Regency stays - drafting, part two

 Anyway, as a second part to the former, in drafting these things, here’s what I want:

A) has to be back laced for the body part; nothing else will do in respect of both support and gravity defying. Trust me: I know this from bitter personal experience. Back lacing also allows for a degree of size shifting as well

B) Needs to have crossover straps. There is already the example I am mostly basing these off, as well as others in contemporary drawings. Do not ask me to link these; I am not good at embedding links, images as I think we can tell from part 1. The straps will be fabric and twill tape. There will be strap guards in two places on the main body of the stays, to secure the straps at the cross point and side. These will be tied in front. I dithered about whether or not they should be entirely twill tape, but experience of bras tells me that the fabric strap part will be more comfortable and dig in less than twill tape on its own, if it comes to it. 

C) Needs a busk at the front, which I have from the previous project. It’s an interesting, not entirely straight shape. This also helps with the classic “lifted and separated” “shelf” cleavage shape.

D) Gravity assistance - this will be in the form of small “pillows” creating a squishy shelf under each of the twins. I will also put in some short boning under the gussets to help keep its shape. The former has been documented in extant examples and boning under the gussets is recommended in a couple of patterns I’ve seen. I strongly suspect that the cording in many extant examples also fulfilled the purpose. I, however, have never corded anything in my life and despite the YouTube videos showing it to be relatively easy, I’m not confident.

E) This thing needs boning, so it will be boned at the back, on either side of the eyelets, at the side seams and will also have diagonal boning at the armsyce side of the gussets. I will probably double the boning at the side seams, but then again, I might not. That’s TBD. As mentioned before, there will be a busk centre front, with a slightly wide flare to the bottom of it and some short boning pieces. I currently have steel bones, as well as synthetic whalebone kicking around, but I also have a packet of plastic zip ties and I am SORELY tempted to try those for the most part. We will see.

I did intend to use a basic back lacing, but then I watched a YouTube video with fantail lacing last night and aside from the fact it looks a) stunning and b) would make it SUPER easy to get oneself into, I’m not sure if I actually have enough ribbon or twill tape to do this. What I do think is that if I decided I wanted to change the lacing in future, I would be able to. The big thing for me would be if it would work, given gap required to get it over the head, therefore the amount of lacing and so on. So I am sticking with the usual way I lace mine for ease (and lack of maids or helpers).

The other key part of my project was to avoid buying any more materials unless I absolutely had to. During the abortive search for the Mantua Maker pattern, I not only found a lack of coutil for yet another corset project I haven’t made, but what I think is enough cotton drill (period accurate), plus a LOT of muslin/natural cotton for mock-ups. Yes, I can hear you from here that a layer of cotton isn’t enough, but all I need my mock-up for us to check the gusset position and depth - anything else will come from as I am making it.

Naturally, I am delighted at avoiding fabric expense for this (and the next project, which will be the replacement white dress). With the drill and all the twill tape kicking around, I think we are nearly good to go. As an even bigger bonus, I have a whole load of bias tape that I carefully unpicked from the chemise a La reine failure I can use to bind this. Binding will be along the base, along the bust and top edges, but probably won’t include the straps, due to their design. 

Of course, having Long Covid, needing to do things round the house etc has left me a bit wiped out, plus I’ve been distracted looking for patterns and images of how I want my replacement white regency dress to look, not to mention getting carried away with future regency wardrobe planning… so far I am at a morning over gown (Costume in Detail), a Black Snail Patterns sleeveless spencer, probably an open robe based on that pattern,  new spencer (we don’t talk about the one I made before) and I really, really want a new bonnet. I am torn between an image in one of my books and a Timely Tresses pattern, for which I suspect I have enough buckram kicking around, but I do need some other little bits and pieces to make. This then resulted in my going into a rabbit hole of online fabric retailers, but I have now found silk. And possible Melton, from which I can remake my red cloak. And I may have found another garment pattern to work from in respect of drafting a mantelet… but I am getting carried away.

