1880s walking gown

In 2006 there was going to be an historical festival in Falun (Falun Då), with the theme 19th century. I thought that this was finally going to be my chance of making a costume from my favorite historical era, the bustle era. I was a bit overconfident, by now I had made more corsets, and I thought that I was going to be able to print a pattern from the web and enlarge it to fit. Big mistake. Well I managed to get something wearable, thanks to help from my sister, once again a saving angel when I hit a wall. Still I think the final result was pretty good, and I became the public's winner in the costume contest. Probably because it was clearly visible that I wore a corset under it all. Gabardine on a hot summer's day wasn't maybe the best choice though. Or rather I wouldn't recommened gabardine at all today,

July 2006

it stretched and warped in all kinds of directions. If I had been a better sewer I could probably have fixed it with a sturdy lining, but I wasn't that far into sewing yet. I thought it was only the outside that mattered.

The pattern for the bodice started out as this "violin bodice", but I basically removed all the "violin" shapes in the end, since I simply couldn't understand how I was supposed to attach them. The petticoat and skirt were simply tubes that I gathered at the waist.I couldn't quite drape the skirt, simply not enough fabric, over the bustle, but the bodice wasn't too bad.

Status:existing (I think) but inactive

I have turned the light fabric bustle I made into my 1780's bumpad though, so that piece is still active.

 I also found some pictures of the underwear that I made for this costume. By know I had made  two or three corsets and felt quite confident. I decided to try a new pattern. I thought that the Silverado didn't give enough hourglass. I found this free pattern and printed it. Unfortunately this was the first time I hit a realy setback with trying to scale something, and this is the most uncomfortable corset that I have ever worn. Looking at the pictures now the reason for that is quite obvious, just look at how asymmetrical it is. I must have been more lazy than usual when cutting the pattern pieces to get such uneven sides.