Thursday, February 2, 2012

Victoria's Chemise Part II: Ribbons and Lace

I'm such a girl. I really love ribbons. I wear them in my hair, I add them to dresses I buy in the store, I tie them on my wrists, I put them on all kinds of things. There's just something so fresh and pretty about them! And you never feel fussy or overdone in ribbons. So when I noticed I would be trimming the chemise with ribbons and lace, I became very excited.

I discovered Etsy not too long ago. Yeah I know, I'm a little behind; but I really just love it for the SUPPLIES! I could look at sewing and crafty supplies all day, dreaming about different things to create. There are several Etsy shops selling ribbons and trim, and I felt to very lucky to find one selling antique ribbons and lace: TextileArtLace. In this shop s an amazing selection of old lace, trims, and silk and satin ribbon. I found this shop LONG before I began planning Steampunk Victoria, and I have been hoping for an excuse to order something.

The pattern I used for the chemise called for beading lace. I'll admit, I had never heard of it before. Now I know beading lace is a flat lace, with eyelet in the middle big enough to thread a ribbon through. It is actually kind of hard to find! My local JoAnn's has NONE (not surprising), and there are many resources for trim on the internet, but if they carry beading lace, they usually only have once style. I wanted something special, so I checked my favorite stores on Etsy, and lo, TextileArtLace had it! Since I was ordering the lace from there, I decided to get the ribbon I would need to thread through it from there as well. I love the bright rose pink of the velvet ribbon. It's just sooo pretty. And very little makes me more happy than pretty things.

Finishing the chemise was fairly simple once the trim came in. I cut the ribbon and lace into the lengths I would need, and threaded the ribbon into the eyelets.

Then I pinned it to the edge of the neck and sleeves and hand stitched it on. I decided to go with hand stitching because of how old the lace is. If I decide to take it off this piece and use it somewhere else, I want it to look nice.

Also, the lace was not quite as wide as I actually needed, so I had to press the edge of the neck down. Not too big a deal.


So now Victoria's chemise is finished!

I really love how sweet and girly it looks! I'm such a sucker for pretty! I really am!


The pattern called for button closures at the shoulders, but I thought bows would look so sweet, so I left enough ribbon hanging out of the trim to tie the top! I just adore this velvet ribbon!

I got the boning for the corset in yesterday, so I may have a post on the corset coming soon. I'm loving how it's turning out!