So, once I have showered today, the plan is to cut out the mock up and check the placement of one of the gussets, which will decide placement of the second (and gap between). It *is* possible to have a third gusset if needed, but I am hoping to avoid that.if it comes to it, I’d rather do a full drawstring cup (which is basically a cup shape, with lots of drawstrings and drawstring channels, which then help push the twins up and into the shape required).

I also just realised I do need to buy some macrame cotton for drawstrings… I also need some kind of disappearing or chalk marking pen. I cannot find mine anywhere.

Regency Short Stays - drafting, part one.

 Greetings, friends. 

I think I might have alluded to the fact I was taking my regency wardrobe to task in my last post. I can now confirm that I have done this, as well as take apart a Chemise A La Reine that had never really worked. The first regency dress I ever made (hand stitched: I was terrified of my sewing machine) has now had its sleeves and front bodice removed, leaving the lining, back etc as a petticoat. I am also casting a stern eye over my other petticoat, which is similar style and I now want to attack and change. That’s by-the-by.

I have a set of long regency stays - stitched by hand, some 11 years ago - and a set of short ones, which have a wrapover back. I do actually have another set of very short stays, beautifully made for me, which never quite worked and are like the extant example in the Kyoto collection. The short stays I have are based on an extant example, but which did not have pictures of the back at the time. It was assumed crossover back, but it turns out only the straps crossed over and the back was secured with a series of ties: Slightly different to lacing, but not much. As this is kind of what I’m looking for, I then decided to dig out all the patterns I have. (This is the point I found out I could not find my Mantua Maker stays pattern to work from. I looked everywhere. So I bought a replacement from my usual site then realised I could have got it cheaper at a U.K. site. Argh). So I’m working from the Daffodowndilly short, wrap-over stays and also the Simplicity Sense and Sensibility patterns. Then cue many YouTube searches and watching of videos, including one on how to draft your own ones, as well as online searches for drafting and making said short stays.

I should say that when I say short stays, I mean somewhere between short and long: There is no way, with the sizeable assets I have, that short stays are going to work. This is primarily because, due to cup size, the gussets would need to be an extreme length, so mid length stays this is. I already know that the wrap-over ones are comfortable to wear, so I am not worried about them digging into my waist. 

(I will also admit, at this juncture and knowing what I know about pregnancy stays and my body’s ability to sway in size, whether it would be an idea to use some degree of side lacing, but I digress). 

So, having dug out the patterns, I decided to create a pattern by tracing each part of the wrap-over pattern and then over-laying the simplicity pattern pieces. 

To begin with, I’ve taken some measurements: 

1) underbust; 2) Overbust (usual bra); 3) overbust in sports bra (to give an idea of the right amount of compression - in my case 2 inches), 4) gusset (which is the distance between your underbust and apex/nipple) and, finally, 5) the distance between nipples (which, as it turns out, is quite important for situating your gussets).

I already knew, from the wrap-over and other stays, that the gusset size in my case needed attention, both in respect of width AND depth. In my case, 3 inches is NOT going to cut it. Add to the issue that there is a large gap between the twins AND a lower apex point on me and whatever I design is going to look a lot more like later regency/early Victorian, but i have to adjust for what I’ve got. So I have looked at my pattern pieces and marked ALL the gusset cut marks on there, with the ones related to my chest measurement (5) noted. Basically, I have temporarily marked my midpoint. What I don’t know YET is whether I’m having one or two inches between the gussets. That I’ll figure out on my mock-up. I have drafted two sets of gussets, which correspond to the overall difference between underbrush and sports bra measurement - (each gusset = 1/2 (measurement 3 minus measurement 1, divided by two), so the top point of the gusset will be 2 inches. One set is more triangular and the other is more rounded. The latter will give me more room to play with. If those don’t work, I’m going to use a more transitional design, cut out the cup shape and have adjustable cups with a lot of drawstrings, if I need to. I actually have a yet ANOTHER stays pattern design that shows just how to do this.

