A Dear Corset for Dearest Tascha......

Firstly, let me say that it is sooooo good to be back online! We have had absolutely horrible service from our old internet provider, Hughes Satelight Internet, and finally took the plunge to go with Wild Blue~ what a mistake that was, waiting so long to do it! I just couldn't be happier with Wild Blue, I'm zooming along at light speed and and am finally back online after waaaay too long! While we were on holiday for a month, I took along a few things to work on, and Tascha's corset was one of them. I don't have a size reference in the pictures, but ruffly it fits in my outstretched hand.

I am so behind on my blog postings and do so apologize for that!~ In the near future Ill be posting more pictures of Tascha as I cleaned and restored her body~ but until then, I just had to share her 'unmentionables' with you, as they came out so far beyond my expectations, and honestly, I'm really proud of how they turned out!

Tascha is mid to late 1830s, so I gave her a period fitting corset with gussets at the hips and breast. Being that she is very flat chested in her shoulderplate, just like Dear Grete, the gusset at the breast is done in embroidery only....to give the look, but with no extra fullness there. I hand stitched this in taupe linen & cotton threads over antique polished cotton. 6 strands cotton were used for the cording in the body

I embroidered a simple primitive floral design in the same thread I used for the corded channels. I really like the monochromatic look...if you recall, I did Grete's in a dark indigo blue color, which was very popular in the period(surface embroidery & quilting in contrasting color than the base material)

I hand dyed 1/8th inch all cotton braid for the back lacing, and hand stitched all 28 eyelets over brass rings that I also hand made from 1/32 solid brass rod.

I left the top and bottom bindings for last, since I didn't take Tascha with me, so if needed I could adjust the fit a little, with the width of the bindings....but as it was, it was just perfect so I went with a scant binding just showing on the front.

I love the look of the lacings on the back. Those you see to the side, are tapes for tying the shoulder straps towards the front. Usually these were tied at the first wearing, knotted and left tied, so the wearer would only undo the back lacings and then shimmy out of her corset at the end of the day.

Next is a picture of the center front wooden busk. I sanded and sanded a sliver of pine to fit, and then just burned a simple little design into it. A pretty little hearte at the top, a tall masted ship in the middle, with date, and my 'Diamond K' trademark at the bottom. Burned into the back is Tascha's name, Edyth & My names, and the date I made it. I left the binding at the top of the busk pocket unstitched, so it may be removed if needed....its a tight fit, so I didn't bother to remove it for another picture. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see where I drew on my embroidery design before stitching.
Hope you enjoyed seeing Tascha's new corset! I have her a reproduction chemise already finished, and we are working on her new dress as I write. As I get caught up, I will be posting a lot more on the blog~ sharing a bit of what we did on holiday, and dollys and dresses and bits of olde~ Hope you come on back soon, I have missed you all!