Comfort at Home

Another Historical Sew Monthly challenge completed! This time it's the March challenge, Comfort at Home, and I chose to make my 1911 corset (something which would only be seen in the home) more comfortable.

This was my very first attempt at historical sewing, way back in 2012. It was made as part of a sewalong to create the 1911 corset from Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines. I remember that Jo, who ran the sewalong, provided lots of information and was very generous with her time and expertise to answer any queries as we went along. But I realise now that there were a lot of beginner's fit issues with my completed corset, mainly because I didn't know what questions I should be asking.

If I were the same shape as this dressform, all would be well - but I'm not

I tackled the problems with the corset top in 2020, and this made it more comfortable to wear - so long as I was standing up. If I sat down though, it wedged itself uncomfortably under my ribs. Through reading this post by The Dreamstress and the associated comments, I discovered that the cause was actually the lacing bones extending too far down the back of the corset: they were pushed up when I sat on something, and took the waist stay with them. The bones either side were also too long, which didn't help. I bought some new flat steels and set about dismantling parts of the corset. Again.

I unpicked the bottom binding, very carefully because it was satin and snagged easily, took out the original bones, replaced them and redid the flossing. I also had to take out an eyelet at the point where I wanted to cut off the excess.

It really was much too long

The original plan was to remove 2½" all round the bottom. But I had seen some teens era corsets where the bottom edge goes up at the centre front, and wondered about trying that. However, I couldn't end up a raw edge longer than the original binding, as I have no more of the pink satin.

Testing out the intended bottom edge

The coutil I had used for the corset is quite soft and feels oddly loosely-woven for a coutil, and I was concerned about eyelet hole being so close to the new edge of the corset. The coutil I had used for the boning channels is far more rigid, so I used one of the cut-off scraps of it to patch the hole from inside the lacing panel.

I machined over it, and cut off the excess

I had also noticed that because of the length of the corset, the fronts pull apart quite a lot at the bottom of the busk. There was already some damage to the soft coutil, and it seemed inevitable that eventually the busk would tear a hole in it. I had some larger offcuts of the stiffer coutil, so I unpicked the lower stitching both sides, slipped a folded piece around the bottom of the busk, and machined everything back in place.

Reinforcement around the bottom of the busk

Then I reattached the binding and the suspenders. I did worry that the front ones might not be long enough, given the new shape, but fortunately I had allowed plenty extra when I originally made them.

Thank goodness for foresight

Then came the acid test. It passed with flying colours!

#sewnshownseated with a difference!

The small print:
The Challenge: March, Comfort at Home
What the item is: Removed excess length from my 1911 corset
How it fits the challenge: A corset would only have been seen inside the home, and being able to sit down in it definitely makes it more comfortable!
Material: Coutil for the corset, synthetic satin for the bias trim
Pattern: 1911 corset from Norah Waugh’s Corsets and Crinolines, slightly modified
Year: c 1911
Notions: Cotton eyelet lace for trimming, flat steels, steel busk
How historically accurate is it? The pattern is from an actual corset albeit subsequently modified, and the materials are accurate apart from the synthetic satin, so I would say 70%
Hours to complete: About 10, a fair amount of which was unpicking stitching and removing two eyelets. This had to be done carefully to minimise damage to the garment and make sure that the materials could be re-used
First worn: Just for photos
Total cost: £7.20 for the new, shorter, steels, everything else was reused

The corset is now wearable, but it still has some fit issues. I'm not sure how many of these are down to my inexperience when I made it, and how many are due to the passage of time. My body has changed a lot in 14 years, not least through menopause. The lacing gap is now wider than is ideal for any corset. But the waist stay doesn't actually fit to my waist all the way round: there is a definite gap at the sides where the corset goes straight from ribcage to hip while my waist curves in. My original plan was to make this corset wearable so that it could form part of my 1915 ensemble, and it would still work for that. As The Dreamstress pointed out in the post referenced above, historically, plenty of women would have got by in corsets which were a less than perfect fit. But ideally, I think I need a new corset. I have the Rilla pattern from Scroop, and one of the other Historical Sew Monthly challenges is 'Bones' - watch this space!

Across the pond

My collection of Vogue Pattern Book magazines consists entirely of British issues. My understanding was that the pattern pages of the US and UK editions were the same, and it was only the advertisements and some of the articles, such as items for sale and fabric reviews, which differed - and of course I was more interested in what was familiar to me. But I recently found an American issue for sale online without the crippling postage charges which are often more than the magazine itself. What I hadn't realised until it arrived was that the US edition was published six times a year in 1950, and this was the February-March issue, whereas the UK edition was still quarterly, and my issue was for Spring.

