Corsets are for molding the body into an ideal shape, right? That’s what I thought, but I could never achieve that iconic Victorian hourglass shape with the corsets I’d made in the past. I figured it was because I was just not “squishable” enough.

In fact, my Victorian corset didn’t even change my waist measurements after it was on. Well then, what’s the point? I thought it was probably impossible for me to get more waist definition until I started learning more about my body and its quirks and how my corset was actually affecting it, and also coming to realize that to make your waist smaller there has to be somewhere for the flesh to go, even if you don’t have a lot to move.

I may look like I have an average body type, but my torso is very rectangular, and to top it off, I have a very short waist. This has always meant that my rib cage stops a lot of the reduction the corset tries to make. The flesh is getting pushed about equally above and below the waist and there’s not much room for it to move up. But I realized that perhaps if I could get it pushed down, into my hips, it might work, and hopefully that would also create a larger hip to waist ratio and so make my waist appear smaller. Win-Win!

I knew that hip gores or gussets were probably the best way to get this, but I hadn’t had much success with them in the past. I’d added some to my commercial pattern Victorian corset and they didn’t seem to do much. Maybe they weren’t big enough, but I figured I needed a different shaped corset altogether from the waist down. There aren’t many commercial patterns fitting this bill, and I also wasn’t feeling up to drafting one from scratch. I didn’t know quite where to start.

Then I came across this corset patent by Lavinia H. Foy from 1868. It seemed to have a lot of the elements I was looking for: the hip pieces were completely separate, and I liked that the top didn’t have gussets. This not only made it simpler, but in the past, bust gussets had completely flattened me out. It has very few pattern pieces, which seemed easier, so I knew I could probably figure it out. The only thing that concerned me was that the boning didn’t extend past the waist. Would this make it uncomfortable, or would it help to give more waist definition since I wouldn’t be restricted in the ways the boning could move over my hips?

I decided to try it and see what happened. I would make two mock-ups using cheaper, more readily available materials, and if it worked, from there I’d get into the good stuff. In this article I will cover how I drafted the pattern, the first mock-up and then pattern adjustments in preparation for the second mock-up and the final corset (which will be covered in an article next month).

History

First, a little history about Lavinia H. Foy, or Madam Foy as she would later be known. Lavinia Jenks was married to Marvin Harmon in 1835 and they were living in North Brookfield, MA when he passed away in 1854. She soon moved to Worcester, MA and “maintained herself by her sewing machine”. She “… became the inventor of a kind of corset which she patented [and] sold the right for five years for twenty thousand dollars and a royalty of thirty cents per dozen”. We then learn that she and her second husband, Charles H. Foy, moved to New Haven, CT where they formed a co-partnership, along with her son from her first marriage, manufacturing corsets. She was a silent partner in the firm, which continued into the early 20^th century. “She now lives [in 1884] in affluence and comfort, having previously declined a large offer for the use of her patent.” [i] She was most famous for her “Skirt Supporting Corsets”. (Past Patterns has a commercial pattern for one of these corsets.)

The patent I’m using here does not seem to be the “skirt supporting” variety, and I could not find an advertisement with a picture of this corset. Who knows how long it was in production or how well it did, but Madam Foy was one of the most prolific female inventors of the 19^th century[ii] and holds many patents for a variety of corsets and even cuffs, many of which can be seen here. She rose “to such business prominence that she could eventually employ two hundred girls to fill the orders for her corsets, which brought her an annual income of twenty-five thousand dollars.”[iii] When she died in 1906, at the age of ninety-two, her estate was worth about 1.5 million dollars.[iv]

The patent is listed as a “new improvement”, it seems, because of the two techniques she uses: first, adding cords on either side of the boning channels that aren’t next to seams to prevent them from wearing through, and second, in using tapes to bind and finish the top of the corset. For my first two mock-ups, I’ll be using more modern tradition construction techniques, but for the real thing, I will attempt to make it as described in the patent.

Planning Stages

I knew I wanted to reduce my waist by at least 2” (5cm) if I wanted to achieve anything near an hourglass shape. For many people this may not be a lot, but for me I knew this would probably be about all I could achieve in relative comfort.

Since I do not have an average body shape, as discussed above, I decided that instead of enlarging the pattern directly from the patent (either by using a photo copier, Photoshop and my printer at home or an overhead projector, all valid ways to do this, with instructions from other articles on FR), I thought I would just skip the step of seeing what the actual proportions and measurements would be and draft the pattern directly to fit my measurements. Though this would not be as historically accurate to the patent, I felt that my overall goal of getting a corset to fit me well enough to get a waist reduction outweighed those objections. I referenced the pattern pieces on the patent regularly during the process to keep the pieces as close in proportion as possible while also creating this custom garment to fit my own body.

I started by first taking extensive and detailed measurements of my body. I followed the suggestions from Laura Loft’s article “Silverado Corset - Part 1”. She walks you through all the measurements you’ll need and helps you figure out some of the later steps we’ll be doing. The only thing I did differently is I didn’t add any reduction to my hip measurements and only slightly to my bust. I wanted to keep these as large as possible, not only to create a greater hip/waist/bust ratio, but also for somewhere for what I was reducing at my waist to go!

