Sewing September - Days 12 and 13

Yesterday was a busy day of me looking like this:

I made this dress, and I loved wearing it all day.

That's about all I can say about yesterday for now. I can say I had fun and slept incredibly well when I turned in before 10pm. Of course, I did find a moment to work on the corset for Monday.

When last we left off, I abandoned half the back of my corset at the Farmer's Market like a dipshit. The one corset supply store I know of in all of Los Angeles is only open 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. I was tied up from 7am until 4:30pm yesterday, and I have to have this piece completed by Monday. Fortunately I had an untouched chunk of lavender coutil that I bought for my in-class project for corsetry class. (Note on class: Locating a space for classes that will accommodate sewing machines has been tricky. The class may be online exclusively.) I also had some black dye in my kitchen cabinet.

Not the clearest photo, but you can see how light it is.

Last night I dyed the hell out of a tiny chunk of the lavender coutil. I let it simmer for a good 45 minutes, then let it soak overnight. I had to rinse it several times to get it to run clear. It turned out a nice, rich black. Too rich. I had to pick apart the remaining corset back and replace both full back panels so it looks even. I turned the light back into another facing for the new ebony backs.

For the second time, I cut grommet holes and inserted grommets. I use the tape to hold the male ends of the grommets in place until I get them fully secured. You can see the difference in color between the facing on the left and corset back panel on the right. Oops.

Color differences. Oops.

I stitched the waist tape and boning channels inside the more complete portion of the corset today. I also attached bias tape where I could at the top, and popped a few rhinestones on the front. This sucker will be finished tomorrow.