taking the 1911 for a spin

I recently wore the 1911 corset. At the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. I did not dress like a mermaid though, maybe next year. My outfit was so normal that someone pointed at me while I was standing amidst fellow fellow parade goers riding the train to Coney Island and said, "You could wear that to work!" and except for the sailor hat they were right.

Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Just before this picture was snapped I thought about how I hand't had time to apply red nail polish so I turned my palms out and ended up with weird flipper hands. Brother.

I was surprised that such a long line corset was so wearable. I was concerned the long bones at the center back would get on my nerves, but they didn't. The best thing about this corset is that it doesn't scream corset. Since there is no exaggerated shape it doesn't call attention to itself, it just smoothes. It was 80 degrees, sunny, and humid, but I didn't feel hot and uncomfortable in the corset, though I do think the summer corset is cooler to wear in warm weather. It's been awhile since I've put a corset on and I forgot how when you take one off you still keep standing straight. I really need to do something about my slouching.

A quick word about the parade, if you have the opportunity to see it go! It is such a fun way to spend a day. So many crazy costumes and there is a pleasant, non-judgemental vibe. No one is going to tell you dupioni wasn't historically accurate or look down their nose if your trim is glued on instead of hand stitched. Everyone's costumes are appreciated. Even if it's just a sailor hat and striped shirt.

1911 - the corset on a form

Here is is, the 1911 corset, finished and on a form.

Yea! Thanks again to all of you who were along for the ride, whether you were sewing along with me or helping with suggestions. And thank you for your patience these last few weeks while I was unexpectedly away. It's nice to be back and I hope to maintain the momentum I gathered during the sew along. I'm so glad we did it! Now for more of the corset.

I realized while dressing the form that I hadn't made a bow for the center front, and I still think it can use one, but I was not going to hold off taking pictures for that. I'm very happy with the shape. I hope it looks as nice on me as it does on the form. I love the Liberty print. Love it. I also am glad I chose to add that small edge of lace beneath the trim on the top edge. It's just enough to set off the top against the black and white flowers. Let's take a look from another angle.

Not bad. You can see the start of an inflatable form blow out here, please ignore the stuffing that is falling out at the center back. That's not pretty. Look instead at the pleasing curves and long lines. Here's the view from the back.

The form is askew because as I pushed the stuffing up under the corset it started tipping off the support pole. It fell off after I snapped this and was so deflated I couldn't continue using it. I got more use out of that blow up form that expected, I guess it's time to find a real one now. But the corset looks alright. You can see the flossing arrows aim toward the center waistline on both the back and the front. The flossing on the single 1/2 inch bone is where the direction changes.

All in all, a nice corset. When I get a chance to throw it on I'll post more pictures. As always, the list of statistics.

approximately 1 yard fabric - Liberty of London cotton scarf flatlined with white cotton shirting

1- 10 inch busk

8 - 9 inch ¼ inch wide flat steel bones

8 - 16 ½ long inch ¼ inch wide flat steel bones

2 -10 inch long ½ inch wide flat steel bones

1 yard – lace

1 yard twill tape for waist stay

10 yards - 2 inch wide bias to trim top & bottom edges, bone casings & garter covering

5 yards - 3/4 inch wide bone casing

1½ yard - elastic for garters

6 garter slides and grips

40 - size double zero grommets

7 yards - double face satin ribbon or cord for lacing

1 - spool thread

number of seams picked out - 1

the new corset, short above the waist

This dress is described as an "odd gown" in a March 16, 1912 article about what the best dressed women are going to wear.

I don't think it looks any more or less odd than any of the other dresses pictured in the the Ogden, Utah Evening Standard. It definitely would be odd if worn with a turn-of-the-century S bend corset instead of "the new corset, short above the waist, and with it's accompanying brassier." I think any of the Henderson's corsets shown in this ad found in the North Platte Semi-Weekly Tribune ad qualify as "the new corset."