Spot the differences

As well as being published more frequently, the US copy is much thicker; 82 pages instead of 52. As a result, the contents pages look very different.

More obviously different

Part of the difference is explained by this announcement in the UK edition.

I hadn't realised that paper rationing lasted for so long

The US edition has a lot more advertisements, and more colour printing. It looks like a different, and far more prosperous, world.

American ads, glossy and colourful

British ads are mostly monochrome

With more pages available, articles can be longer. "Spot news" is a few paragraphs in the British edition, but an eight-page feature with illustrations and photographs in the American one - although the fashion information is much the same in both.

Everything a British reader needs to know, in 15 lines

The first page of the US equivalent

Similarly, the Paris Originals feature in the UK edition is half the length of its American cousin, albeit with more illustrations.

All eight designs in a double-page spread

Larger illustrations . . .

. . . but fewer views shown of some designs

There are some articles in my American copy which aren't in the British one, such as these knitting patterns.

Instructions are provided, but are brief

But surprisingly, the reverse is also true. Possibly this was in either the December-January or the April-May US issue?

I doubt if jersey dresses were a purely UK thing

Even when articles appear in both copies, there are differences. In terminology, unsurprisingly, but also in colours.

Same illustrations, different printing

Some elements appear in both illustrations, others are changed

Occasionally most of a feature will be exactly the same (apart from colours), but then vary significantly.

The previous 14 pages of this 16-page feature use identical illustrations

I'm ending my comparison where I began, with the contents page, and one small but perplexing difference in the description of the cover image.

US suit made from "navy blue serge by Miron"

UK suit made from "George Harrison's blue-navy wool herringbone"

It can't be made from both! I'll be keeping an eye out for other US editions, to see how they compare once both magazines were being published to the same schedule.

The three Graces

2019 me - What happened to that dress pattern you didn't really like, the one you described as, "OK . . . a good basic dress . . . but I can't say that I love it . . . it just looks a bit sort of rumpled and untidy."?

2026 me - *embarrassed coughing* I've just finished my third version.

To be fair, I did admit in my post on my second one that the Grace Dress from Wardrobe by Me had grown on me. And as predicted, I do wear both dresses a lot. So much so that I decided that I needed a cooler version for when it's too hot for a dress with long sleeves and cuffs.

While on the Great Muslin Hunt for my 1915 ensemble (explanation coming soon), I came across a bright floral cotton lawn which was both lovely and half price, so naturally I caved in and bought a length. It was perfect for my summer Grace.

There's not much to say about the construction that I haven't said already. Only that because the fabric is so thin, this time I used plain white cotton in a couple of places so that pattern wouldn't show through to the front. The first was the inside yoke. Because I still don't fully understand or trust the burrito method, this involved checking and rechecking that I had the white and patterned pieces the correct way round. I even photographed the burrito before I unrolled it, so I could re-roll it for unpicking if necessary!

Just in case I needed it

Fortunately, I'd got it right.

All done

The second place was the outer layer of the pocket bags. I wanted to be sure that the white wouldn't show at the pocket edge, so I gave it a wider seam allowance, laid it slightly inside the skirt piece, and machined through all the layers close to the folded edge.

Inside view

From the outside, it just looks like the top-stitching I normally do on the pockets.

Outside view

The short-sleeved version of the pattern includes a wide frill around the bottom edge.

Line drawing of the sleeve option

A quick scroll through the gallery pages of this blog will show that I don't do frills (with the exception of Vogue 8388, where the ridiculous frilliness was the whole point). I considered either a pleated edge or a circular frill and, in the absence of Mum, bombarded my friend F with pictures of possible options. Her view was that the sleeves were better just left plain, and she was right. (What she doesn't realise is that she has now got the job of Official Second Opinion, something which she may come to regret.)

Completed dress, with plain sleeves

#sewnshownseated

I still have some fabric left over, so am wondering what else I can make.

More in than out, as ever

Finally, for once, here's a rare shot of one of my creations in the wild! Way back in the days when I used to dance, Meroe was the director of our middle eastern dance troupe, Ya Raqs. I wore the (completed that morning) dress to her birthday party yesterday, and was able to get a photograph with her and two of the other Ya Raqs girls. Of course, we had to pose outside the tent we used at events.

L to R - Meroe, me (Noor), Pheonece and Kebi

I'm sure that like the other two, this third Grace will get a lot of wear.

Making a fabric-covered belt

My encounters with vintage fashion on my Edinburgh trip weren't just limited to the Biba exhibition; I came home with dresses from both Fantouche Vintage and Carnivàle Vintage. (I also came home with some more yarn from Kathy's Knits, and the wonderful Edinburgh Fabrics came up trumps with supplies for my 1915 ensemble, but those are posts for other weeks!)

