Sweet Caroline

The last days I sewed up another little in-between, one I had wanted for a long time to help my sewing efforts. Meet my Sweet Caroline:

A Bootstrap DIY dress form that reacts to the corset almost as my body does. She doesn’t squish so much tissue up into the boob area so I’ll have to pad extra there, still it’s great to have a dress form whose waist I can put my corsets on and that I can lace down the same eight inches I can be laced.

Eight inches, isn’t that tightlacing? Or super unhealthy? Not really, I don’t train, I don’t wear my corsets more often than once or twice a month. I merely happen to be somewhat plush, fat can be more easily re-distributed than muscles, and I happen have a body with a wide gap between lowest rib and pelvis bones which gives me a wide squishy gap to lace down into.

While finishing the piping on bolero jacket and Swiss waist, I’m pondering which evening dress I want to base my design with my steel blue velvet on.

Should I go the 1860ies way and have a go at the famous Keckley dress?

Should I choose the 1897 green velvet dress from Raudnitz Co?

Or should it be the 1900 pink satin confection from Worth?

Which would you chose, dear reader?