1911 - a Warner's 1912-14 corset up close

One of the benefits to working in a museum is the opportunity to see the objects up close. I was given permission to snap a couple pictures of one and share them here.

Kent State University Museum, accession number 1983.3.117

A Warner's corset from 1912-14. Even though there are no extras, like flossing or lace, it shows how simple does not mean boring. Here is a closer look.

The black satin is so sleek. Let's take a quick peek at the interior.

The black silk was fused with white cotton and sewn as a single layer. If you look closely you'll see the cotton is not a herringbone coutil, it's a plain weave. The bone casings are made with cotton twill tape. There is no waist stay on this corset. Norah Waugh indicated a stay on the 1911 Corsets and Crinolines pattern so I'll be including one on mine, but if you decide not to sew one it's still period correct.

This Warner's ad, found in the March 28, 1912 edition of the Jasper News, features a corset with the same cut.

Good luck to everyone who entered in the 500 follower celebration giveaway! Entries are now closed. The winner will be announced tomorrow. I've enjoyed reading all your comments and am thrilled to see you many of you are participating in the sew along!

1911 - prep & errata

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway, you have until 11:59 pm EST tonight. The winner of the fabric and the tailor's shuriken will be announced Friday!

© Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession number 2005.100.511)

The shop window above was photographed by Eugene Atget in 1912 and you can see there are still plenty of curves in those corsets. I've had several questions about fitting this corset to curvy figures, the 1911 Corset and Crinolines pattern gives us 6 seams to make adjustments to, and the post edwardian I drafted has 5, so I'm confident we'll be able to accommodate curves.

With less than two weeks before the sew along officially kicks off, it's the time to make sure our tools are in order so we can stay on schedule. If you don't have already have a hip curve you may want to consider buying one. They make drafting so much easier.

Is your iron clean so when you press you don't create stains on your carefully sewn piece? How about new needles? I always start each corset with a fresh needle in the machine, it makes a difference! Is your seam ripper ready? Let's hope we don't need to pick out too many seams on the finished corsets, but we definitely will need one during fitting. If you're planning on adding flossing do you have embroidery needles? When I trace patterns onto coutil I use a pencil, but with other fabrics chalk is needed, got chalk? How about a tailor's ham? I don't know how one can sew without a tailor's ham. Anything else you can think of? Please share it in the comments so we're all prepared. Thanks!

I want to make a couple of corrections to the supply list. The first, I specified 1 inch wide bone casing but that width is not commercially available. No problem, use 3/4 inch wide casing. The casings will hold either a single 1/2 inch bone, or two 1/4 inch bones, 3/4 inch wide casing will do this. I said 1 inch because I made my own and that was how wide they were. The second, I said 1 inch wide elastic for the garters, but contemporary garter findings are not that wide. Use elastic that fits your grips, we'll cover them with wider ribbon to give the proper period look. And finally, I said 1 yard of fabric but am giving away 1/2 yard of fabric for the thank you give away. If a half yard is enough to make a corset why did I say 1 yard was needed? The ticking I used for the post edwardian was 33 inches wide, which meant a full yard was required for the corset. If you are using 54 inch wide fabric a half yard will do, depending on your size. Thanks for bringing these issues to my attention, I've updated the list. If you catch anything else let me know!

1911 - fabric choices

It has been so much fun reading your comments in yesterday's giveaway post. So many fun projects, you guys are inspiring! For those who haven't yet entered you have until Wednesday, here's the post.

So then, 1911 fabric. I originally planned to make this corset from striped ticking. I used the ticking I had in the stash for the post edwardian, so now what do I do? I could buy a red or black stripe ticking, but I'd be basically sewing the same corset twice. Don't let that stop you fellow sew alongers from using ticking though. I found it very easy to work with and the stripes suited the long cut of the corset. Plus, stripes show up regularly in period advertisements. Here's one from Dessous Elégants, 1912.

The blue brocade coutil that I'll be sending someone for the giveaway has been in my stash for years. I'll still have enough to make a corset, and I haven't used a brocade coutil yet, so I may cut into it. There are some beautiful brocade corsets out there, like this one from 1912 found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

© Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession number C.I.38.71.5a,b)

Who says beige is boring, right? The old post edwardian corset I bought and used to make the pattern for the Foundations Revealed article is made from plain, cotton, drill. Here's a detail of the fabric with the trim along the top edge.

Just a good, sturdy, tightly woven twill. It clearly got the job done. I've seen beautiful examples made with black, cotton backed satin. The satin was so smooth and the plain weave cotton backing kept it from stretching, yet together they were still very light weight. So flatlining is an option too. I also have plain white coutil that I could dye. I don't have much experience dying fabric, but that shouldn't stop me.

What about you? Have you already chosen your fabric? Do you already have something fabulous in your stash that will be perfect? Are you like me and hoping to try something new? If your planning on coutil take advantage of the specials offers from King & Co. Corsetry and Sew Curvy! Julia at Sew Curvey has even put together a 1911 sew along kit! £29.99 for everything you need in one fell swoop. And that's before the discount!

500 followers!

Time to celebrate! To thank all of you for following my corseting adventure I have giveaway.

Coutil! Brocade coutil at that. The lucky winner will receive 1/2 yard of 54 inch wide brocade coutil. It's a cotton/viscose blend, subdued cornflower blue with darker shiny blue bells. Perfect if you're participating in the 1911 sew along. But wait, there's more!

A tailor's shuriken! Have I mentioned how handy this tool is? Now one can be yours.

You must be a follower of this blog to enter the giveaway. It's your comments, questions, advice, and encouragement that help keep this project going and I want to thank you. If you regularly check in but are not yet an official follower now is the time to join! Then, simply leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, December 21, 11:59 PM EST. Tell me about your next planned foundation garment or costume project, or just say hello. Either way I look forward to reading your comments. I'll announce the winner Friday, December 23.

If you are lucky winner you must send me your mailing address within three days, otherwise another winner will be chosen. I want to send the coutil and shuriken off quickly in case it is destined to be a 1911 corset! And I'll ship anywhere in the world.

Thank you for reading!

1911 corset sew along - schedule

The sew along is set up over the course of 7 weeks, with one extra week to add embellishments if desired. I want to make sure I have enough time to properly detail each step, and that everyone participating has enough to to complete it before the next one is posted. Plus there is time to catch up over the weekend if the week becomes hectic. What do you think? Does this look like a good pace?