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 official summer corset photograph

Finally, a really nice image of the late 188o's summer corset.

The details come through really well in this shot. If you know where to look you can just make out where the major cleaning was needed. But don't look that hard.

the official 1780 stays photograph

While I sort out the elastic issues for the corselet I thought I'd use the time to take better pictures of the garments I've made. Here is a much (much!) better photograph of Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines 1780 stays. 

Even I can find nothing to complain about. 

fuchsia ribbon corset on a body

I'm always saying the most recent corset I finish is my favorite, but it's only because it's true.

Maybe it's because I can see what I've learned, or because my skills are improving, or because I feel the fit is better each time. But really, this is my new favorite. Normally I rip into whatever I've just made with criticisms, but I'm pretty happy with this one. It's as close to perfect as I've hit yet. I'll admit, I was worried about putting it on. The ribbons were so light and floppy I was concerned they'd be loose and uneven when it was on. But nope. It fit just like it was supposed to. And I love the gold flossing. It's just the right amount of color. OK, I'll quit crowing and get on to a view of the back.

I wasn't aware I'd laced slightly unevenly until I saw the pictures. No matter. When compared to the first version of the 1904 pattern the differences are clear. Steel along the grommets instead of plastic kept the center back edges straighter, and 10 grommets to a side instead of 8 looks nicer, as does the thinner ribbon. Steel boning at the sides instead of plastic makes a small difference in the curve at the waist. That may change if I wear this more and the steels become more broken into my shape. We'll see. I would not lace this corset any tighter though. It felt about right here, and aside from additional stress on the petersham ribbon, I think lacing tighter would start to look weird and too pinched at the waist. Already the ribbon takes the shape of my body way more than a corset of heavier fabric and more boning. Look how it curves around my ribs and over my belly in the top picture. That's probably exactly why it was something more comfortable to wear at night.

This small project for the road turned into a almost two month diversion from the main project. I promise the 1904 pattern will be the only one I make twice. Now back to the 1925 corselet!

ribbon corset done

It's finished!

I was having problems with the light so the above image is soft. Here's one with a bit more detail.

And here is a close up of the flossing. The top row is the interior of the corset, the bottom the exterior.

I have gold ribbon for the lacing and will snap a picture of it on as soon as possible. Until then, the statistics.

7 yards - rayon 1 1/2 inch wide petersham ribbon

5 yards - 1/4 inch wide double face satin ribbon

1/4 yard - cotton batiste (fusible)

1 spool - cotton thread

1 spool - silk thread

20 - double zero brass grommets

1 - 11 inch gold busk (trimmed to 7 3/4 inches)

84 inches - steel boning

number of seams picked out - zero     That's right, zero!

1780 stays properly laced

Here they are! 

Look at how the neckline becomes square when the stays are properly laced. Neat. The shoulder straps stayed in place, though they meet the back of the stays at an awkward angle.

The center back edges are pretty parallel, which makes me happy. The back armscye is a bit snug, which does not. The top back edge could have been a bit lower, and the shoulder straps a bit shorter. But now I have something more accurate to go on for the next pair of stays, rather than just guessing by flopping the straps back and looking over my shoulder in a mirror. Here's a view from the side.

Not bad. 

For the record, I felt very secure in these stays. I wore them for about 7 hours, and other than my ribs becoming sore at my back near the end of that time, there were no problems. I couldn't lift my arms, but way-back-when a lady wearing stays like this would have had servants doing the lifting for her. And I could not take a deep breath, there will be no desert hikes in these stays. To roughly approximate (very roughly) the late 18th century silhouette I wore the stays over a wide-hipped dress, and under that I wore a 1950's crinoline. Not a square dance shaped one, but a long Dior-esque one that's flatter across the front, with the fullness on the sides. A friend laced me in, we took these pictures, then went to lunch. So I wouldn't be a spectacle, I tossed an embroidered tank top on over the stays. As we were walking home a man stepped out of a thrift store, pointed at me, and said, "Eighteenth century! European!"  so I guess the rough approximation worked. 

1780 stays done!

The last stitch was taken and knotted at 6 pm yesterday evening. 

And here they are from the inside.