This may be different for everyone, but it’s always easier to take a toile in than to have to start over, so maybe err on the larger side for bust and hip and see after your first toile where you might need more reduction.

Here are the measurements I took of myself so you can follow along my process:

I used millimeters as I find it a more accurate way to measure and makes it easier to do the math. (I hate fractions. The less math I have to do, the better.)

1. Upperbust: 864 mm

2. Bustline: 863 mm

3. Underbust: 730 mm

4. Waist: 676 mm

5. Hips: 779 mm

Other measurements, which are important for later:

You can do right and left measurements for these if you want to, but I wanted to keep it simple.

6. Upperbust to bustline: 30

7. Upperbust to Underbust: 86

8. Bustline to Underbust: 64

9. Underbust to waist: 111

10. Waist to hip: 70

11. Waist to bottom of the corset: 107

12. Waist to top of corset: 205

13. Front of waist (from side to side): 352

14. Front of hip (from side to side): 395

15. Distance from top to bottom of corset: 305

I didn’t end up using 13 and 14, but they are helpful in understanding your own body because you can see whether more of your waist and hip measurements are carried in the front or the back. Everyone is shaped differently.

After I had my own precise body measurements, I decided what I wanted my corseted measurements to be. I reduced my first three measurements by 20mm, my waist by 50mm and again, I didn’t reduce my hips. You may find, depending on your body type and what shape you want your corset to give you, that you want to reduce more or less than me in the spots you think necessary. This corset is tailored to you!

I made a little table for myself, which now looked like this:

		Measurements	Reduction	Corseted measurement
1	Upperbust	864	20	844
2	Bustline	863	20	843
3	Underbust	730	20	710
4	Waist	676	50	626
5	Hips	779	0	779

Next I decided how much of a lacing gap I wanted in the back so I could get the measurements for the finished corset. I wanted just a little over a two inch gap, which would allow some room if I felt I could go farther than two inches in reducing my waist. You may be more comfortable with a wider gap, or you may want your corset to laced closed, it’s up to you.

I added another column to my table:

	Measurements	Reduction	Corseted measurement	-60mm lacing gap
1	864	20	844	784
2	863	20	843	783
3	730	20	710	650
4	676	50	626	566
5	779	0	779	719

I then divided this finished corset measurement in half, so I now knew what each side of my corset would measure.

	Measurements	Reduction	Corseted measurement	-60mm lacing gap	Corset Half
1	864	20	844	784	392
2	863	20	843	783	391.5
3	730	20	710	650	325
4	676	50	626	566	283
5	779	0	779	719	359.5

 

I didn’t worry about adding seam allowances to the measurements at this point because I wanted to draft it first and then add seam allowance later.

Drafting the Pattern

At this point, I analyzed the original pattern pieces just a bit. I created an image with lines (right) where I assume the bustline, underbust, and waist measurements are on each piece to help me in drawing out my own shapes. When I had all that figured out, I started mapping out some of these on a piece of paper. I used the back side of leftover Christmas wrapping paper, which I have found is a great cheap tool for making patterns. Plenty of room!
First I drew a vertical line for the front length that I wanted (measurement #15). I was constrained by the busk that I was planning to use for my mock-up, which was a little shorter than I would have liked, but I left it a little longer to keep the proportions right. Next I drew marks on that line at my bust, underbust, waist and hip points, according to the measurements I had taken, and extended them across the paper.
Then I started by drawing the very front busk pattern piece, using pencil. I could have been more precise by figuring out where I wanted the first seam to hit across my bust, but I just freehanded the shape following the proportions of Figure 1, on the patent, keeping the fullest part across the bustline and the thinnest part across the waist line.
For all of these pieces I decided to draw them in proportion to the pattern pieces on the patent and then compare the measurements to my own and make adjustments then as needed. So in a way, I guess I did “scale up the pattern” from the patent. Next I did the same for Figure 2, B, by again following the drawing on the patent to keep the proportions right and making sure to keep the bustline at the fullest part and the waist just above the bottom right corner.
I continued on to Fig. 3, where I analyzed the orientation of the pattern piece to that in the drawing and decided that it was slightly tilted. From where I thought the waistline should cross the figure, I felt the shape should be shifted slightly counter-clockwise. Here I again kept the bust line on my line and tried to follow the proportions.
Finally I drew the back piece, Fig. 4, in the same manner.
At this point, I took my ruler and measured each horizontal line across each pattern piece and added these measurements up. I then compared them to what my corset half measurement said it should be. I found I was pretty close on most pieces. I only needed to make a few minor adjustments.

 

Hip Gore

Next came trying to figure out the hip gore. I used a trick I learned for patterning sleeves. I took a piece of ribbon and traced it along the curve of Fig. 3, and Fig. 2, to determine what its length should be. I then used that piece to create a curve I thought looked proportionate, once again, to the patent (I should mention I also used this technique to check all the seam lines between the four body pieces to make sure they would line up together).