Having transferred these measurements over, per usual, I note that one of the gusset marks is literally going to be right under my armpit, but that’s my body. Anyway, as I’m a useless blogger, please see the photos attached showing my processes and the drafting of all the bits and pieces, including where I laid my existing short stays over the pattern piece to see if I was, indeed, correct, re the position of the side Gusset slit.

That’s all for now. Unfortunately, none of the photos are in order, but I don’t think it matters particularly. It’s just to give an idea of where I am in the process. Next step is to cut out my mock-up and see where those gusset slits are going to go and if I need them to be as long as I think they should be. 

Long Covid and Costuming

 Ha, friends! Definitely much later than I planned, but still keeping the blog sort-of up to date…

Momentarily distracted while I was ironing black cotton drill, might be twill, yesterday, my eyes fell on the box of Regency costume goodies I had packed up for my sister, who, along with a friend attended the Season 2 Premiere of Bridgerton. Needless to say, I’d expressed my concerns nothing I own would fit (she’s several sizes smaller than me) so she took my advice and sorted costume hire. They looked MARVELLOUS. 

Anyhoo, it’s been a LONG time plan of mine to really sort out that wardrobe; reusing petticoats that don’t really work, dresses that don’t fit or are kind of old and getting to grips with the Chemise A La Reine that I never even finished….which I started back in 2009? 2010? 

Yesterday I successfully pulled apart the chemise a la reine, memories of hand sewing in metres of bias binding apparently something that’s scarred to my memory: Ripping it out took much less time. That’s all now ready to be washed, ready to be stitched up into a drawstring, front fastening Regency Gown. Then I tackled the other, favourite regency gown, which has done me well over the years, but was never QUITE right; the sleeves and neck binding are removed and I am pondering on how to successfully remove the front bodice. I need to locate my white thread, as this will involve reinforcing hems so I don’t have the whole thing fall apart. There’s an underbodice lining that’s pinned to secure it, with the drawstring front over the top; I’m keeping this and using it as the bodice, with a separate skirt. It’s going to be my new petticoat.

All of this, while extremely thrifty, obvs, is actually period correct; old dresses were often altered to become petticoats and others cut down to become the new fashions. It is really, really common. I am particularly pleased at the lengths of bias binding and ribbon I have managed to save in this endeavour as well. 

My favoured type of regency gown is the kind that’s apron or drawstring front, as opposed to the slightly later fixed bodice. This is mainly because of weight fluctuating and those dresses I have found can often be worn to suit a range of sizes. My Lizzie Bennet (a macgyvered creation) is one I made to fit me when larger, but fits well when I am smaller. This would be common as well, particularly amongst those who could not afford a whole new wardrobe for size changes, as well as maternity. I am erring on the side of drawstring front gown, but I don’t have a pattern for it. I *think* I can use existing patterns for most of it and I AM keen to give the Laughing Moon drop front gown dress pattern a chance as I a) have that and b) I hear good things about it. I am lucky in that I have good friends who do a LOT of regency and period costume dress making who can advise on how much to add to the front dress/bodice panels.

My bigger issue is the sleeves; long is period correct, but I prefer the 3/4 length. Sigh.

In recent weeks, I have heard of and been investigating a company called Black Snail and they have a couple of period patterns I am really keen on investigating; one is a regency/transition drawstring front and the other, I think, a drop front, with bonus waistcoat/Weskit/sleeveless spencer thing (which has distinct possibilities to create overgowns from).

The third item I am chopping to pieces is the first petticoat I ever made and, I think, the first pattern I ever, using instructions, was an adaptation - the skirt is coming off, to be reused as a petticoat (but with straps), while the bodice will be used for lining, if I can get enough out of it. It’s been too small over the bust for a long time, plus never accommodated weight fluctuations. 

I also have a striped, very fitted regency dress that I’ve always had reservations about. That’s going to be pulled apart and the fabric reused for something modern. There’s probably enough to get a decent garment out of, either for me or for my nerfling. Actually, there almost certainly is. I’ve got a great kid’s pattern for dungarees or pinafore it might work for. Maybe. If not, definitely longer shorts or summer trousers, deffo another summer skirt for her. Poor kid is now up to two skirts from me, one a cut down from another period garment, another from fabric I had had kicking around for at least a decade. 

