Introduction

In Part 1, we looked at ideas around shaping and design inspiration. For Part 2, I will go into detail about my embellishment processes, showing how the silhouette and surface can correspond and clash for interesting results.

Hand-embellishment and Textural Layers

Figure 1: Teaser shot

I mentioned in Part 1 that I wanted the colours and textures of this piece to be almost imperceptibly complicated, with lots of small detail, layering, and black-on-black touches. I apologise if that makes the details difficult to see, I perhaps should have had a flash of inspiration to create a cream-coloured corset instead!

I knew that I wanted to continue exploring my favourite “V” shaping to the lace placement, but that I also wanted to create something less “solid” than a simple lace overlay. I wanted for a lot of the colour and texture of the painted satin to shine through, so softness of decoration was important.

I began by throwing all sorts of bits and pieces at the corset, just to follow whatever I found interesting. By this point, I was starting to feel that my early ideas for ruffles or decoration above the top edge of the corset might not be quite what I wanted. I was starting to feel that the top edge shaping should be left as clean as possible, and that styling the corset after-the-fact would be the important part. I pictured it being worn with black crystal pasties and a black chiffon fichu... over a pretty lacy camisole... or over a thin high-neck black sweater. In short, whilst it was a very ornate design, I imagined it being something that could be styled in quite a quirky, eclectic way and so didn't want to build in additional bust coverage unless I was subsequently going to create a whole gown.

So at this stage, it was all about decorating simply the surface of the corset. In figure 2 I was playing with a few ideas, and by figure 3 I had settled upon the beginnings of a lace placement. By figure 4, I was wondering about the addition of more colour. I personally don't like fussiness at all, but I do like complexity, so it sometimes takes me quite a while to move forwards with these new projects. This piece was coming together quite smoothly though. I felt that the addition of new colours would be “fussy”, whilst working within the violet colour palette would be nicely complex (even if using a multitude of textures).

Figure 2: Playfulness is important to beauty

Figure 3: Fragments of antique lace, carefully cut and pinned in place

Figure 4: Considering additional colour and texture

Lace

Building up texture takes time. Firstly, the lace was carefully cut and appliqued down using tiny fell stitches. When cutting delicate lace, I heartily recommend duckbill applique scissors (as always, I love them!) and taking your time! You may cut either very near to the motifs (this is easier to do if they are corded) or leave a sort of “halo” of the lace ground (the background “net”) around them. Some laces can be too fragile to cut very near to the motif and will easily unravel whilst placing/stitching, so do check on a small area first. Figure 5 shows some matching pairs of motifs cut from an antique lace trim. Using motifs like this can actually increase the coverage you are able to create from even small scraps of lace, and cutting out pairs in advance can help you establish placement.

Figure 5: Matching pairs of motifs, carefully cut out

• Use delicate pins to minimise damage.
• Size 8 “betweens” (hand-quilting needles), as I have small hands and find them easy to work with. These are readily available (see central packet), but I have recently purchased some gold and platinum plated needles to use instead as I was having a skin reaction to excessive contact with the nickel in regular needles. I will also say that the gold needles stitch like a dream and if you do a lot of hand-stitching they are absolutely worth it. Thank you to FR editor Marion McNealy for that suggestion!
• Silk thread - Strong and smooth, you will have far fewer problems appliqueing your lace and other details if you use silk thread. You may also wish to use beeswax on your thread, but I find it is only hugely necessary when stitching with a less-than-ideal thread in the first place.
• Duckbill applique scissors - Joy!
• Open thimble - My fingernails aren't especially long, but I still personally prefer open thimbles. Regular thimbles are either too big or too small, and make my finger feel sticky. I love my thimble even more than I love my duckbill scissors and gold needles... When buying a thimble, make sure it has decent indentations on the outside. These “catch” the end of the needle, allowing you to push the needle through the fabric with no risk of it sliding or bouncing away from the thimble and into your hand!

Figure 6: My hand-stitching tools

You can begin your stitching in your usual way... either using a waste knot (back-stitching to secure the thread before trimming off the waste knot), just back-stitching, or using a quilter's knot popped through the fashion layer to the other side (as demonstrated in Christina Claridge's article, The Basics of Flossing).

Once the thread is secured, work from right-to-left (in which the lace is towards you and the base silk is away from you) putting the needle into the silk at a right angle to where it came from and emerging diagonally further along the edge of the lace (figures 7, 8 and 9). This is fell-stitching. You may also whip stitch if you prefer (in which the diagonal length of thread is visible on the outside). Neither option is especially visible when stitching black lace down with black thread, so it is to your personal preference. Depending upon the design, I also like to stitch through lace motifs, not only around the edges (figure 10). I do this mostly in areas where the shape of the corset may result in the lace gapping away from it (ie: on concave areas). It isn't necessary, strictly speaking, but gapping lace just makes me unhappy as it seems unfinished.

Figure 7: the secured thread Figure 8: The needle passes through the silk diagonally

Figure 9: Continue along the edge of the lace Figure 10: Stitching through motif and around the edges

Whilst stitching I did return to colour once more (figure 11), as I wondered if flashes of something golden-yellow would work (since it is within the colour scheme of violet flowers). I wasn't sure at this stage.