I thought I shaped the seam allowances so all the ends would have been tucked under the binding, like they are along the top edge, but clearly I wasn't as precise as I should have been. But I do like the converging stitch lines on the center panel. I'll lace it up an photograph it on this weekend. In the meantime, the statistics. 

2/3 yard - cotton Toile

2/3 yard - lightweight denim

2/3 yard - cotton batiste

3 1/2 spools - thread

32 - 3/16" grommets

15 2/3 yards - 2.5mm basket reed

10 2/3 yards - 1" bias trim

7 yards - 1/4" cotton satin ribbon

number of seams picked out - 6

late 1880's summer corset on

It's on! And thanks for all the encouraging words and suggestions while I was working on this. 

I don't think a summer corset would ever be worn over black, but I wanted the see-throughness to show. This corset does create a long silhouette. I ended up with a very straight front, it doesn't scoop in at the waist and cup over the belly like I had expected. Maybe it would have had I used a 13" busk instead of a 12"? Or maybe that will happen if I lace all the way closed? I am impressed with the cane. This corset is very lightweight but gets the job done.

I took 3/4 inch off the bottom center front of the original pattern and blended it into the side at the hip resulting in a softer curve along the bottom front. I could have taken that 3/4 inch off all the way around and kept the nicer curve. The drop at the center front on top could have been a tad less, and the straight edge I patterned appears scooped when worn. I am so glad I raised the bust and added an extra 3/4 inch at the top edge. If I hadn't I'd be overflowing, and that's not pretty. But that wrinkling above the cording bugs me. I like the more angled look of the cording, and it does add support. I imagine if I had made it more horizontal as originally patterned I would have a slightly wider bustline. 

As it's laced here the corseted waist measures the same as my natural waist, no reduction, just reshaping. I love the back top edge, and think the flossing looks nice. There are a few bones that go right to the binding and I could floss right through the cane. Neat. All thread used for the flossing on the bone casings was waxed and ironed. Ironing made it even smoother than before and it looked like high-end dental floss. Learn a lesson from me though, do not experiment with leftover thread to see if it works like dental floss. It does, until you hit molars, then it breaks and you will have to find a pair of tweezers to pull the thread from between those back teeth.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the way this corset turned out. I like the colors and the contrasting thread and I'm pleased with the quality of construction. If I sew this pattern again the big change I'd make would be to take another inch off the waist. Lots of things learned, lots of things to apply to future corsets. 

Next up: 1780 stays

1880's done

Yea! 

And with the laces.

I'm hoping once on the body some of those wrinkles will disappear. Keep your fingers crossed. In the meantime, here are the stats.

approximately 1 square yard cotton adia cloth

3/4 yard - cotton coutil

6 yards - 1cm double faced satin ribbon

1/3 yard - 6mm double faced satin ribbon

2/3 yard - 3/4" petersham ribbon

3 yards - cotton string

1 1/2 skeins - cotton embroidery floss

3 - spools thread

1 - 12" spoon busk

34 - double zero grommets

2 - eyelets

8 yards - 8mm chair cane

54 inches - 6mm flat steel boning

number of seams picked out - 52

1904 done

Here it is.

And from the back.

These pictures are not the greatest, taken in a mirror, but I couldn't wait to have someone else at the shutter. All in all, not bad. There are several things I'd do differently if I were to build this corset again. I can not stand the stitching across the top and bottom of the busk and lacing strips. I'd sew them by hand to give a nicer finish. I'd use metal boning by the laces and use a smaller size grommet. These look just a little large in proportion to the rest of the garment. But I'm happy with the fit and with the changes I made from the mock-up. I would sew this pattern again. I'd love to try it with real ribbons or with by fusing satin to batiste to see how it works when lighter. Even though there are not a lot of bones in this corset the coutil makes it very solid. If one were to wear a corset while playing tennis or bicycling I believe this would be the style to wear. In fact, I'll take it for a spin on my bicycle and report how it functions.

Here are the statistics.

3 yards - 4" double face satin ribbon

4 yards - 3/8" double face satin ribbon

1 - 8" busk

2 - spools thread

coutil scraps

16 - double zero grommets

not even 2 yards (58") 7mm plastic boning

number of seams picked out - 10