Corsets, construction diaries and lusciousness.

I recently made up a dusky rose (it's super pale, almost neutral actually) and black satin coutil overbust for a petite friend, and decided to make a comprehensive dress-diary this time since I so often forget to take photographs as I go. That said, I still failed to get some key images this time, apologies.

This corset was made at a distance using measurements provided by the model (and she did a good job of taking her own stats too considering it isn't easy!) and without a mock-up or fitting. She has a slight sway back and very small frame so it was a new challenge for me, but we did okay :-)



So, first things first, the pattern:


I've followed a standard 12 piece Victorian-style layout, but I've played with the bust shaping to see what happens. I was thinking at this point that I may have produced a shape which would result in quite a wide bust separation (whilst my friend/model had actually expressed an interest in having *more* cleavage), so I was slightly worried but unsure about how to address the issue. Because she isn't around for mock-ups and fittings, I decided to carry on and use this as a learning experience. I thought, "if the bust separation is too wide on this corset then I can note that down on the pattern for next time". But I think it has worked out okay. It's quite flat, but I like that on her figure.

Here are the cut pieces laid out (I used a 1/2" seam allowance):


I decided to use a black satin coutil for facings front and back, for the lacing panel, and to create exterior bone casings. (I had considered white, but it was far too stark...) I also used the black coutil as a front modesty placket. This front modesty placket was embroidered with my would-be business name in a Gütermann Sulky metallic thread. Now I just need to actually go into business! But shiny embroidery makes me happy, so I also embroidered a personal message on the left side of the CB facings. It's cheesy, I know, but she's one of my favourite people and I don't get to see her very often. (You guys only get to see part of it since I don't want to put her name up on the interwebs!) It also means this garment is entirely unique to her, which makes me happy :-)


I had to measure very precisely to get this right, since I have had embroidery end up slightly off-kilter in the past and it's really annoying!


But you see what I'm doing here with no stabilizer and the fabric not filling the frame? Never do this... This is all quite backwards...


You can see here that the rose damask wants to fray very easily, so I fused it to the coutil using Bondaweb. This certainly seems to have its benefits although I know some of you hate fusing. In this instance, it made the pieces much easier to manage and stabilized the damask a touch. The Bondaweb did, however, start separating as I was sewing the pieces up. So either I fused it incorrectly, or it's a temporary bond at best. I wasn't too worried about this though, as so much of the damask was going to be hidden behind the coutil casings.

You can also see here more clearly that I chose to use the more satiny side of the damask, with the roses having a matte finish rather than the other way around. The coutil is a 100% cotton in a neutral flesh tone but the weave doesn't seem as tight as it could be. I may research new suppliers.

At this point I got nervous about the black casings... would they be too harsh and overpowering for the delicate damask? I stared at this for a while...



...and decided the only way I would know was if I just carried on!

I lock-stitched the panels together (wrong-sides together), notched and flat felled the seams and stitched the front and back facings in place (making the appropriate spaces for the busk of course). I decided upon a 9 1/2" busk with chrome grommets at the very top for a ribbon tie detail. I failed to get a photograph to illustrate, but there are grommets in the modesty placket (directly beneath those in the right side CF) which allow this ribbon-tie.



You can also see here how an extra bone running next to the busk might have been a good idea. Next time.

The flat-felling became very bulky, and I did wonder if it would be more appropriate to simply grade, press and stitch down the SA without wrapping the raw edge under, since they are going to be covered by the casings anyway. Would this compromise the overall strength of the seams? As another alternative in future, I may stitch the seams to the inside and put the bone casings next to the seams rather than over them to reduce on bulk.

Bone casings were made using a 12mm bias maker with black satin coutil cut on the grain. The casings obscure quite a lot of the damask, but I like it. Black satin coutil was used to make the bindings also. It's a bit of a nightmare to handstitch!



Now, this was where I decided to use my camera phone rather than my camera (why?!) and you can see the resulting images...






Yucky and tiny! How did that happen? I was sure my phone settings gave bigger pictures than that :-S

So I apologise for the lack of photographs, but the construction was pretty straight-forward at this point, I'm sure you guys know the drill.

I cut all the flat steels to size, filed and tipped them, inserted them and then stitched the lining down at the top edge (I tend to batch tasks when cutting and filing steels as I find it less irritating that way!).



I measured the spacing and inserted the grommets (using a tapered tailor's awl to make the holes and a press and hammer [supplied with the Prym grommets] to set the grommets) with closer spacing at the waist for extra support.



It's difficult to see here, but we used the 'shoelace' pattern of lacing, and I like the way it looks with this corset.

I should also have already mentioned that everything is pressed between every stage! The fabric is pressed before pinning and cutting, the pieces are then pressed again before fusing, the seams are pressed as we go along flat-felling, and then everything is pressed again to ensure the corset will lie smoothly over curves. For this I use either my knee/thigh (heavily insulated of course) or my tailor's ham. And very often whilst stitching I will take the piece and mold it over my knee or thigh to ensure everything lays correctly over the curves of the bust and hips. It makes a massive difference to the finished piece and allows me to visualise how a new pattern will work in 3 dimensions rather than 2.

It isn't fool-proof though... I still encountered some unexpected wrinkles once the corset was being worn (which you will see below) and am in the process of deciding how to eliminate those in the future. Which are related to boning, which are related to grain or distribution through the pattern, and which may be related to the fusing I used?

Anyway, then we got to the exciting part! Testing it on the model and doing a little photoshoot!

The top-line was curved for a pretty 'almost' sweetheart shape that came just 2cm above the full bust line. And I did my favourite low hip-line just because I love it!



I used two 3m black corsetry laces with nickel tips from venacava as I thought satin ribbon would be too flashy for this design.

As mentioned above, this corset was drafted using measurements provided by the model and no mock-up or fittings. As a result there are some issues with fit. For example, the bust could have been drafted tighter as she felt more secure that way and so the lacing gap at back is not even.



You can see that lacing gap more clearly here...



...and you can also see how it could be ever so slightly looser on the shoulder-blades. So if we take any further photos of this piece I'll suggest lacing it more evenly and seeing if she still feels supported enough at the bust.

We also think that her normal fluctuations in weight/water throughout the month (ah, the things we women put up with!) has meant that we've created a corset which may fit her better at certain times than others. Though she still looks super-gorgeous in this corset!



But I do think that the corset will fit much better once it's been worn a few times and molded to her shape. She also needs to get used to the feeling of being corseted, after which I expect the waist and hips will be laced a little tighter (which will in turn boost her cleavage a bit and allow the bust to be laced a little looser).



You can also see how the shaping at the waist and hips on the front half result in a gentle dishing at the abdomen. I personally love that slight dishing shape.





There are a few wrinkles, but I'm not going to worry too much about that. This pattern was a tester and I can now go away and decide what changes to make to smooth out certain sections.



I do love this understated topline on her though, it shows off her beautiful shoulders and collar bones. And what's a corset for if not to show the wearer to their best advantage?



She had a beautiful necklace which went really nicely with the corset.





And (surely it must be fate) she had recently purchased a gorgeous pair of heels which colour-matched the corset perfectly, without having any idea of the colours or fabrics I was using! She just needs an excuse to wear it all out now.



Aww, pretty girl :-)



In conclusion, I really love the way this style came together and intend to repeat it in the future (with some alterations to the distribution through the pattern, of course).



Sorry for so many pictures, she's my super-gorgeous little friend and I'm proud to show her off :-)