Victorian Corset

My latest projects are: curtains for my house, a cross-stitched creeper, scrap books of my cousin's wedding for the bride and the mother of the bride, and my favorite: an authentic Victorian corset.

I have been dreaming about making one for a few years.  You need lots of special equipment to make one: a good pattern, some special fabrics, steel boning, grommets and grommet setter, lacings, seam binding, and twill tape to do it right.  I spent some time mulling it over and doing my research.  I bought a pattern about 2 years ago:

 

It is from Laughing Moon Mercantile, I bought it on http://corsetmaking.com/, but I think you can order it direct.  It has patterns for two different corset styles (the Dore and the Silverado), pantaloons, and a chemise and it comes with every size in one envelope.  The instructions are very detailed and the materials list is very thorough.  I couldn't decide which style of corset to make, so I made muslins of both corsets and had my husband help me pin them on. 

 

Dore

Silverado

 

WARNING! Don't ever ask your husband to help you fit sewing projects on yourself unless you have no other choice.  If your husband is anything like mine, he will first whine for half an hour about how he might poke you, trying to get out of it, then be so timid and full of doubt about what you are making him do that you have to talk him into each step against his will.  Seriously, it is like pulling teeth. When you finally get it pinned on do not ask him what he thinks.  He won't know what to say, trust me.  He didn't poke me, though.  That is something.  I didn't really like how the bust gores turned out the the Silverado.  I needed to either take in the top of the bodice pieces all around or choose smaller gores.  I tried it with the A cup gores, and it fit better but the overall look was too strait and flat.  I think I will start with the Dore style.  It has fewer pieces and the shape is really nice and curvy, a classic Victorian era hourglass shape.  My muslin seemed a tiny bit on the small side (it is supposed to be about 2 inches apart in the back), but since I do want to tight lace it and I do plan on losing my winter chubs come spring, I think I will just go with it. The length of the muslin was perfect so the boning that comes with the kit that they sell on corsetmaking.com would have worked, but after reading the instructions in the envelope I decided to order straight steel for the straight boning channels and spring steel for the more curved channels.  The kit comes with all spring steel bones. I had ordered a yard of white coutil and a couple yards of the lining fabric along with my pattern so I can get sewing while I wait for my bones, twill tape, bias tape and lacings to arrive.

 

The first steps after making and fitting your muslin are to put the busk and grommets in. You have to sew the fabric and lining together at the front and back seams first then get right into the muscle work.

 

 

The busk was a bit challenging from a sewing perspective,  You have to sew the front seam leaving openings properly spaced for the busk loops to poke through and back stitch for strength.  It was nerve racking, but I got it without having to rip more than a few stitches. Then you have to use an awl to poke the holes through the coutil for the pegs of the other half of the busk. I was worried when I saw that some threads appeared to be breaking. I tried to be so careful. Now that it is done I think it is fine. I had to borrow my daughters sewing machine to use her zipper foot on the backsides of the busk halves.

 

The instructions say to start the grommets one inch from the top edge and space them every 3/4 inch until 1 1/2 inches from the bottom. It took 32 grommets to finish mine.  The instructions say to practice setting a few grommets to get the hang of it, so I did.  It isn't too tough.  The hardest part is making the hole with the awl.  You have to try to work it in gently and strait.  If you stretch the fabric in one direction more than another you can end up with off-center grommets.  There are so many and they are so close together that you can't really notice it.  When the lacing is there, I think it will be even harder to notice.  They are all set well and will be strong enough to lace even my muffin top into submission.

 

Here are the awl, and grommet setting tools. The flash went off.  My craft room is light challenged when the sun is not sunny. (pardon the Cat in the Hat reference)

 

Here is the rubber mallet.  Take it from me, rubber mallets can hurt.  I got a nice little bruise on my index finger of my left hand after I hit it a couple times.

 

The next step was to sew the rest of the coutil fabric panels in place and do a fitting check.  Yay.

 

 

Here are the two halves all sewn together. I inserted bones into the straight channels around the grommets and laced up the back.  Another WARNING: if you can get someone to help you with this it will be much easier.  I did it by myself.  Given my earlier warning, I didn't want to wait until my husband got home.  My daughter doesn't like to see me in my underwear, or help me dress so I didn't wait till she got home either.  I laced the back lacing very loosely, as loose as it would go with the ends tied.  Then I wrapped it around and did up the busk in the front.  This was pretty difficult, but I finally managed.  Then I pulled on the lacing loops left in the center waist and tightened it.  It tightened right up.  the fact that there was no boning allowed it to pucker at the waist a bit, but otherwise it looked really cool.  No alterations necessary, Yay!  No pictures, sorry.  Not because I was indecently exposed (I wore the chemise from my pioneer costume), but because I was so excited. I went and called my aunt and forgot to take pictures.  I also forgot to mark the waist for the twill tape, so I will have to try it on again for that.  Hopefully, I will remember to take pictures.

 

This pattern has many boning channels that you have to trace from the pattern to the lining pieces on the right side of the fabric.  I didn't want to leave permanent marker on there so I bought a tracing wheel and some double-sided tracing paper at Joann's.  I had never used it before.  So far so good.  I won't be able to sew the channels until my order comes in the mail, though.  We will see if the markings last until then.  I am at a good stopping point until my order comes in. I am hoping the order will arrive by Monday of next week.

 

My Auntie is also wanting to make a corset.  She made a muslin of the Silverado, but it is very apparent that she needs to shorten it by at least 2 1/2 inches and the bust gores just aren't right, so I offered to help her alter the Dore pattern in her size so she can try another muslin.  She was so happy that she bought me a pattern altering ruler. It is a french curve and strait edge and ruler all kind of rolled up in one.  I have already found it very useful in measuring boning channels and seam distances.  I traced off and altered her pattern for her and even cut out her muslin pieces, so hopefully she can catch up to me.

 

 

Here is my auntie's sewing machine, in my craft room with her muslin pieces on top waiting for her to come over. I bet she can hear them calling her name.

 

Well, I guess I have nothing else to sew except my dreaded curtains, I better get to work on them.  Have I mentioned that I hate sewing curtains?