a beauty from warsaw

I've wanted to share images of this corset since I first saw it in storage at the Kent State University Museum.

KSUM 1983.1.1500 Three quarter front detail

I recently photographed it as part of the preparations for the upcoming Undress exhibit so I have a few nice pictures to post. Yea. The corset was made in Poland in the 1880s from two layers of silk. The exterior is black brocade and the interior is pale blue moire. If you look closely at the picture below you can see black thread is used for the warp and brown thread for the weft resulting in rich background that helps bring the solid black motifs into focus.

KSUM 1983.1.1500 Busk detail

The M Grochovska engraved on the busk loops is the maker's name, it's also woven on the label inside the corset. There is an image of the label and a bit more information about this corset on the museum's blog. But before you click over there let's take a closer look at the flossing.

KSUM 1983.1.1500 Three quarter detail

Wow. And the bow at the center front.

KSUM 1983.1.1500 Bow detail

Now that's a bow. There are two blue elastic suspenders to support stockings placed at the center front. They were my reference for attaching the garters on the 1911 corset I made. This corset is very shapely, but it isn't small. Laced closed on a form it measures bust 40 inches, waist 29 1/2, and hips 44.

KSUM 1983.1.1500 Three quarter front

So pretty! Don't you agree?

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!

better than black

After reading the comments to the last post I thought I had my mind made up, fuchsia flossing. Just to be certain I thought I'd test the three different fuchsias I had, along with black too. I did the sample, and when I went to put the non-chosen threads away I saw this.

Gold silk. Perfect with the gold busk and grommets. I embroidered a sample and it lit up against the pink. Hands down the winner.

What's the fairy tale where straw is spun into gold? I'm sure this is what that gold thread would have been like. Stitching with it is like working with slippery air. I'm using 8 threads through the needle to get a nice thread density, but I think its worth the hassle. I can't wait to see the corset finished!

flossing question

The second ribbon has been sewn along the busk.

They blend in nicely. I'm quite happy with this solution. Then the boning was slipped in.

I cut the bones to leave 1/4 inch at the top and bottom of each channel, but it's tighter than that. Here a pin marks the end of the boning.

Including seam allowances there are four layers of fabric at each end, but since it's just ribbon fused with batiste it's not that heavy. I feel like flossing is important to prevent poke through. I was going to go with the top design from this sampler.

But I'm thinking of changing the color to the same fuschia as the ribbon because the orange needs a bit more space visually. More than is on the sample. At least I think so. Your 2¢?

still flossing

Flossing is making this corset look surprisingly fancy.

I stitched several samples an decided this literal Eiffel Tower interpretation was too much.

Over the top, right? But I felt I needed something just a little over the top for a Gilded Age corset. I had a limited amount of embroidery floss so I worked out the design I used so I could get the most effect from the the minimum amount of thread. Here's the diagram.

Now all I need to do is add the ribbon for the laces!!!

flossing begins

Embroidering through multiple layers of coutil is more like repeated stabbing than stitching. It doesn't look too bad from about 4 or 5 feet away. Not perfect, but not terrible either. But it's moving along.

The tailor's shuriken has been vital in keeping the triangles a consistent width.

I ran the thread through beeswax and I haven't had a tangle up yet. Look at the difference between the two threads on the right, just separated from 6 strand embroidery floss, and the two on the left, which have pulled through beeswax.

I was concerned the wax would make the thread all gunky and it would dirty the fabric, but nope, it just smoothes it. Neat.

flossing

Flossing is the embroidery used to keep the bones snug in their channels, and also to keep them from poking through a channel. A knockout example is this corset at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Ignore that the corset is upside down, it's still beautiful.