Anyway, Long Covid continues to leave its mark and daily reminders of how it’s firmly got me under control. I am about to start the rapid diet phase of a study aimed at seeing if weight loss improves Long Covid symptoms. My suspicion is that it won’t, but I am willing to try anything to see if it helps. Plus side: I am saving on food for 12 weeks. Down side: It is highly likely this won’t work, I won’t lose weight (bs of what LC does), the ingredients are going to set off histamine etc symptoms and so on. I have said I will try. I also suspect I will cheat a bit. Bigger sigh. To be honest, if I DO lose 15% of my weight, I will have to get all the smaller clothes back out of vacuum storage and I’m not thrilled about that idea, I can tell you, but at least I do have them. 

That’s all for now. I hope you’re all well. En marche! 

Another Depressing Week in the Life of Long Covid

 It’s been a while. Again. Unfortunately, when you’ve got Long Covid, you have to balance up everything and the energy cost of it. A combination of visits, appointments, plus relapse and ongoing meetings, as well as having to rapidly respond to the release of new guidance last week means the blog has had to take a back seat. 

We all discovered, those of us in healthcare with Long Covid, that our special leave - as in full pay, not counted as sick leave - is now coming to an end. For some, it’s been sooner rather than later. As you can imagine, for those of us on our own, this has been a worrying, stressful week, not least because there continues to be silence on the issue of occupational disease compensation and pension, as well as pensions. To say many of us feel like we are being thrown out like rubbish is probably an understatement. 

This week, I was also signed off by physio; not because I’m fit and well again, but because there is nothing they can do for me. I cannot participate in their programmes because I am not well enough. After two years. They also admitted their rehab is based around graded exercise therapy - which is not warranted as I am now suspected to have ME as a result of Covid. 

On top of that, there was another seizure. Which is very, very alarming. And I also have a large cyst which may require surgery if it does not go away on its own. 

I read horrifying stuff today - two individuals who have been moved to more advanced sickness procedures IN SPITE of the fact that existing guidance says not to do this AND that the new guidance says to set as if for day one the first day after existing guidance ends. I have given the best advice I can - which is that this is not correct and to contact union or legal representation as soon as possible. After two years, guidance on an extended phased return is being ignored, despite industry stating this is best practice. 

I am left wondering: Is this discrimination rearing its ugly head?

My experience of working in healthcare has often not been a happy one and that’s certainly the case over the last ten years. I moved from a post where my training was going to be advanced quickly, with excellent promotion and career prospects to one where I was bullied, harassed and discriminated against for having chronic conditions and other protected characteristics. It has left me believing that my colleagues are fundamentally ableist or at least demonstrate significant unconscious bias when it comes to their understanding of what disability means. There’s certainly a massive disconnect when it comes to their beliefs about conditions. 

My fears around discrimination, from what I hear from others, is coming true. Colleagues across the U.K. experience disbelief and hostility from colleagues over their ongoing symptoms, with those individuals ignoring the basic tenet of what we were taught - which is that patient experience is individual. The stress of this, of worrying about posts, being expected to “keep up” is causing relapses all over the place. Some have been sacked, others pressured to resign. 

I do not know what is next for me. I suspect it involves longer discussions with my rep, my union, lawyers. I know it involves continuing to make sure the voices of those in my profession and others with long Covid are heard. It means speaking to a lot more media, more politicians. I would like to see myself continuing in a work role, but I do not know what that will look like. That, on its own, is scary. 

In the meantime, I will have to fight to retain my salary for at least the next nine months. I can perhaps pay my mortgage for three months beyond that, if I am lucky. I may have to get in a tenant, which I am reluctant to do, because of the risk of catching Covid again. Plus, being disabled, it’s not often the best option either. And I’m not tidy at all. 