I've been looking for an ad with a corset cut just like Norah Waugh's 1911 patter and haven't found one. The second one in the top row comes close, but without gores. The corset on the top right looks like the post Edwardian pattern used for the sew along. Are there still stragglers out there finishing up sew along corsets? I'll be posting photos of my 1911 corset next week, if you aren't quite done you've got the weekend to finish those last details. Just keep sewing. Don't forget to share your images on the flickr page. It is so exciting seeing the finished pieces! They are looking great, you are so talented!

a completely different 1911 corset

I've been called from my desk/sewing machine and will be out of town for the next week or two. I won't be able to post any images of the 1911 corset until I return. I will have sporadic corset related posts though, starting with this patent of a completely different 1911 corset.

The back adjustment system is something I plan on trying. It will be a few corsets down the road, but there is a Corset and Crinolines pattern I have in mind for testing it out. I will not be bathing in the corset though.

For those working on sew along corsets, keep sewing, keep posting images on the flickr page. Even though I won't be adding updates about my corset for a bit I'll still a click or two away to answer any questions that come up as you are constructing your corsets.

1911 - flossing front and back

The flossing is done, which means the corset is done. Yea. Today I have some up close flossing pictures to share with you. Flossing seen from the front of the corset,

and from inside.

The stitches were done according to my diagram, the only difference is I did round the bottom edge instead of stitching straight across. I tell myself the irregularity of stitches from the interior lets you know a human made this corset, not a machine. I like the arrows to point toward the waist, leading the eye up and toward the center of the body rather than directing it outward.

Flossing is a hand killer, kudos to all of you who added it to your sew along corsets. Did you embroider with a hot water bottle nearby to rest your weary hand on like I did?

1911 - this end up

I decided to let a small edge of lace peek out under the bias trim at the top of the corset. Just enough to tell me "this end up."

Of course the garters already say, "this end down," but you get the idea. I'm still ambivalent about the trim on top but I think most of my problem is the shine. I wanted the garters to be satin and I wanted the rest of the trim to match so shine I got. Anyway, best to quit second guessing and just keep sewing. Tomorrow I'll show the flossing from the front and the back and I'll take photos of the finished corset this weekend.

Those of you sewing along who stuck to the schedule are amazing. I am impressed. And those of you who a running a bit behind, like me, just keep sewing. Anybody else finishing up the last steps?

if I were making a 1911 dress

It would be this.

© Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number WW.523

This illustration was made by Mela Koehler, if you would like to see more of her work click here. I believe the fabric used for the dress was designed by Koloman Moser. Evening gowns are pretty, but the simple lines and bold prints of the Weiner Werkstätte trump lace and beads for me. Is anyone going to be wearing their sew along corset under a simple day dress? With or with out a giant hat like the one shown here?

1911 - all the steps in one place

Thank you everyone who participated in the 1911 corset sew along! I couldn't have done this without you! Your input not only helped me with my own design questions, but more importantly served as a guide for instructions needed and also forced me to be organized. I'm still putting the final touches on my corset and will have photos soon. Yea! I thought I'd put links to all the steps in one place for future corset sewing.

supplies needed

pattern

scaling up the pattern

sizing the pattern to fit your measurements, more here and also here too

notches

adding length if needed

marking bone placement 
stay stitched seam construction

flat felled seam construction

sewing gores for the Norah Waugh's 1911 pattern

fitting

transferring fit alterations to the pattern

patterning front facing

patterning back facing

adding waist tape

making bias tape

making bone casings

attaching bone casings
sewing the back facing

busk, loop and stud sides

finishing hem

covering and assembling garters

attaching garters

lacing

flossing

Here is a link to the flickr 1911 corset sew along group page where you can see images of the corsets in progress and finished work. Well done sewers along! I hope you've had as much fun making your corsets as I have!

1911 - lacing, and perfectionism rears its ugly head

I can not tell a lie. My corset is not finished. I know! I should be done, right? I'll go into the lame explanation as to why it's not done in a moment, but first I should go over how I'm lacing this corset for those who have stayed on schedule.

