Ankle Corset, Thy Name Is Vanity

The idea of a new ankle corset design wormed int way into my brain and would not let go so the second I was finished with the task at hand it was straight off to my stack of vintage pattern books for inspiration. This is the point where I confess that I consider myself much more of a reinvent-er than a designer on most accounts. I flip through those pages looking with a different perspective looking for something to bend to my will. I found this one fairly quickly. It's the pattern for a vanity set with a fabulously 40's description on top. I'm sad I never lived when every woman just needs a gaily designed vanity set for pleasure.

Anyway, my method for adapting these patterns is very simple. Read the stitch counts, ignore the pattern and use the pictures for structure. Follow the design exactly at least the first time. Like teacher always said, you can't break the rules until you know them. The large openness of the design made it a fairly quick piece to work up, just a couple of hours during the kids naps. Though I was tatting at should aching speed. The first prototype worked up so well size wise that the changes I'll need to do are quite small. Of course that means the changes are quite fiddly. i want to bring the design down a bit int he front filling in the sides just a bit I think.

I did try one variation already and that was simply to add a scalloped edge along the front bottom edge. While I like that it ruffled up a bit, the problem lies with the loose structure of the bottom center. Whenever I start walking the center begins to curl up a bit and won't lie back down on its own. I have started on the second version though I only got a a bit into it last night. I have a plan that I hope with give me the edge I'm looking for and if it works it will likely still have the scalloped edge as well. I like that it help differentiate the piece from my others. In the end the changes to the original pattern will be slight, only it's usage will be drastically altered. Sometimes I wonder what these ladies of the 40's would think of the blasphemy I unleash with their tried and true designs. Oh, vanity set, welcome to ankle corset.