So is what’s going on discrimination? Yes. Absolutely. We, the tired, sick ones who are being deliberately ignored by people in power are suffering AGAIN. All we did was do our jobs. Many of us should not have been going in to work. Instead of wasting huge sums of money on faulty PPE, consultations on image and failed T&T, these individuals could have created a fund to ensure we were not financially destroyed, that our homes were safe, our debts paid off with full pensions. 

I continue  to scream into the social media void and hope someone, somewhere will listen. But a Lottery jackpot win would also improve things considerably. 

Should You Read The Comments And Should You Do Literature Searches on Medical Journals??

 If you speak to the average person, who is much more sensible than I, they’ll usually say no. DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!! DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS. I however, am a bit of a masochist and also usually get annoyed, rather than upset. 

I decided to read mine on TikTok today, where I post about lots of things ranging from reactions, the odd Duet (I’m learning, OK?), my Long Covid journey, my cats and anything that springs to mind. I quite enjoy it, mostly because somewhere out in the TikTok void I could well be annoying some millennial 😁. I have no children of my own, so I do my best to wind up my siblings’ kids. And random teenagers on social media. If you care to, you can find me as PerfectlyImperfect7505. I’ve actually started a YouTube channel with my actual name (zero uploads as yet), but I bet if you search “PerfectlyImperfect” I’ll pop up. 

So, on the most recent Long Covid post, someone decided to “helpfully” state that my condition has been defined by the GMC as “somatic”. Somatic is the fancy way of saying “all your tests are normal, we don’t know what’s wrong with you”. It’s also used to gaslight people into believing that everything going on is all in their head, which is what I’ve been told since childhood. People with ME, CFS, amongst other conditions, are frequently psychologised by this. 

I decided to respond (after I blocked the gaslighting twerp), pointing out that Long Covid is known to be a multi-system inflammatory condition, proved in biomedical research: The reason that tests don’t pick it up is because the basic tests the NHS agree to run don’t show up what’s wrong. Seriously. Search stories on social media support groups, Twitter. People are being told they’re fine, but go overseas, enter research trials, pay to go private and find out that there are things quite seriously wrong with me. The lack of testing on me is not something for this post, but I do know I have a Covid-related Long QT cardiac rhythm and “neurological issues” (the polite way of saying neurological damage, which they didn’t need a scan to tell them). Basically, I told TikTok to take their gaslighting, psychologising of our condition and shove it. 

As for the searching of medical journals? I was looking for something else when I found there IS a study that confirms my Long QT was likely caused by Covid. I was also on a medication which would increase the likelihood (but not now) - while it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation, I had many ECGs before I had covid, while on that medication, with no Long QT - it only appeared since Covid. 

Sometimes it’s nice to get back to people who comment, particularly the sweet ones. I’ll leave the ones who bang on about your beauty, your eyes, send you DMs (I mostly ignore them) and so on. 

For the person who sarcastically suggested getting into politics: I tried. My political party are quiet on supporting me. Also, I’m currently too sick, so I stick with activism and advocacy. 

Peace out, everyone.

Long Covid: Does This Never End?

 It’s been about six months and I REALLY need to start updating this blog a lot more. I’m aiming for fortnightly. Fortnightly, yeah.

So, to update those who aren’t new and to give a background to those who are, I’m a nurse who caught Covid in the first wave. For reasons, I wasn’t tested. Took me nearly six weeks to initially get back to work. Within a month, symptoms of what we all now call Long Covid started kicking in. I’m now on my second period of long term special leave (aka sick leave) with no end to it in sight. I’ve got neurological issues, a long QT interval heart rhythm, worse asthma, increased pain and now walk with a rollator. I have insomnia, dizziness, unexplained tachycardia, altered smell, no appetite and things just don’t work. My GP has done what they can, but there’s no obvious referral pathways and I still don’t know what it’s done to me as beyond some blood tests, a chest x-Ray, ECG, 24 hour Holter & cardiac USS, nothing has been done and it’s all been basic. I’m waiting for two referrals to send appointments. It’s constant waiting and I had no other help. In desperation, I self referred myself to the council and have now had some more aids delivered, am waiting on a safety rail for my shower and physio input, but I’m not fit enough to actually do rehab exercise. I’m now referred to a dietitian. I’m also waiting on my pharmacy dosset boxes to start as I keep forgetting to put meds in the boxes I was doing myself. I’m on so many supplements that I swear I rattle. They do help. Kind of. But it’s hard to remember and I lack energy to do much, even wash, dress or feed myself properly. 

