I am surprised at how busy I have been.  I also feel guilty that I have not written as frequently as I should have.  In my defense, I have been sewing (and traveling).  I have a rather long list of projects now, many of them for real money, and they are keeping me busy.

(look... photos!!)

Not everything is corset or costume related, though.  I have a couple of finished project photos up at the gallery that I thought I would share with you.

My son's flame shirt is finished.  He had wanted 1" black plastic buckles and "D"-rings, rather than buttons or any other clasps.  We picked them out, but I was only able to find two.  I had to wait for the only store in my area to restock before I could get a third, and no one carried the matching "D"-rings.  We finally decided to go with something that looked ok, although I can tell they are from something different.  Anyway, he likes the shirt, and that is what is most important.

I needed a pouch for my hobo bag and found a neat design in the book Sew-Easy Designer Bags and Totes edited by Barbara Weiland. Of course, I can't be satisfied following instructions exactly, so I made a couple of changes.  I used a pretty decorative stitch (even though it is black thread that blends) to quilt all the panels before putting them together.  The inspiration for the decorative stitch can be found in the pattern of the fabric.  I also went with zippers that are almost invisible, instead of ones that stand out like their example.

I have several corsets in various stages of development.  To make my life easier, I decided I needed an organize the different sized bones that I have. I saw an artist's paintbrush organizer at Michael's. This is my take on it. I took a large piece of heavyweight black corduroy, folded it in half and machine sewed the edges. Next, I finished the open seam, then turned up one side. I hand-stitched the two edges closed. Last, I machine stitched channels, roughly an inch wide.

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