corselet casings

The boning across the belly will be contained in pre-made bone casing tape. The tape is available by the yard in different widths and in black or white. I'm using 1/2 inch wide black tape.

I basted each casing in place, folding the open end under at one end, but leaving the other open so I can slide the boning in. Then I laid artist's tape across the front as a guide for stitching. Even though I used low tack tape I did not want the adhesive pulling the brocade so I stuck it to my jeans a few times before putting on the corselet. 

Since the basting was at the top of the casing I sewed the across the bottom of the casing first. I don't know if It would have made a difference either had I sewed across the top first. Probably not. After the first line of stitching was done I sewed the second right on the basting stitches.

The first casing from the front.

And from the back.

Now the question, flat or spiral boning?

me too che

A week away from the machine. Yikes. 

How did that happen?  

foundations revealed

The February issue of Foundations Revealed has published an interview with me! Neat. If you are a subscriber you can learn a bit more about the Bridges on the Body project and see some new images of the corsets I've made. If you are not a subscriber the site is still worth visiting for the free articles, including a couple on how to draft a corset to custom measurements. If you enjoy studying historical undergarments it's worth checking out. 

valentine's sachet

Something to do with fabric scraps and lavender.

Happy Valentine's Day!

hook & eye tape - eye side

Just like I did for the hooks, I lined the eyes along the basted line.

And pinned the tape in place, this time eyes to the face of the fabric.

I sewed just 1/8 inch from the edge because I hadn't planned ahead enough while patterning to allow extra fabric to cover the hooks. Novice pattern maker. 

That's so close, ironing the teeny tiny allowance brought home why seams are sewn with allowance, then trimmed. After pressing and folding everything in place, I basted so I wouldn't have to deal with any more pins while sewing. I sewed once, a bit over 1/4 inch from the edge to secure the eyes.

And once more to secure the edge of the tape.

From the reverse.

And hooked together.

I can not explain how happy I was when the hooks were covered. Now on to the boning and then the shoulder straps. I've hit the light at the end of the tunnel phase!