And one of the cats now has a long term condition, oh joy. Thank god for insurance. 

We had a debate in our parliament last week: I was unimpressed by the government’s attitude. On a personal note, I’ve been unimpressed at responses I’ve received to letters I’ve sent asking for SOME support for healthcare staff. 

I genuinely feel like I’ve been left to rot without knowing what’s actually wrong. I can’t afford to go private and I certainly can’t travel, even if I had the money, to centres who ARE testing for things like endothelial damage and microclots. 

Financially, I’ve taken a hit as well, tho hopefully that’s going to resolve itself recently. I do have a GoFundMe now, which some very kind people have donated to. It’s paid for the cat and some bills in the meantime. I’ve also gone to StepChange to try and sort out my unsecured debt which was out of hand. But I’m so worried about losing my job, as I’ll lose my home. Nightmare scenario. 

I’m involved in advocacy - I work with Long Covid Scotland and was also recruited for a profession-specific group as well. I do what I can, but I’ve had to take time off as I’ve not been well and pushing myself far too hard. 

It is really hard to have to deal with everything going on and the state I’m actually in. I’ve never been like this before in my life - not to the point I am struggling to look after myself. After more than two years, the future really is uncertain. 

So that’s the update. Don’t catch Covid. Please. You’re risking Long Covid, especially if you have underlying health conditions. 

More posts soon!

Long Covid - the unpleasant gift that keeps on giving, though you don’t want it to

 It’s been a while since I last posted. A lot of that has to do with the fact I have been unwell since I had Covid last April (2020), with the most severe symptoms kicking in at the end of August last year, following over-exertion and a mild cold. I won’t bore you on this post with the extent of them, but suffice to say I am fed up of the condition at this point, as well as the constant myriad of symptoms that plague me daily. 

Here in Scotland, we don’t have Long Covid (LC) clinics, so every single referral is to a separate service. To date, I have had basic testing which, from research amongst my peers, doesn’t necessarily show the extent of what’s going on. I have had few explanations as to what is going on. Currently, I am believed to have what is called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS), waiting on cardiology appointment. That’s next month. Given how things have gone, I’m expecting to be told to go away and nothing further to be done. There is one PoTS specialist in Scotland and they’re not in my trust area. I am reliant on the PoTS U.K. website for support and suggestions, but much of my symptom alleviation is down to self experimentation with supplements recommended by peers within the community. My online community, found through joining Facebook (FB) groups, has been my saviour, literally.

Coming up for Christmas, I am here wondering what the future holds. I have not been able to afford Christmas presents, especially as I was told on Friday that my career is now at risk due to the level of absence I have had. Partially this is down to some kind of weird limbo I am in due to diagnosis of Long Covid, as in I do not formally have one, despite the National guidance on the subject. Why don’t I have one? I got sick during the few week window where testing at home was not done, but if you couldn’t drive there was no transport. So I was not tested. Given I am in debt, I am sitting here faced with losing my home, on top of the multiple other indignities ongoing. I am currently thinking about income streams, so perhaps I will ask for donations to help write this blog. I have two feline children to feed, after all. 

I will write more in the coming days and weeks about my experience. I will also write more, if nothing else to justify one of those coffee donation account things. I may even set up a gofundme as it’s looking like I will need one. 

If nothing else, over the last year, my LC journey has made me realise I have to treat my disabled body with respect, that it won’t keep up with everyone else’s. Unfortunately, the world expects my disabled body to do so, meaning it frequently breaks down due to the continual stresses and strains of being Neuro divergent on top of the now more obvious physical constraints I have.

Be well. For me it’s now day two of Hanukkah and I’m off out to find me some soufganiyot (that’s jam doughnuts to you). Chag Sameach Chanukah, if you celebrate this.