Some Dress Progress

This 1940s rayon print is awesome!
I'm not usually into pink, but this is so cool.

For now I have abandoned my full Regency corset and am instead devoting my time to starting some Regency short stays. I think these will be much more practical for me to wear, especially if I have to sew in them. I think that was my biggest problem with the longer set of stays. It is a little sad that I wasted that gold silk on a cover for the corset that isn't even really that historically accurate, but I was working with what I had and thought I needed to use. Aah well! Yesterday I cut out the pieces for the short stays (linen lining, cotton drill interlining, and a pretty striped linen for the outer layer) and I am excited - mostly because the pieces are so small! Hopefully, it will whip up in no time once I get a chance to sit down and sew. 

I am also working on a 1940s dress. I have been struggling to know what to make the dress from. I usually have avoided rayon like the plague because it didn't exist prior to 1900, but for the 1940s - it's fair game! Now that I need to look for rayon prints, I'm finding that they are very elusive, especially in era-correct prints. I can find '40s appropriate cotton prints without too much trouble, but for the kind of dress I'm making, the drape just won't be right using regular cottons. This is such a bummer and mildly frustrating. I did see someone make a 1940s dress out of a rayon/linen blend in a solid color and that gave me a bit more hope. I do have this delicious green linen, but I was saving that for a Regency dress... I guess we'll have to see. My next trip to the fabric store will be on the hunt for rayon/linen blends. Buying original fabric is just a tad bit out of my price range! Antique shops and second-hand stores are on my hunt list too. You just never know!

For both items of clothing I'm using patterns from Sensibility.com.