Hanging things from UNDER the bodice

[Taffy Saltwater]

What is the best system to hang your tail, mug, etc., from UNDER the bodice, without being too bulky like a belt?  Pictures?

[gem]

Sewing rings inside the bodice, and then clipping the paraphernalia to that?

[Master James]

M'lady uses a fabric ring belt.  She simply got 1" wide fabric belting, a 2" brass ring and a lenghth of trim that is not quite as wide as the belt.  She sewed the trim onto the belt to make it prettier than the plain white or black.  Then she sewed the brass ring into one end and folded and sewed the opposite end so that it didn't come undone.  PRESTO!  Fabric ring belt!  Strong enough to hold everything you need but not bulky at all!  She puts on her skirts and such and before putting on the bodice she puts on the belt and after tying it, tucks the belt tail behind her forepart so it doesn't show.  then she puts the bodice on and she has a belt to hold whatever she wants and it doesn't show.  Hope that helps.

[Dinobabe]

I put grommets in the waistband of my skirt.  Works really well!

[Adriana Rose]

I would think that D rings sewn onto the lining of the bodice would work.
clips like carabeaners ( sp?) would make easy acess for the things that need to be moved


But that is food for thought! my belt wieghs too much sometimes

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

I was just thinking that hanging things from my bodice might be heavy and pulling it down, when Adriana Rose wrote her belt is heavy.

I bought a belt that doesn't have a buckle.  It has holes on the one side, and 2 U shaped hooks (though not a full U) that you press into the holes.  So there is no buckle to make it bulky.  It lies flat.  I put that on before I put my bodice on and then hang things from it.  I would rather have the weight on a belt than pulling down on a bodice. 

[bellevivre]

the idea is to make it like snaffles on a saddle- you honestly would probably be better suited, depending on the weight of things, to get some D rings, sew a loop of twill tape around them, then sew the tape to the inside of the bodice... and that reminds me that i need to do just that to my moresca!

[McGuinness]

M'lady uses a fabric ring belt.  She simply got 1" wide fabric belting, a 2" brass ring and a lenghth of trim that is not quite as wide as the belt.  She sewed the trim onto the belt to make it prettier than the plain white or black.  Then she sewed the brass ring into one end and folded and sewed the opposite end so that it didn't come undone.  PRESTO!  Fabric ring belt!  Strong enough to hold everything you need but not bulky at all!  She puts on her skirts and such and before putting on the bodice she puts on the belt and after tying it, tucks the belt tail behind her forepart so it doesn't show.  then she puts the bodice on and she has a belt to hold whatever she wants and it doesn't show.  Hope that helps.

I do pretty much the same thing. I use a nylon-webbing belt with D-rings underneath my bodice. I got clued into that a couple seasons ago and its worked well for me, with the exception of a mug strap. The mug strap I was using wasn't flat enough and caused the bodice to ride up above it, showing the belt. I'm still looking for just the right mug strap to work with it, but it hasn't been too big an issue as long as the belt blends in to the costume (with the red and black gown I had last year, the tan and neon green belt didn't work nearly as well as the black one I found halfway through the season.).

[Adriana Rose]

I am really thinking about doing this to one of my bodices! I load my belt up WAY too much and it kinda hurts after a long day.

Sewing the rings in would eliminate my over loading and just keeping the things that I need! I am gonna try it after I get my work stuff done!

[gem]

The mug strap I was using wasn't flat enough and caused the bodice to ride up above it, showing the belt. I'm still looking for just the right mug strap to work with it,

Colleen, what about making one from some twill tape and jacquard trim?  It would have a much lower profile than a leather strap, and be pretty, to boot.

[McGuinness]

Colleen, what about making one from some twill tape and jacquard trim?  It would have a much lower profile than a leather strap, and be pretty, to boot.

I had tried that before but it didn't last very well. I'm thinking it may have just been my rather shoddy construction, but I may try again next season. The fabric I had used was regular jacquard, triple folded and held togethr with iron-on hem tape. I hadn't tried twill tape and thicker trims for it, might try that again when costuming comes around in a few months!

[Squire Mickey]

Wow, great ideas!

You all are very clever....

I am working on a leather bodice right now for a client. I think I will incorporate some kind of attachment system..

I am thinking something that hangs higher in the middle of the stomach, and then angles down to ride lower on the hips and comes back up to attach again at the middle of the back.  There would also be attachments on the East and west points if you will, just with a garter kind of attachment back up to the main bodice. I could use screws instead of rivets or stitching so that it could be detachable.

Now, this would obviously be a bit more of the warrior girl look and not Elizabethan, but the same concept could be done in garment leather with o rings sewn in that things could be tied to or snapped on...

[Nailin]

I'd be curious to see pictures of what you all have done....

[Sorcha]

M'lady uses a fabric ring belt.  She simply got 1" wide fabric belting, a 2" brass ring and a length of trim that is not quite as wide as the belt.  She sewed the trim onto the belt to make it prettier than the plain white or black.  Then she sewed the brass ring into one end and folded and sewed the opposite end so that it didn't come undone.  PRESTO!  Fabric ring belt!  Strong enough to hold everything you need but not bulky at all!  She puts on her skirts and such and before putting on the bodice she puts on the belt and after tying it, tucks the belt tail behind her forepart so it doesn't show.  then she puts the bodice on and she has a belt to hold whatever she wants and it doesn't show.  Hope that helps.

Sorry to wake the dead here but at least I know how to use the "Search" button!

I'm wondering if there are photos of this idea?  I'm a visual person and I'm just not getting the explanation.  I'm sure your words are sufficient Master James, it's just the way my brain works. 

OR!  I'm also open to more/other ideas for this too. 

[gem]

I'm wondering if there are photos of this idea?  I'm a visual person and I'm just not getting the explanation.  I'm sure your words are sufficient Master James, it's just the way my brain works. 

Eddie Bauer used to have some ribbon trim ring belts done *exactly* as he's describing, but I'm not seeing them now.  But here's another link that might help:

http://www.ellaina.com/bt0003.html

This one looks like it's just the trim, not attached to any webbing, but that's the only difference.

Here's an example of a dog collar and leash with same webbing + trim construction:

http://www.fancynancys.com/pirate/zenacollarl.jpg