giving myself the multiple migraines I got while I was pounding grommets on my corset. All there is left to do is punch and set the grommets once I am able to get my tool to do so. For the purposes of moving on to the next item of garb on my list, I am calling it finished (mostly) for the time being...

Next on the To Do List is the green overdress and underskirt with plaid forepart for my own Celtic Ensemble. After that I plan to begin on the Italian style gown of our beloved sister, Lady Stephanie.

HUZZAH!!!

My corset is complete!!! I'm excited, can't you tell? I finished the last of the grommets last night and I just had to try it on. I was so happy, I'm still wearing my work shirt in the pictures, I couldn't even take the time to pull out a proper chemise... The fit is perfect in spite of all my self made pattern adjustments (or maybe because of, dare I hope?). Now I do plan to buy the appropriate corset lacing, the brown lace is just a shoe lace I ran out to buy so I could try it onlast night, but you can see the grommeting and lacing better this way anyway, I guess. Now, I know the criss cross lacing pattern is not exactly HA, but no one will see it but me so who cares. It is also supposed to lace completly closes, which it will with the correct undergarments and once I break it in a little. All said, I am very pleased with the way it turned out.

You may recall from my 'General' blog the medley of trappings I am to prepare for this season's faire. To jog your memory here is the list again:

Reminder- For ease of remembering I have named the various sets of garb. You will notice the repeated use of 'Celtic Ensemble' because it is the outfit designed to wear on Celtic Weekend, it is really an Irish or Scottish ensemble but Celtic is shorter.

The Lady Selwyn
Underpinnings (corset and corded petticoat)
Celtic Ensemble (chemise, underskirt, front lacing overdress, and shoulder sash)
'Court' Gown- which is not really a court gown but sounded better to me than calling it 'really pretty dress' and it is by far the fanciest I will have thus far- (chemise, underskirt, overdress, full sleeves, and some form of head gear)

My Lord Husband
Celtic Ensemble (great kilt and shirt)

My dearest friend, Lady Taylor
Celtic Ensemble (chemise, skirt, and strapless bodice)
'Italian style' gown (underdress/smock, half bodice with attached overskirt)

Our beloved sister, Lady Stephanie
'Italian style' gown (chemise and gown w/underskirt)
Celtic Ensemble- as yet TBD

So, what have I completed you ask?
Remember- you asked for it!

Completed Items

Lady Taylor's CE chemise and skirt are complete. The ribbon pictured below was sewn down the chemise sleeves, over the channels that allow the sleeves to be rutched up by the cord inside (as soon as I get a good pic of it withthe ribbon added, I'll get it up here). The chemise was made using McCall's #4091, view C out of unbleached muslin. The skirt was made out of plaid upholstry fabric using McCall's #4090, view A, and knife pleated evenly from the front at the hip to the back.

My lord husband's CE shirt is also finished. Although not period (it's really more a victorian era drop yake shirt...) I 'renned' it up by adding grommets and leather lacing. I used McCall's #4862, view A, then added 4 pair of grommets at the V-neck. It is made from unbleached muslin

My own chemise is done as well, it is the exact same as Lady Taylor's only without any ribbon (In other words it looks exactly like the picture above). It is also of unbleached muslin, but it was a different manufacturer so the color is a little different.

Currently Under Construction

My corset is 3/4 finished. I used (loosely) McCall's #4861, view C. I say 'loosely' because I eliminated the princess seams and the side lacing. I also used trigger poplin instead of interfacing and duct ties for boning. The exterior is a heavyweight unbleached muslin. As I mentioned in my general blog (GB) I had to hand sew the bias tape around the edges to finish it off because my sewing machine went on strike until I promised it I would do it myself by hand... I'm in the process of grommeting, see GB for further comment on that. Hope to have the grommeting done tomorrow, then I can try it on... Oh, and a lady on the R/F forums said she put a little bit of glue when setting her grommets for added security. I'm all for that, so I'm giving it a shot. We shall see...

Lady Taylor's CE strappless bodice is in the midst of construction. I used the same pattern as for my corset, but view A. Again there were some modifications. I eliminated the princess seams as before, but left the side lacing for reasons of adjustability (she lives an hour away so I didn't feel I could accuralty gage how much to alter it). As this is a bodice and not a corset, I have opted to leave the fashion fabric exterior off until the "corsety insides" are finished, then apply the pretty sueded material neatly to it at the end. What you see below is the remaining 3 layers. Like my corset, the innermost layers are trigger poplin. The lining is a tan twill, which is actually the side shown in the picture. The plan is to bone it lightly with duct ties and finish the edges with brown bias tape, just like I did above, then fit the exterior fabric and secure by stitching in the ditch at the seams and folding a seam allowance in flush with the bias tape edge and sewing around the edge.

That is all I have so far. I will update it as I complete more steps and items...