I'm nearly there with the cording - I've got the two halves of the corset sewn together and all the gores in (7 of the 8 gores in place in these pictures). I have a few row left to do on the right back edge, but the end is in sight!

To insert the gores, I first mark the cutting line on the back on the coutille in pencil. I add a half inch on each side at the edge and a quarte inch each side at the point, then joni the dots to mark a wedge shape around the cutting line. I then machine stitch this in a small length, before cutting along the line to just before the end, where I snip into the corners to for a triangle. Press the cut pieces under and position the gore underneath. I keep a half inch seam allowance from the edge of the gore as far as possibe, forcing the straight edge to for a curve. Once its all pinned, I top stitch all the way around as close as I can to the edge. I found the gores were quite a lot longer than the cuts made to recieve them, so I trmmed them once they were in place.

I'm really pleased with the way it looks, and even more please to report that it fits! I was getting more and more nervous every time I held it up against myself, but I got to the point where I could tack on the shoulder  straps, put the grommets in and lace it up to check. So please - lacing it comfortably tight I get a 2" gap down the back, and the wrinkles from the cording disappear. The shape is quite straight on the waist , but I think thats probably how its meant to be! The straight busk at the front (more on that next time) pulls it in between my breasts and gives a nice shape.

I decided to use non-peiod correct metal grommets for the lacing, as I wanted the strength without the hours of hand stitching through coutille! I've bought some white enamel paint to paint them to match, and will probably cover them in buttonhole stitch some day when I feel like stitching in fromt of the TV.

Pictures of me wearing it next time (when I have something on underneath to protect my modesty!)

As a foundation for my 2011 Holy grail project (whats that you say? Its 2012 already? well, um.... actually, once I realised I would be getting married in 2011 this became a pretty low priority, so its now a 2011-2012 project) I need an 1830's style corset. This is somewhere between regency and victorian, the corset is full length but is still more about lift and separate and general smoothing rather than cinching in the waist.
The pattern I have is by past patterns http://www.pastpatterns.com/001.html. However, I'm also in love with the 1830s corset shown in Jill Salens book on corsets, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsets-Historic-Techniques-Jill-Salen/dp/1906388016 which has a really cool front fastening with buttons and tabs on alternating sides. The plan is to use the pattern as a base, but following the cording pattern from the book. I may also reposition the side seam, although the hip gores seem to be in different positions in the book and the pattern so I'm not sure how that will work.

I was concerned about how long it was going to take to do the cording if I sewed channels then threaded the cord through, so I attempted to sew channels with the cord in place. My front layer is satin (dull side out) and the back layer is coutil. I used my zipper foot to sew s close to the cord as possible with the cord pressed up agaist the previous line of stitching. Unfortunately this method caused diagonal wrinkles across the cords. I actually quite like this wrinkled effect, but its not uniform enough to be able to use. I also like that I can cut the coutil to shape, attach a larger piece of satin and  then trim the satin to match. The coutil piece doesn't seem to shrink in the process. If anyone has a tip for cording in this way I'd be interested to hear for future projects.
For my second attempt at cording, I sewed the channels and then threaded the cording through -MUCH better :) To stitch the channels, I set the needle position to 4.5 on my bernina and kept the edge of the standard foot level with the previous line of stitchin. My cording is a doubled length of tesco value string, and as a threading tool I'm using a piece of millinary wire with a loop twited in.
I traced the pattern pieces for the gores and marked angles and positions for the cording, following the pattern from the book. Stitching and cording these pieces took much less time than I expected, so I'm feeling pretty good about using this me

At this stage I decided I actually better make a fitting muslin - If I'd carried on and corded the two main pieces and the corset hedn't fit, I'd have been pretty fed up! Fortunately, it fit really well! I forgot to leave a seam allowance at the front so that looks funny, as does the lack of a busk down the front, which I assume will pull the front in between my breats. Anyway, its certainly close enough that I can continue and make any small fitting adjustments with the cording in place.
By the way, I put one of the front hip gores on the wrong side, so then put the other in back to front so that the cording would slope down towards the front as it should.

