So, I'm going to need a little help from my Corsetry/bustle making watchers. I've decided to make a wild stab and try my hand at making madam red from Kuroshitsuji. [link]

However I'm having trouble pinning the proper corset and bustle for the era (which is just described as Victorian) I think I'm right when I say a late 1800. However her bust is very, um, lets say pronounced. So I'm having trouble finding a pattern with a cup into instead of something that squishes. I was thinking something like this Nettie Corset, which is a late 1800 but I can't find a pattern, only a place that makes the corset for you. But I quickly found this one from Farthingales [link] which looks like it might do the trick! I was just wondering if any of my watchers with more experience in this era could let me know if I am going in the right direction.

Also, the skirt would be made as two layers and the top one would be pulled up to sit at the base of the tailbone if I am correct right? Also, the high heel spats could be easily achieved by buying a pair of normal heels in this day and age and attatching a pair of home made spats?

So I was going to get all dressed up in my Kimono/dejiko and get pictures done sometime this week, however a nasty ass awful sinus infection has thrown me on the ground and curb stomped me. So there won't be any pictures this week, maybe next.

So my furisode, and all the accessories have been sent, but when I put it on the front of it just seems to look overly bulky, and not smooth and nice like all the other pictures of girls in furisode. I even padded my waist with a towel, everything looked perfect and proper then I put my obi on and it bunches up around my waist and puffs out, and looks incredibly bulky. Am I tying my obi too tight? or doing something else wrong? I just don't get it. I was hoping to wear it for Halloween, but I don't want to with it bulking up so much and looking awful. If I am going to wear it, i want to wear it properly.

I bought a furisode in the 'fabric' section of a website. Now I am faced with the challenge of lining it and getting it ready for wear. The bottom part is already partially lined, but here's the kicker, they just folded up the left over fabric and pinned it together, so I really want to take it off and line it properly. However I can't seem to find what kind of fabric you use to put it together (I was just going to use a heavier broadcloth/cotton). Also, it seems like all the seams that they were using as 'guides' are all on the outside, but I'm sure that there is no stitching on the outside is there? Also, is there anything else I should know? Like sewing it on a commercial sewing machiene (and not by hand) isn't going to completely mess it up is it? Thanks in advance

So it has been forever in a day since I've posted anything So I guess this is going to be slightly long update.
Let's start on the personal front first eh?

Well January past I got engaged to a wonderful man, Whose family will argue me down saying I'm Asian. WTF, I don't look Asian at all!!! lol We don't have a date set yet, were working on moving into the city together first. Then were going to set a date. I'm thinking next fall sometime. I want to have it at the pirate fest, he wants it on Halloween. I'm sure we'll get it figured out. I'm still flip-flopping on making my own dress VS buying one. I'm not sure it will really be any cheaper to make my own. I do know however it will be strapless and have hints of red.

I am currently suffering a fractured foot from falling down the stairs (Chip fracture on my ankle, fracture on part of my foot near the last three toes). Those stairs and I have some pretty nasty encounters, last time I broke my grandmothers plant stand with my face. I'm still working, so that means every day off is agony and I can't work too much in my garden. The doctor said it will take a year at most to heal up and that it would have been better if I broke it. No cast, no wrap. I'm thinking about wrapping it myself though because it hurts so much.

One week before injuring myself I was diagnosed with Asthma again! Damnit!! I thought I had gotten rid of it. I'm now on 2 different puffers, one steroid, one not. I did the breathing test and after a puffer my breathing improved by like 30%. This means I have to overhaul my room and clean it spic and span. So far it's been almost 10 garbage bags of crap thrown out and 2 big storage containers of old clothes. My room is starting to look rather empty. It's sad because my room has always been one of those where you never know where/what to look at first. The worst part, no more kitty cuddles, the cat isn't allowed in my room anymore.

I'm working on loosing weight, and things are going great! I've dropped two pant sizes, and had to order bigger pants at work because they changed the pattern or something and made them smaller. Because my old ones are too big, and the new ones, same size as the old ones are too small. It's rediculous.

On the cosplay front!

I am almost done Dejiko, just need to wait for Christmas to come around to find my OMG huge bells. And I need to pay off my wig/hat. It's coming all the way from Germany! And holy hell is it all expensive! After everything is done I'm estimating that I will have spent well over $300 on her alone, most of the cost being the wig.

I have chosen my two other costumes for the day, and one for the dance. Those will be Autozam Hikaru (Magic Knight Rayearth), and C.C. (Code Geass, clamp artwork)[link]

I'm thinking both of those are going to be pretty expensive too. I'm not sure if I'm going to finish C.C. so I have a back up of a really cute candy corn print Lolita outfit. I'm not sure which one I will be wearing for the masqurade judging, probably C.C. if I get her done, it's pretty impressive, still not sure how I'm going to make the obi work though.

For the dance I am definitely going with a Han-fu.

Sadly though, I can't for the life of me get my Andrew to dress up with me. I'm still working on it though. Maybe I'll just take his measurements in his sleep, make the outfits and then surprise him with them. You can't say no to that can you?