Before I start threading the lace through the grommets is tie a small slip knot in the center on the lace. That way I can't accidentally pull the laces through with one side way longer than the other. Once the corset is laced I just undo the knot. Easy. I bring the lace through from back to front, or from the interior to the exterior, of the corset.

When I reach the waist I skip one grommet.

The loop is made by threading the lace on the open grommet above on the same side, then crossing to the grommet below the threaded one on the opposite side.

The loop on the other side is made the same way.

Then I continue lacing back and forth to the bottom of the corset.

The ends are tied together in a bow. Making the loops at the waist with the extra cross keeps them from slipping when you are putting the corset on. The extra cross isn't necessary, it just helps.

So now on to why my corset isn't finished. I'm still having issues with the top edge. I bought lace and ribbon and spent Saturday morning dying both. The lace was originally so white it glared against the fabric, and of corse there was no ribbon to be found that was the same color as the garters and trim on the bottom. So I bound the edge with black bias and pinned the lace in place. Maybe, OK, obviously, I'm over thinking it, but the lace isn't quite right. It's too sugary for my taste.

You can see I pinned ribbon over to get an idea of what it would look like if I bound the edge with aqua bias and left just some of the lace showing. But I'm still not sold. It competes too much with the print of the fabric. Here it is with only plain ribbon to mimic the aqua bias.

That is my favorite. Of course by time I finally arrived at this point the Oscars were ready to air and I had to watch. But I've made the correct decision, right?

1911 - flossing diagram

Before I dash off to purchase better thread for flossing I thought I'd share the stitching diagram.

The needle comes out from the interior to the exterior of the corset on hole number 1, and goes back in on hole 2, out at 3, in at 4, and so on. Stitching in this order allows the thread to show on the front of the corset, but only small stitches will be visible on the interior of the corset. I may round the bottom of the arrows instead of keeping the straight line, and I may need eight stitches across instead of seven, but you get the idea.

Week eight of the sew along is done! I'll finish the flossing this weekend and lace the corset on Monday. Sew along participants who feel like they are off schedule can catch up this weekend too, and please do share images of your finished work on flickr group page. It is so exciting watching the progress of everyone's corsets, I can't wait to see more as they are completed!

1911 - functional and decorative

Flossing not only keeps the boning snug in it's channel, it's pretty too. Yea. By the nineteen teens the era of elaborate flossing had waned, but that's no reason you can't go crazy and add ornate embroidery to your sew along corset. Just grab and embroidery needle and thread. The thread can be silk, or a few strands of embroidery floss, or button hole twist like I used on the black sample below.

The aqau is the same thread I used to sew the bias trim and garters and it's a bit spindly, but good enough for a color test. Let's get a better idea of how it would look on the corset.

Aqua, right? The black creates a triangular hole on the corset and is also too geometric against the organic print. The aqua is airier and picks up the color of the bias but doesn't compete with the flower on the print. Who's with me? Aqua!

1911 - garter placement

Thanks so much for the input regarding the trim on the top edge of my corset. It's going. And I'll definitely add a bow. Or two. While I rework the trim I thought I'd show where the garters are placed. The placement is marked on the post Edwardian pattern, but not on the Corsets and Crinolines one.

Three garters on each side, the first is right at the center front, the second is at the side, and the third lines up with the bone casing on the last panel. Of course one could add more, or less, and you don't really need to mark them on the pattern, but once you do you don't ever have to think about it again.

Flossing tomorrow!

1911 - trim crisis

I think I've gone too far. Or not far enough. I don't know. Here's the top edge of my corset.

The trim is wide, 3 inches, and it eats up a lot of space. I fear I've visually chopped the the top off and when I wear it will look like a high waisted mini skirt. I only sewed on one half and I'm debating removing it and replacing it with the same aqua bias trim used for the bottom edge. Or maybe I should just push it further and add something more, like a bow.

© Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1976.174.4

© Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number C.140.141.3a,b

© Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1981.518.9

Those bows looks like fireworks, or a chrysanthemum, or a cherry blossom. I don't normally put bows on the corsets, they just seem like something that will either break a smooth line, or get crushed, or both. But this corset feels like a folly with the bold black and white pattern and cheerful blue trim. The wide pleated eyelet at the top is already a little more than was needed, why not go all the way and add something purely decorative? I leave it to you, readers. Take the trim off and replace it with the blue bias, or add a giant bow? What do you think?

1911 - finishing the top edge

The final week of the sew along is here! Just a bit of finishing and the corsets will be done and ready to wear. What point are fellow sew along participants at in the process? The first finished corset has been posted on the group flickr page and it's lovely, I can't wait to see more! I need to get to work so I can add mine to the bunch!

The trim on the top edge of the corset serves the same purpose as the trim on the bottom, but it can be fancier if you like. I decided to use an inexpensive, machine made, broderie anglaise. It is applied similarly to the bias used for the bottom edge, stitched on then folded over, except it is stitched to the interior of the corset,

and flipped over to the front.

The longer trim has to be gathered and distributed so it flows nicely across the corset.

Then it can stitched in place by hand. Mine is not yet stitched in place. I think we all know what I'll be doing on my lunch break today.

concerning cheese

Isn't that the best headline ever? I read it while doing research in the February 18, 1912 edition of The Washington Herald for what was supposed to be tomorrow's post.

Two misses wearing simple 1912 workday attire, enjoying a tasty meal of cheese fondue. If you read Marion Harland's column you'll find a couple recipes for Welsh Rabbit Without Beer, which must be the saddest rarebit of them all. Concerning Cheese was just a page or two after the latest Paris Fashions.

The materials in two of the dresses are described as " Salmon Pink Liberty," and "Blue Liberty Satin." I believe that is Liberty as in Liberty of London. I want an excuse to wear the evening wrap shown in the center. Too bad I won't be performing any arias on stage soon.

So why cheese and gowns? I'm still attaching garters and haven't started adding the trim to the top edge yet. Yikes. For any of you who are a bit off the sew along schedule don't fret, just keep sewing. I'm still sewing right along with you! Next week we'll finish the last details on the corsets, including trimming the top edge. Almost done!

1911 - attaching garters

Pretty covered garters don't just attach themselves to corsets. I wish they did. It's always possible to just place them against the corset and sew across with a machine, but I didn't want that extra line of stitches on the trim. I know, I'm crazy, there is nothing wrong with a neat little line of functional stitches. Still, I researched other solutions, and stumbled across this.

Kent State University Museum, accession number 1983.1.1500

Ah ha! The stitching is invisible from the front, and if the elastic stretches out, or a grip breaks, the garters are easily removable. Perfect. I folded the raw edge under and pinned the garter to the interior of the corset, making sure the adjustable clip and grip faced in the right direction.

Then I hand stitched across in one direction,

and went back in the other.

There were a lot of layers to push the needle and thread through, it helped to push it first through the corset and trim, then through the garter. When the garter was secure I tied the thread off. Here it is from the back.

And from the front.

If you are participating in the sew along you may want to attach garters after the top edge has been finished just so they aren't flopping around and clattering while the trim on top is being sewn. I would have done it that way had I decided how to trim the top, but there are so many possibilities to choose from. Same thin aqua binding as the bottom edge, or a wider satin trim? Lace? Lace beaded with aqua ribbon? Too many options!

1911 - garter building

Garters make a corset more fun. I've decided to make the garters on this corset extra festive and cover them with aqua satin to match the bias trim. Covering the elastic is the same process no matter what width of garter hardware you are working with, you just make a tube of fabric that's cut longer than the elastic and slip the elastic inside. For these garters the covering is 11 inches long and the elastic is 7 inches, so it ruffles up but is not too bulky.

I often use bias trim to cover garters, just lay two 2 inch wide pieces together and stitch the length on both sides. The example is on the left in the photo below. For this corset I'm using pre-made satin binding because it was the only thing in all of JoAnn Fabrics that was the right shade of blue. It's silly to cut it the binding half and sew seams on both sides, so the satin is folded in half with a seam on one side. The example is in the center below. The end result for either technique is the same, a tube as wide as the garter hardware.

