The Elizabethan Bumroll, done!

"Horn of Plenty", "Oh my goodnplenty!" (my favourite all time dyac iphone fail!) and scenes from True Blood (season two) have been scattering through my brain this week as I made the Elizabethan bumroll, you'll see why....

I decided to line the cream cotton twill with the black cotton drill.  I sandwiched all four layers together, putting the ribbon ties in between the two cream layers and pinned everything together.

I used my favourite cheat and sewed around the pattern, rather than tracing it.

Once sewn, I trimmed the excess fabric away, clipped the inside and outside curves, turned it inside out and curled up on the sofa with the leftover fabric to start the stuffing.  I intended to only use the leftovers and then buy foam wadding, but the fabric stuffing went so well that I decided to continue with it.  I should have taken photos but it was a very cold night and the fire was going strong, I decided to be lazy and remain warm!  Mid-way through the stuffing and I had what looked more like Viking horns than anything you would want to wear round your waist and hips, and my bumroll has quickly become the source of much hilarity... 

The stuffing takes some patience, and muscle, but once stuffed and with the seam sewn closed, it looks good.  Miss G is now back in work mode and models it well I think!  The corset is only loosely laced on (the laces now follow a more correct pattern) and I'm not sure it's sitting correctly in the photos but it fits my hips like a glove.  I can see, now it's complete, why the original pattern was larger, it seems smaller than it looked on paper, but I still think that the smaller size will suit me better.  I also weighed the bumroll and it's well over 2 lbs, the corset is another 1lb+ - at this rate I will need to take up weight training!  

I couldn't resist a few close up pictures too, an attempt to give you an idea of the size of it in relation to my waist. 

I'm itching to get started on the farthingale now, the final step in creating the structure under the final outfit.  The final piece of the underpinnings is the chemise, but I will need a pattern specifically tailored to match the kirtle and gown sleeves; that I can't do myself from instructions online as I think that I am pretty much decided on buying the Margo Anderson pattern and then adapting it if needed.