Anyway, moving on. The dress from Carnivàle is a dressmaker-made cotton shirtwaist in a fabulous print. But like so many vintage dresses, it has lost the matching belt which once fitted through its belt carriers. It would definitely look better with a belt, so I set about making a replacement. I was never going to be able to match the greens or the gold in the print, so I went for a dark grey instead.

The fabric

Tasha Could Make That has this excellent video on making matching belts for dresses, but she uses a foundation of belting, which appears to be fabric-covered plastic strip sold in a roll. I've been unable to find anywhere in the UK which sells this, so have come up with an alternative approach, which I’ve now used several times. On the basis that I can't be the only person who needs to do this, I've attempted to write down my method in case it's helpful to anyone else. (Apologies for the fact that all the images will appear to be the wrong way round to most readers - because I'm left-handed I sew from left to right.)

Start off with your buckle. I was lucky to find this mottled green one in my buckle box, which was ideal for the dress. The belt width will be determined by the height of the hole inside the buckle, in this case just under 2.5cm. The belt needs to be wide enough to 'catch' on the buckle, otherwise it may slide open. Don't make the base too wide, however, as it will have fabric wrapped around it.

Having the perfect buckle was definitely a good start

Instead of belting, I use pelmet buckram (also called pelmet backing) for the belt base. This is a stiff woven fabric, 5-6"/12.5-15cm wide, and coated on both sides with heat-activated adhesive. It comes in rolls and is sold by the metre. Cut out a piece twice the width of the belt, and long enough to include both a wrap around the centre of the buckle and an overlap (don't use your dressmaking scissors to do this, the adhesive granules will do them no favours!). Fold it in half lengthways.

Folding counteracts its tendency to curl

You could attach the belt fabric directly to this, but I always make a base layer of plain, thinnish, cotton. This is cut slightly longer than the belt, and about 2.5 times the width. I also prefer to only have one layer of buckram around the buckle, so I cut off about 1"/2.5cm from one side.

Set up ready to start ironing

Wrap the cotton tightly over the unfolded edge, and iron it to melt the adhesive. Be careful not to let the iron touch the buckram at all, so don't go all the way up to the edge of the cotton.

Do this all the way along the belt

Then repeat with the other side.

Make sure the fabric is tightly wrapped

The belt will be very pliable when it's warm, but will turn rigid when it cools. I always leave mine on the ironing board until it's entirely cold, to make sure I end up with a flat belt.

Trim the end with the double thickness of buckram to a point. Cut a scrap of the outer fabric into a hexagon to fit the belt end, and sew it onto the wrong side of the belt (the side with the overlapped cotton).

This method avoids the bulk of lots of wrapped fabric

The outer fabric should also be cut slightly longer than the belt, and about 2.5 times the width. Trim one end to the point shape, fold the edges under, mitre the point, and sew the edges onto the scrap attached to the belt point. Then fold the fabric tightly round the belt and sew down the rest of the point.

Hopefully the picture makes it clearer

Work along the belt, pinning the fabric tightly and slip-stitching it into place.

The base fabric provides something to pin into

Belt covering completed

I tend to leave some fabric beyond the buckram at the buckle end. Fold the end of the belt round the buckle, and sew it down.

The buckle attached

Because I am a completist, I like to make a belt loop as well. These are fiddly, but I eventually worked out a method which works for me. Cut out a strip of fabric approx. 3.5 times the width of the desired loop, and long enough to go round two layers of the belt plus a decent seam allowance. Fold it lengthways to the width of the loop on one side, and a narrow seam allowance on the other side, and press. Then fold it lengthways again, and press firmly.

The green line marks the final fold, gauge shown for scale

Diagram of the folded fabric

Unfold the strip, wrap it round the two layers of belt, and pin the ends together. This should be snug, but not really tight. Make sure that the fold lines are aligned.

Pinned together

Remove the pinned strip from the belt, and sew along the pinned line. Do not cut the thread when finished.

Sewn together

Trim off the excess seam allowance, and finger press open.

Ready to fold up

You can now fold up the loop along the pressed lines, and slip stitch the edge into place.

Sewing it together

You now have a completed belt, with a matching belt loop.

All done

And here is the dress, worn with the belt. It's a bit short-waisted, even for me, and I don't normally show my knees, but I still really like it.

I think the grey works well

It's fun to make a shiny new garment from scratch, but there's a different, but equal (to my mind, at least), satisfaction to be gained from a project which enhances something already made but a little lacking.

Finally, I'm aware that this tutorial is a bit sketchy in places. As ever, if you get stuck trying to follow it, please get in touch and I'll do my best to help. Happy belt making!