This is Part 2 of this series. To read part one, click here.

My plans for this corset changed several times both in terms of construction and in terms of design.

I originally planned for this to be very simple but with lots of embellishment, but when I found a bright pink version of the classic Liberty of London “Hera” peacock print fabric (which is one of my favourite prints ever) I completely changed the design.

The Hera print has been sold by Liberty since the 1890s. I like to think that someone back then loved it as much as I do now, and also thought it would make a wild choice for a corset.

At the moment all of my personal pieces are based on Goddesses and although I had not planned to make a Hera corset, finding the print in such a fantastic colour seemed to be fate.

I thought long and hard about the construction of this piece. I initially wanted to line it, as I felt this would give the neatest finish on the inside.

However, in the end I decided that as I am not completely comfortable with inserting gussets yet, I would not complicate things and risk messing up. Therefore the piece is made from one strength layer and one fashion layer, which are flatlined together.

My first step in making the corset was to cut all the fabric out. I used lilac silk shantung as well as the pink peacock fabric (which is a Tana Lawn) and I made sure I carefully positioned the bust gussets to maximize the at effect that the wonderful Art Nouveau pattern of the feathers had. I was also exact in making sure I carefully followed he grain lines I had marked on the pattern, as the pattern was so alien-looking to me and I wanted to make sure I didn’t get it wrong and waste any fabric.

The strength layer was cut from the “fancy patterned coutil” available at Vena Cava. I’ve worked with it a few times before and I really like it. It’s not as stiff and cardboard-like as most coutil I have used, but it still feels very sturdy. I felt it would be more forgiving to use for the gores/gussets than a normal coutil would be.

I chose not to have anything to open this at the centre front because I wanted more scope to embellish the corset. Because of this I cut the centre front panel once from the fashion fabric and twice from the coutil. I sewed two channels at the front for 15mm flat steels.

Following this, I sewed the bust gore (the one which is set into the seam) and the first half (the one which ends up being the top half) of the two panels with the curvy seam running through them, in place.  

My next step was to insert the gussets. This was something I have really struggled with in the past. I have tried several different techniques and none of them had clicked with me previously.

For this piece I sat down with Laura Loft’s wonderful article on gores and gussets (which was an absolute godsend and took the intimidation out of conquering a new skill) and I practiced several times on scraps of fabric before I finally felt confident enough to insert the gussets into the real piece.

Before sewing the rest of the panels together, I took a break to sketch out some ideas I had for flossing. This flossing is entirely decorative. I wanted it to be reminiscent of the wispy strands on the stalk of a peacock feather, and to compliment the style of the pink fabric.

I tried a few things out and eventually went with the first design on the diagram below.

This was then sewn in place at the bottom of the two 15mm channels at the centre front.

After I had done this I sewed the remaining curved panel in place. It was very easy as everything matched up when I pinned it. After this was done I inserted the hip gores.

Finally I sewed the centre back panels in place. They were constructed from one layer of coutil, cut on the fold and one layer of fashion fabric, cut on the fold.

I stitched very close to the edge (the fold) and then formed the two channels with a big enough gap for the eyelets. It was hard to photograph clearly on this piece, as the stitching kept disappearing into the fabric when I tried to photograph it, so here is an example from another corset:

The reason for stitching close to the edge is that I find it greatly reduces the risk of the flat steel twisting in the channel when you lace the corset up.

At this stage the corset was looking very close to finished.

After this I topstitched the seams, pressing the seams inwards towards the middle of the corset at the front and back seams and upwards on the big diagonal seam.

Next, I sewed the boning channels in place. I looked at the original patent when I was deciding where I would be sewing the channels, but I did change the positions a little.

I kept the wider block of bones at the side (in my case; four 6mm spiral steels) but I wanted a bit more support of the bust so I split the wide block of boning at the bust on the original into one bone each side of both of the gores/gussets. There is also one bone at the seam of the centre back panel.

After I had sewn the channels on one half of the corset, I put it back on my mannequin. You can see here that the left hand side (as you look at the image) is already closer in shape to my mock up than the side without the channels. After I had sewn the channels on the other half it was time to embellish.

