What Cinderella left behind

35 days to go...

In the interests of retaining a modicum of sanity I decided to take a few hours off from the dress construction. With time ticking though, I didn't want to abandon the project completely so I made a start on my dance slippers. A few hours relaxing embroidery and I am ready again to tackle the skirts on the silk dress.

During the 1840s, the most common form of women's footwear for dancing and evening wear was a silk or leather slipper. These little shoes are very similar to what we would identify today as a ballet pump.

Shoes worn by Queen Victoria for her wedding - Northampton Museum

Shoes at this period had no right and left foot but were instead made straight. The toe was often stiffened and tended to be much shallower than a modern shoe with a square toe.

Shoes were decorated with ribbons, rosettes and pompoms as well as with intricate embroidery. Women would often embroider shoes as gifts for friends and relatives. However, a dance slipper did not always last a long time. According to some accounts, the fine leather soles could be so thin that a particularly enthusiastic dancer could wear out her shoes by the end of one ball!

Ladies Mid-Nineteenth Century Embroidered Shoe (found here - a brilliant source for a whole range of Victorian footwear styles)

To create my dance shoes I started with an ordinary pair of white leather ballet shoes bought from a dancewear shop. I have worn these previously and they are, unsurprisingly, very easy to dance in! For a more authentic toe shape, dancers' demi-pointe shoes are better as they have a square toe and are stiffened with glue. However, the only pair I have are peach-coloured and leather pumps are more comfortable for dancing.

The shoes - BEFORE

My embroidery design was inspired by these Nineteenth Cenury baby shoes.

To decorate my shoes I used three shades of cotton embroidery floss, tiny green glass seed beads and gold-tone metal sequins which are specifically made to resemble the types of sequin used in historical dress. These are tiny metal discs with a hole pierced in the centre. The edge of the shoe is finished with a gathered strip of fabric to match the ball gown and long ribbons cross over the foot and tie around the ankle.

And ...AFTER...

Other foot to follow very soon!

The completed embroidery

67 days to go and the embroidery on the corset is complete.

As well as the bust gores, five of the six panels on each side feature embroidered motifs in blue, cream and rust coloured threads. These colours were inspired by the palette of the original examples shown in this post and the motifs are also borrowed from the extant garments.

One half of the corset, embroidered and ready to go

I deliberately chose simple stitches that are quick to execute as the limited time for this project meant that I didn't have hours to lavish on handiwork that will not be seen by the majority of the people I will meet when in costume. Queen Victoria would certainly not have been wondering about with her corset on show!

The bust gore motif is worked in chain stitch

The hearts are worked (top to bottom) with scroll stitch, where a small knot at the end of the stitch creates the scroll effect; whipping stitch, which involves couching a thread to the surface of the fabric and then wrapping another thread around it; and feather stitch.

The flowers were embroidered with a simple "lazy daisy" stitch each with a french knot in the centre.

The branches feature stem stitch for (guess what...) the stems (!) and "lazy daisy" stitch for the leaves. These panels were slightly harder to work as the embroidery spans across a seam and even with just the two pieces joined together the curved effect of the seams means that this piece will not lie flat. This is a good sign though as it means it will curve beautifully over the hips.

This completes all of the embroidery that needs to be stitched before the corset is sewn together. There will also be decorative stitching at the top of the boning channels to complete the design. This special stitching is known as flossing and serves the double purpose of embellishing the corset and helping to keep the bones in place and stop them from poking through the outer fabric of the corset. This stitching is worked last when the all of the bones have been inserted and there are many different designs that can be used.

Examples of different kinds of flossing - a sampler from Sidney Eileen

The first stitches

68 days to go...

So far in this project there has been a lot of research, planning, and sourcing materials but as yet not much sewing. Until today...

These are the bust gores (triangular inserts that create the curved shape around the breast) for one side of the corset. Inspired by the embroidered corsets featured in the last post the gores have been embroidered with a design executed in chain stitch.

The scrolling motif was borrowed from a later 1880s corset (pictured below) which is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Museum collections like this one are a brilliant place to start when you are researching a costume or seeking creative inspiration - try the "Search Collections" tool on museum websites to find beautiful, high-quality images and information about all kinds of dress and textiles. Museums with excellent textile collections which are easily accessible online include The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

MET_CI48.48_F_1880s embroidered orange corset

Corset Inspirations

69 days to go...

Work has begun on Queen Victoria's corset. After a test run with some scrap material to test the fit of the pattern, the pieces have been cut out from coutil, a stiff cotton fabric with a strong weave that doesn't stretch under tension, with a firm white cotton fabric for the lining. I have chosen a buff-coloured fabric as this was very popular for corsets during the early Victorian period, although white was considered to be more ladylike. To make this corset fit for a queen, I have therefore decided to embroider the corset. Corsets early in the nineteenth century, when underwear was still a taboo subject, tended to be very plain; it was not until later in the 1870s and 1880s that bright coloured silks, elaborate embroidery and lace trimmings became the fashion. Nevertheless, I have been inspired by these original examples:

MET_2000.479_F_1820-39 embroidered cotton corset

Hip detail of the corset shown above - the space created by the hip gore is cleverly used to delineate a basket and tree motif .

The origins and date of this corset (which I found at https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/8233211795878013/)are unknown - the shape of the front and the tabs on the shoulders suggest an earlier 18th century design but the bust gores are not a feature usually associated with this period. It could be an example of 1840s does 1700s fancy dress, but in any case the colour scheme and embroidering does seem to be in harmony with the other corset shown above.

Internet searches would seem to suggest that embroidered corsets like this were few and far between as not many have survived. But something a little rare and special seems appropriate for a queen - especially given the extra time and cost of intricate hand embroidery.