Of course the seam allowance should be pressed open. I have a wooden spoon that is only used to press seam allowances on tubes of fabric. It's the perfect tool for the job.

Trim the seam allowance to 1/8 inch and pull the tube right side out. Depending on how slippery your fabric is this may involve some swearing. Then press again. The elastic doesn't need to be as wide as the fabric covering it. I'm using 1 inch wide elastic and the fabric tube cover is 1 1/2 inches wide, so I sewed 1/4 inch from each side leaving just enough space for the elastic in the center. Pull the elastic through the tube and sew together at one end.

Bunch the covering up and trim the elastic to 7 inches. Don't cut a 7 inch piece of elastic first then slide it into the covering. Fishing out the short end is tedious. I know because I've done it. After you've trimmed the elastic secure it to the fabric at the other end.

Here's the covered elastic next to the tool used to pull it through, and also used for turning fabric tubes right side out. It makes those tasks much quicker than pushing things with a pencil or grasping with pliers.

The steps for assembling the garter hardware to the elastic are here. I couldn't write them any better a second time. Below is a partially constructed garter and a finished one.

How many of you sewing along are covering your garters?

1911 - inserting boning and disaster averted

Look at this.

A pin! Sewn into the corset! Argh! I discovered it when the 1/2 inch bone came to an abrupt halt as I inserted it in the channel. Fortunately I was able to wiggle it free and inch it up the channel. Whew. Learn a lesson from me and be on the look out for rogue pins.

Time to insert boning. Here are mine ready to be slipped in place.

For the Corsets and Crinolines pattern, working from the busk to the lacing, you'll insert two 1/4 inch wide, 9 inch long bones in the first casing. Two 1/4 inch wide, 9 inch long bones also go in the second casing. One 1/2 inch wide, 10 inch long bone goes into the third casing. The 1/4 wide, 16 1/2 inch long bones will go into the fourth casing and on either side of the eyelets.

If you are working with the post Edwardian pattern you'll insert two 1/4 inch wide, 9 inch long bones in the first, second, and third casings. Then one 1/2 inch wide, 10 inch long bone goes into the fourth casing. The 1/4 inch wide, 16 1/2 inch long bones will go into the fifth casing and on either side of the eyelets.

Tomorrow we finish the top edge. Is anyone else excited? The corsets are almost finished!

1911 - finishing bottom edge

Wow. Week seven of the sew along. Just a bit of finishing and our corsets will be complete, right on schedule. Yea. Today we'll finalize the shaping of the top and bottom edges, and sew the trim to the bottom. Thanks for the input regarding trim colors for my corset. I decided to go with the aqua. The red did seem more predictable, and I've already gone crazy with the Liberty print, why get predictable now? So, let's not dilly dally, to the sewing machine!

Throw some laces through those newly set grommets and try the corset on. If you want to change the shape of the top or bottom edges neatly draw the desired line with chalk, or you can use artist's tape, to mark the top and bottom edges. Once you've determined the shape cut the excess off. To make certain both halves are the same I cut one side, lay it on top of the other, face to face, mark the other side, then cut.

Then finish the bottom of the corset by placing 2 inch wide bias trim next to the edge, face to face, and stitch the trim anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the edge. I sewed mine 3/8 of an inch from the edge.

Fold the bias over the allowance and press.

Wrap the bias trim over the edge of the corset, folding the raw edge of the trim under.

Sew 1/16 from the original seam.

Here is the trim from the exterior of the corset, and the interior.

The ends can either be tucked in, or just cut off. Leaving them raw is perfectly period! Here are the edges on the original post Edwardian I used to make the pattern.

It took a lot of wear to fray the raw edge to that point. Will your corset get that much wear? If not and you don't feel like fiddling with folding trim go ahead and cut it off. I'm think of living dangerously myself and not tucking the ends when I sew the trim on top. Tomorrow we'll insert the boning!