Drafting a late Victorian Bodice
This was a project from my first year at university and my first attempt at drafting on the stand. The process was really enjoyable, and for a first attempt I think the finished piece is quite accurate. I only made a half bodice, as this was just a learning exercise and will be referred to for construction techniques in the future.
I began by draping calico on a padded stand - it's important to pad the stand to allow for ease and also to recreate a historical silhouette, such as a bustle. Black tape is a useful way of quickly experimenting with necklines.
A pattern can be taken from the calico, once the seams are marked and it is removed from the stand. In costume seam allowance isn't added to the pattern, since extra seam allowance is often added to allow for alterations in the future.
Once the pattern was draw out in paper, I cut everything out in backing fabric (black cotton drill) and then the front three panels in a poly-taffeta. The pieces were then tacked together and over-locked.
I saved the back panel for some fabric manipulation. Creating a grid on the taffeta was very tricky as it is so slippery and the actual fabric manipulation had to be completely stitched by hand and took several hours. The finished effect was worth it though.
I tacked the back drill piece to the fabric manipulation, over-locked them together and used an industrial machine to stitch the panels together. Nearly all the seams are curved, so I spent a long time ironing them over a tailor's ham.
Half bodice with added collar. It doesn't quite sit properly because this mannequin wasn't padded for a bustle, but in reality all the seams were smooth and it sat smoothly.
Bodice with added sleeve. There was slightly too much ease in the sleeve head so it was a real challenge getting it into the armhole. This is something I have improved in my later projects.
I did go on to make bias binding and hand stitched piping along the edges of the bodice, but unfortunately don't have a picture. This really cleaned up the edges though and had a nice affect on the finished piece.