Figure 11: Would a splash of yellow work, mimicking the centres of violets?

I also began considering the use of feathers. As shown earlier, I had looked at using 2 ply ostrich feather trim in black, but it seemed a rather inelegant choice to use the trim with no modification. So I unpicked a few fronds and began thinking about scattered sprays of feathers instead (figure 12). Yes, there is a lilac crystal in this image, just for good measure.

Figure 12: Thinking about sprays of ostrich feather

Feathers

Once the lace was secured, I began applying my feather sprays. These were placed to enhance the “V” shaping of the lace. The challenge, as I soon discovered, was in finding the best balance of elements. Too few feathers looked rather sad, like a balding parrot! Too many obscured the beautiful lace and silk wash of colours beneath.

To secure the feathers, I anchored the silk thread (figure 13) as before and stitched up and down the top ½” (13mm) of the frond (figure 14), and then securing your thread as usual (figure 15).

Figure 13: anchoring the thread

Figure 14: securing the feather Figure 15: finishing off the thread

Most advice on stitching feathers involves stitching through the shaft of the feather at least once, but it isn't really feasible on these super-fine fronds. Stitching over them tightly is enough, though they can of course shed over time (as can any delicate embellishment) and would not last a sharp pull. Another option is to glue the feathers down. Try E6000, the usual choice for glueing flat-back crystals, ensuring you wear protective equipment and work in a well-ventilated room.

Crystals and Trim

After the lace and feathers, I attached some black silk satin binding in the usual way and stitched a black lace trim to the top edge. The trick with lace trims is to ensure that they are not set too tight over curves. If the lace is too tight, it will buckle over itself and not stand upright. The best thing to do is pin the lace in place, giving extra fullness over curves. Ease this fullness into the curve as you hand-stitch. This corset has a reasonably straight top edge, but easing was still required, so you can imagine how careful you have to be with something like a sweetheart plunge design. Experiment on a tester, you'll see what I mean.

Now, for the crystals, I must confess to having received some help! In creating my recent pop-up boutique I had a few interns along for work experience, three of whom were instrumental in applying crystals to this piece.

Firstly, I should note that the crystals should have been placed before the feathers... but I wasn't sure if I even wanted crystals for a while, so they ended up being added as an afterthought. To make life easier, I showed my interns how to catch the feathers in a pin to keep them out of the way whilst applying crystals (figure 16).

Figure 16: The feathers were pinned out of the way to allow for the crystals to be glued in place

We used Swarovski flat-back, non-hotfix crystals for this corset, in “black diamond”. They were attached using E6000, a tiny blob of which was scooped up on the end of a pin, applied to the corset, with the crystal then positioned in place and gently pressed down to fix.

Figure 17: Two sizes of Swarovski crystal

I first had one intern apply the larger of the two crystal sizes to every rounded area of lace. I then had other interns apply the smaller of the crystals scattered around the outside of the lace motifs, to help tie the lace and satin areas together. The “black diamond” crystals twinkle like stars when placed against a darker surface. For a more subtle effect on dark fabrics, try Swarovski crystals in “haematite” or “onyx”. You can also see the prominent bust shaping in figure 18.

Figure 18: The “black diamond” crystals twinkle like stars when placed against a darker surface

Summary

The resulting corset gives a compelling shape, but I would call it a mixed success. There are things I am not satisfied with (the black top-stitching, a couple of wrinkles due to it being “not quite fully-boned”, the lack of crystals around the lace past the side-seam), but it does give a remarkably waspy waist and fluted line to the bust as desired.

This piece was adapted from an existing pattern without toile, so the fit is alright. But I imagine that had a fitting taken place I could have gotten that separated and fluted shape more properly. Figure 19 shows how the central steel does not lay quite flat to the chest wall, so perhaps a touch more volume to each breast and/or the addition of another wide flat steel behind the first would have helped.

Figure 19: A side-front view of the corset's shaping

I do like the fluted waist-to-bust shaping though. I find it more elegant than the very curvy contemporary shaping that almost “cups” the bust, but that's just personal preference. I think the interesting part of this process was creating that fluted shaping and then obscuring it slightly through the use of floaty feathers and dark colours. The shape and surface enhance and confuse one another in a way that I quite like.

Overall, a straight top edge isn't my favourite style, however. I think it can be a bit harsh and boxy, and even a slight degree more curve (a very gentle sweetheart line, for example) might make this prettier, though if this corset were paired with a sheer black under-dress or black lace robe (as I had originally imagined it) then those lines might be softened to nice effect.

The painted silk, lace and feathers did indeed end up giving a very blurred effect, with each element blending into the other. The crystals are the main element to stand out, but I quite like that at the moment. But I think if I were to explore this sort of idea again I may go even further with the embellishment, adding crystals in other colours, beading, and perhaps layered lace/feather/tulle motifs for greater texture.

Figure 20: If I were to do this piece again, I may push the surface texture even further

Credits

Photography: Suzi Ovens
Modeling and Styling: Immodesty Blaize