HSF Challenge #15: White

It's been a week and change since Costume College now that I'm A) suffciently recovered  and B) no longer being ambushed by a victorian seaside picnic (another story for another post) I find that I finally have enough brain power to post about my white challenge entry:

This 1880's overskirt (and it's matching bodice) was made to wear with the previous challenge to the Time Travelers' Gala. It's made of a white chiffon sari with gold sequined embroidery. It went together with a minimum of fuss and I'd say it turned out pretty well.

And here is the full outfit in action. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of it.

The Challenge: White

Fabric:  Embroidered chiffon sari

Pattern:  Truly Victorian

Year:   Latter half of the 1880's

Notions:  Thread

How historically accurate is it?  Machine sewn

Hours to complete: Umm... I wasn't really keeping count

First worn:  August 3rd 2013

Total cost: $20

And here I am, a' singin' the old refrain...

The good news is, all my Costume College sewing is done save for the bodice of my gala dress. The bad news is, if I want it done by Saturday night, I'm probably not going to sleep at all.

I'm not terribly surprised. This gorram thing has given me more trouble than anything else I've had to sew. Oh where do I begin? Being unable to get any help fitting it during the first week of the time I alloted. The inability to find a good lining fabric in cream. Having to recut some of the pieces when the originals went missing. Wasting lots of time trying to incorporate the lovely embroidered gold border of the overlay only to find that the only way to make it work will be to cut out the border and applique it on. Dealing with a curved front closure. The list goes on and on, and I am fed up to the back teeth with it.

This has eaten up so much of my time that if I hadn't already made my other costumes beforehand, I'd be up a certain well-known creek without a certain implement. At the time of this post, the bodice has been thrown across the room ten times, had it's stitching unpicked six times and generally been screamed at, bled on, and cursed over more times than I care to count. I hate this fracking bodice with the passion of a thousand fangirls and the only thing keeping me from setting it on fire and dancing a merry jig around it is the knowledge that it is going to be BEAUTIFUL.

I could have rested on my laurels this year. I have a few evening dresses that have never gone to Costume College. I could have worn any of them. But I saw the opportunity to knock out two HSF challenges at once and just couldn't leave it alone. And while the dress's overskirt does work for the "white" challenge, the bodice was meant to be part of it too.

As it is, I'm packed and ready and I've got two days to sew the hooks and eyes onto the bodice and attache the sleeves. Wish me luck.