Birth of a Bustier

I'm taking Kenneth King's class on bustiers at Pattern Review. He is such a personable guy and very helpful. The class is great with detailed photos and instructions in PDF format. I went out and purchased some beautiful brocade to make the bustier, but then decided I better make a practice one in another fabric first. I had some old yarn-dyed fabric that I used for a muslin and think I got the fit right.


Now I am making the first bustier. My fabric is a cotton tropical print in green and black. I am using a black broadcloth for the lining, muti colored plaid duck for the interlining, and aqua flannel for the underlining. Wow - four layers!


So far I have cut all fabrics and sewn the foundation piece. This is the lining and interlining and they are sewn as one fabric. The outer layers (fashion fabric and flannel) will also be sewn as one layer.



I have also eased the top portion and secured it with twill tape, which has really given it some shape.






Now I am in the process of feather stitching down all of the seam allowances. If you click on the picture, you can see the hand stitching.














I am about half way done on that.
Next, I will do all of the above (sans the twill tape)_ to the outer layer. The good thing about all the work involved in this garment is that it gives me plenty of time to lose five pounds so that it will actually look rather good when I finally get to wear it!

Oh - and for your viewing pleasure - this is what used to be my dining room table! (OK, it still is, it's just such a rare thing that anyone actually gets to see it without all my sewing on it!)