Intermission over, I continue from
Not Quite Treading The Boards...
Corsets! The costumes for myself and two other ladies I dressed,
* had to begin with these old fashioned garments. This picture from Google is similar enough to the ones I made from unbleached calico and boning, to give you a good idea of what ours were like.
Next I had to create voluminous cotton petticoats, demure mob caps and dainty muslin or lace fichus which would give the finishing touches to yet more curtain material gowns - which were the things I enjoyed sewing most.
We were given diagrams which explained the complex stitching of tape loops needed under the skirts, so that a draw string threaded through them could create soft drapes like paniers at the side, or a bustle at the back of each skirt.
The head gear started life as modern sunhats which I steamed, re-shaped and
painted, in the case of the one for My Lady.
Then in a charity shop I found a pair of black brogues, similar to these, for maidservant Prudence, while the other ladies wore simple flat shoes, and we were ready for the show to begin...
Continued from earlier post...*HERE
Through the week, I'd intended to tell a couple of fun stories associated with all these theatrical shenanigans, but once I began writing, it turned into something else. Bear with me, the funny bits will surface eventually... Meantime, I'll share a little more with Sepia Saturday, whatever colour the post turns out to be...
Still to be continued...