I then used the same technique to measure line m to create line k.

 

 

The easiest part was drawing line h based on the measurement of line g, which I had drawn on the back piece. As for the bottom curve, I took a guess. Until I made a mock-up, I wouldn’t know how the hip gore would really lay on my body. I tried to keep the proportions as best I could. And then I was done! Whew! Well, not quite...
Once I was sure of all the lines, I traced them in pen then cut out each piece and traced them out onto a new piece of paper (since there wasn’t room to add seam allowances). This time I used freezer paper (another handy trick I learned from FR) so that I could iron it directly to my fabric and cut it out later. Then I added my seam allowance. I decided to do a 5/8” (15mm) seam allowance so that I could have room for changes if necessary, and also to create temporary boning channels. I didn’t need to add seam allowance to the top and bottom areas of the corset, but I do to all my patterns for safety's sake. Then I can draw adjustments once I have it mocked-up and on.
Assembling the First Mockup Now it was time to assemble a mock-up! I ironed my pattern pieces to the mock-up fabric and cut it out.
In the patent it states that the top body pieces were all assembled and then the hip gore was attached, so this is the approach I took to begin. The upper pieces went together really well and I was feeling good about things!
But then I got to that hip gore. Curves are always a difficult shape to work with, but trying to navigate two sharp corners took some wrangling. I sewed each side differently to see what worked best. On one side I started from the front and moved to the back, attaching each side separately. Then on the other side, I reversed it, starting from the back and going forward. This showed me some problems right off. When starting from the front, working toward the back, the hip gore was too big. I tried to make up for this as best I could by keeping the raw edges as parallel to one another as I could, even if I couldn’t get them to meet at the same place.

 

Next I got it ready to do a fitting. I did another experiment to see what kind of boning I wanted to use in my second mock-up: I like to use cable ties for cheap boning, but I wasn’t sure whether the large or small ones would work better. I figured I’d need two of the little ones next to each other, since they are so much more flexible. But I’d had some discomfort from the larger ones in some past corsets, especially across my ribs. So on one side, I sewed channels using the seam allowance for the larger cable ties, and on the other, I sewed either side of the seam allowance down to make small channels, one on each side of each seam.

When that was done, I basted some fitting aides I Frankensteined off an old cheap corset I’d bought on eBay (literally I just cut off the busk and lacing holes to create two pieces that could easily be used for fitting mock-ups) to the front and back, making sure to attach them so they would lay as the finished busk and back edges would be.

Now I inserted the boning, but I had to figure out the placement of the side bones. I laid them out on my mock-up in a way I thought they looked on the pattern and used masking tape to hold them in place so I could try them on.

 

 

I could finally put the corset on and see how it worked!

It fit pretty well. I was able to get a two-inch waist reduction and the back edges were pretty parallel to each other.   I liked the smaller boning better than the large, and it was still plenty substantial to support the corset without wrinkles.

 

 

There were just a couple of problems. The upper bust was too big. It was gaping past the bustline. This could have been because of the extra seam allowance I’d added to the top, but I liked where it hit in some spots.  

To fix the bust problems, I made two small tucks to the upper bust line on each of the front two pieces. I just pinched and pinned until it lay smooth. I then drew some new shaping lines for the top of the corset, lowering the center front, and also the scoop under the arm. I also marked the darts I would be taking out of the pattern at the bust.

 

The hip gores felt too tight. It didn’t seem like they had enough room for the displaced waist flesh.  So I  pulled the hip pieces up to see what a little more room would do for the shape. I thought this looked much better. It also seemed to give more definition between my waist and hips.

 

 

Transfering the Adjustments

I needed to transfer these adjustments to my pattern so that I could apply them to my next mock-up.

First I unpinned the darts. Then I measured each dart across the top so I could mark them on my pattern.

 

To adjust each pattern piece I first transferred each dart directly to the pattern piece so I could see how far down they went. For the front, piece 1, I took all of the extra from the side (not the center front), I marked in from the edge the measurement from the top of the dart, then tapered that line down to where the dart ended on the side. For piece 2, I decided to take equal amounts off from each side. 

 

 

Once the new lines were drawn, I cut the new shape to the pattern pieces
Another change I needed to make to the pattern was the hip gores. I didn’t like the sharp angle of the front of the hip gore, so I decided I would take that out and create a curve from the top down into the front.
I also knew I needed more room in the hip overall, which means I would need a whole new pattern shape. I started by tracing the old pattern shape out, as a starting point. I marked out the seam allowance and then I drew out a shape for the top that I thought might work. I used the string method again to make sure that the length of my line would work with the other pattern pieces. Since I wanted the hip piece to flare out more from the waist, I needed to make the curve around the side more dramatic.
Even though I had too much fabric width-wise, I decided to keep the back line around where it was previously, just in case. I then added seam allowance. Once again, I didn’t know how much I should leave for the bottom of the hip gore, so I made it larger just to be safe. I would mark it on the next mock-up and make adjustments before binding it.

 

In the next article I’ll tackle the second mock-up with all the fitting changes and then the final corset, using period techniques!

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