Making of a Ren-fest Bodice
I needed a new bodice, the first one I made was starting to wear and pop boning, and the second one was just too heavy for summer wear. (And fully boned with metal that cannot be washed). Since it's been six or eight years since I've made up a bodice I dreaded having to draft a new pattern. I got lucky --and so have you -- all the pattern manufacturers have introduced new "renaissance" patterns that I could use instead. Hey, I'm not about to reinvent the wheel...
The pattern I'm using is actually sold as a Revolutionary War era costume: McCall's #2253, Revolutionary Ladies. I like the way the bodice pieces are curved in the front, I think it will fit better and look nicer than the nearly identical #2242.
I'm making this one reversible. I have a green tapestry weight fabric with a diamond pattern, and a pretty red floral brocade. You don't have to make yours reversable, you can use a plain muslin or solid cotton for the lining.
This project will only take me an afternoon to sew the basic shell, but I'll need another afternoon or two for the finish work.
I began by finding the 4 bodice pieces and cutting them out. I folded everything else except the sleeves back and put them away. I'll want the sleeve later for re-drafting.
After ironing the paper patterns flat, so they could be used accurately, I ironed my pre-washed fabric. This is a scrap of crimson brocade I found last fall...
I've laid the pattern pieces out and pinned them carefully, making sure everything is flat. I put pins in the corners of the pattern pieces and where there are long straight lines so I can make accurate cuts later. The pieces have been laid on the grain according to the marked lines on each piece. This keeps the pattern from stretching in strange ways later. The rock is a souvenier from the beach, it holds my fabric down and keeps it from slipping off my small table, and keeps the pattern from blowing away in the breeze from the fan. You can use a favorite rock, a jar of buttons, or a commercially available "pattern weight".
When everything is cut I have two piles of fabric pieces and the tissue patterns. Now is the time to put them back into the envelope so they are not lost or shredded by the cats.
I lay the pieces out in the order they will go together. Front, sides, back, sides, front, across my sewing table. This way I can assemble them knowing all the pieces are properly placed. Some of the seams are relativly straight and do not need to be pinned. Some, like the side seams, are curved in opposite directions and need to be matched up at the notches and pinned so they go together correctly.
After about half an hour of sewing I have all the side seams for both layers sewn. I have not sewn the shoulder seams. Before I do, it's back to the ironing board to set the seams and smooth them flat. You want to iron each seam open, remembering than most of them are slightly curved and won't lay very flat.
This is where we test the fit of the pattern. Put on one of the pieces and pin it closed like you would wear it. Look at yourself in a mirror. I discover that it fits like a sack. Definitely not the look I want. With chalk I mark lines to move the front closure in on each side by an inch, and to move the square neckline over accordingly. I narrow the shoulder strap by an inch on the top of the shoulder. I also need to narrow the seam at the back side by about half an inch.
With the right sides of the fabric together line up the center back seam and pin it at the top. Match and pin the shoulder seams. Working around from the center back, pin the two pieces together down the front and along the bottoms. Do not pin the underarm seam of the armscye.
Finally, I'm going to fold over the raw edges of the armscye and pin them so they can be sewn. This takes a little doing, as the entire edge is curved. I put some small clips into the edges of the fabrics so they'll turn under smoothly. I also trim out excess fabric where the seams come together, since my materials are on the thick side and I do not want lumps.
Now, the grommet tool isn't perfect, and neither are the grommets that go in. Some of them always get ruined and have to be done over. Most will go in well enough, if kinda ugly looking. As long as they go in flat and don't get crimped sideways you're fine. Still, it's going to look pretty crappy when they're all in. This is why we cover them. It's also nicer looking to have them covered than not, it'll look like real clothing and not something you cut from a boat tarp.
At last! Here is the finished bodice front. See how pretty the lacing holes are?