My first step was to floss the points where the gores/gussets formed a point. This is because it strengthens the point, but also because I like how this looks. For the gussets I used pink and green to match the flossing at the centre front, and for the gores I used dark purple.

After the flossing was done I cut out a little violet and silver lace and had a play around with that. I pinned it in various positions capturing images of any configurations I particularly liked so I had a reference point if I decided I would like to use one I had already moved around.

At this stage I sat down and did a little more research on Hera. I looked at ways she has been portrayed and how she is described. Wikipedia described her as being “portrayed as majestic and solemn” and “known for her jealous and vengeful nature” which confirmed what I had in mind when I started the piece. The pink fabric seemed perfect for a ‘diva’ type Goddess who flies into a strop when she doesn’t get her way, but as well as being fiery she is very regal and I needed this to be apparent - so I tried to achieve this with the embellishment.

After I had found the layout I liked, I sewed the lace in place. I did this by hand, using tiny stitches, and I made sure to sew the lace only to the fashion fabric so none of the stitches showed through on the inside of the corset. I did this before I inserted any of the bones - this is because the corset remains pliable and easy to manoeuvre without the bones in, and because stitching over bones is a bit of a pain (at least, I find it is!).

Once the lace was sewn, I was going to add crystals - but at this stage I decided I would wait until I had seen how the corset looked on before I did this, as I felt they may make it look a bit too tacky if I wasn’t careful.

So, the next job was to cut and tip the steels and to insert those. I used a mix; 15mm flat steel bones at the centre front and 7.5mm flat steel bones at the centre back (either side of where the eyelets would be set). For the rest, I used 6mm spiral steel at the side and 7mm spiral steel at the other channels.

To finish the corset I set 5mm two piece eyelets at the back and then sewed a wide, sturdy, petersham tape at the top and bottom to bind. Although I normally use a more decorative binding I did not want to use the pink fabric to bind and I did not have enough of the lilac silk to use that. I think I will eventually order some more of the lilac fabric and hand sew a decorative bias binding over the current one but at the moment I don’t have the money to order more of the fabric and I didn’t have the time.

The very last thing I did was to sew six suspenders at the bottom edge. Some of you may have noticed that I had cut out some of the lilac silk to cover the suspenders – in the end I chose not to do this. I wanted this piece to be over the top femininity when I started, but I think that the covered suspenders and crystals I had planned originally would be a bit much and take away from the fact that Hera is a queen as well as a Diva. I also think the lilac suspenders would look a bit disjoined with the current black binding. Perhaps when I am feeling a little braver, and I have finished the silk binding, I will add the suspenders and crystals.

So here is the finished thing. I have included pictures of the pattern I adapted from and the mock-up for comparison.

Sadly, by the time I finished this corset it was a little too big for me, leaving it gaping a bit at the hips. The suspenders helped to stop this looking so obvious but it is a shame after I put so much effort into the piece. Despite this, I think it looks rather beautiful, and I think it gives a very Victorian silhouette. I also think I managed to create a piece evocative of Hera through my fabric and embellishment choices.

If I was to make this again I would add more bones at the back, similar to the positioning on the original patent. I think this would stop it wrinkling so much at the back. I would keep my boning layout at the front/bust as this gives a good level of support at the bust and I find it comfortable to wear. I would also be brave enough to try lining the piece now that I am more comfortable with gussets.

I learned a lot from making this piece and it has given me confidence to try seam lines I would probably never have dared to try before seeing that this works. The corset went together quickly and easily, even though I did take my time with the gussets as they are new to me.

I am still not sure who T.S Gilbert’s intended user was – I had initially thought it was a way of creating a more contemporary silhouette for the 1880s while retaining the simple construction of earlier corsets, but it was pointed out in the comments of my last instalment that this may not have been to assist the dressmaker who was uncomfortable with vertical seam lines, but the professional who would have wanted to create something quickly and easily to increase their productivity and profit margins. I think that both would have benefitted from this pattern and I am interested to see if I can find any extant examples of corsets from this era which are patterned this way.

 

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