"Becoming Victoria"


I am honoured and excited to have been invited by the Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival committee to appear as a young Queen Victoria at this year's festival from 22nd-28th August 2016. In preparation for this role I will be designing and making the costumes for the young queen over the coming months. These will be authentic reproductions of the fashions of the early years of Victoria's reign and will include a range of 1840s women's garments from corsets and petticoats to day dresses, ball gowns and bonnets. This blog will document and share my progress as I research, design and stitch each element to reveal the secrets of "Becoming Victoria".

Wednesday 15 June 2016

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

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