The final step was to mark on the muslim where the cording should go. I also had several attenpts at drawing a new side seam, still not sure about this one! I will transfer the markings to paper, and then think very carefully about which order to sew the sections in - I'd like to be cording open channels as far as possible, rather than having to poke through the fabric to get to something which is sewn shut across one end.
And thats all for today!

So I completed my sample piece for the thistle embroidery. I used the duchess satin and the narrowest of my two sample cords.
I drew the design onto a piece of curtain lining and sandwiched the lining and the satin together in the embroidery hoop. Flipping the hoop backwards and forwards I could follow the design drawn on the backing.
I tried two different stitches. My first choice, couching, didn't work too well (see RHS of picture). This involves stitching over the cord at regular intervals. Because the cord is an inner cord covered fairly loosely with a satin weave tube, I ended up with a sausage effect, little dents very time I stitched over. This wasn't what I wanted at all!
I then tried stitching through the cord, and was much happier with the results. I need to do a little more experimentation to see if I can find a way pf producing neat, sharp corners. Sharp turns are  key feature of this design, and at the moment the cord spreads on the internal angle - probably one of those noone but the seamstress would notice, but the whole point of this project si to make itas perfect as possible :)
Finally, just to make you all jealous here are a couple of picks of where i was when I sewed this.

I've started work on planning the embroidery design for this dress. The first step was to draw out the design for the skirt, using a grid drawn over the original to scale correctly. The circular heads of the thistles are made using puffs of fabric, the leaves and petals are done with cord 'couched' (stitched over) to the fabric.
Once I'd drawn the design, I made two copies - one a direct tracing, the other a mirror image. The plan is to machine stitch through the paper onto the skirt interlining fabric (unbleached cotton, sold as curtain lining) then tear the paper away. There are two reasons for doing it this way rather than drawing it on - the first is that this will provide a line which I can follow with my fingers when working from the right side of the fabric, the second is that I'm stitching it using 50 yard spools of thread - which means when I'm done I'll know to the nearest 50 yards how much cord I need to buy.
The third picture is some material samples - specifically chinese satin, acetate satin and duchess satin. The chord is size one and size two from the sample card I received, and I plan to make up samples of embroidered designs and gathered strips to see which fabrics work best for the design of the dress and to support the design.This also give me a change to try out different stitches for attaching the cord, the biggest decision being whether to stitch over the cord or through the cord.

So, an update on some of the preparation I've done for my Holy Grail project. After looking around the web, I've discovered theres not a huge amount of information on the 1830's or a lot of choice of patterns. The one I've chosen as coming closest to my inspiration dress is this one by Truly Victorian.
The other thing I've done is track down a supplier for rat-tail cord for the decorative work. They have a big selection of colours, but nothing close to the colour I was hoping to match, so I'm back to the start on picking a colour.
This is what they've got

I guess I need to see which colours I can match in fabric, and do a bit of research to see if there's any perticular rules about colours for the 1830's!
So because I haven't choosen colours or fabrics for the big project yet, and because I want a victorian evening outfit, I've decided to test the TV pattern on this dress- more on that next time!

So I've decided that for 2011, I will give myself a 'Holy Grail' project to complete. Whats a Holy Grail project I hear you ask? Well, its a term I was introduced to on a fabulous website,  www.yourwardrobeunlockd.com Basicly, a Holy Grail project is somethng that you've always wanted to make but have never attempted because its too complicated, too expensive or just too time consuming. But what better way to stretch yourself, motivate yourself and get that buzz of looking at something and saying 'I made this and I love it!'
So this is my project:

Its an 1830's dress which I saw on ebay a year or two ago and have gazed at longingly ever since. I also want to make a 1830's corset, probably a copy of one in Jill Salens book http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1906388016
With all that embroidery and the cording on the corset, it seems like at least a years worth of work! I've started planning and preparing, and will share some more soon!