You may recall from the first article on the patterning and fit of this patent that the main idea covered was the introduction of ‘thin or open-wove’ material in a corset. This meant the strain was to be taken by an overlay of strong material behaving as a ‘zone-like’ stay around the waist.

Where to start? Visualisation

When tackling a new pattern like this, I use visualisation to try to determine which techniques will get the best out of the pattern and the materials chosen. I write lots of notes and try to treat it like a cryptic puzzle; when people ask me what I think about on a long run, this is the answer! This is one of the great benefits of trying new patterns - there isn’t a prescribed best approach and you can try new and unusual techniques to make the pattern work.

Planning how to construct the corset and figuring out the right order to sew the pieces.

Material choice

Choosing fabrics for a corsetry project is one of my favourite stages. It makes me go all dreamy and I tend to get over-excited and ahead of myself. As soon as I read the patent, I thought that strong nylon mesh would be perfect for the ‘thin or open-wove’ sections and imagined using some silver mesh I have been looking forward to using for ages. However, time is a wonderful luxury that is worth applying to any project and I realised that using such a strong material defeated the object of the patent. You could make an entire corset firm nylon mesh, as it’s so strong and unyielding. A truer test of T.S. Gilbert’s patent would be to use a thin material I would normally think of as a crazy choice to use in a corset. We can then learn if the waist stay overlay performs its role in taking the strain. (The coutil panels will be made of fine herringbone grey coutil.)

Based on the discussion above I have decided to try silk organza as the ‘thin or open-wove’ material. It is certainly not a fabric I would usually choose for corsetry, so should put the patent to the test. It is a firm woven fabric which is easy to work with, and it is ivory and quite sheer, so should be a nice visual contrast to the coutil.

Materials chosen for the final corset.

The waist stay overlay needs to be strong, as it will take the strain of the corset. It will ideally be non-fraying or be easy to bind due to its shape. I am torn between using self-bound silk dupion backed onto coutil or coutil-backed patent leather.

Preparation

I have taken apart one half of the coutil toile making sure that all of the pattern adjustments are clearly marked. This will be my pattern for the final corset.

The coutil and silk organza have been pressed using plenty of steam. I prefer not to prewash coutil as I like the crisp feel, and silk organza shouldn’t be washed as it removes the natural cellulose that give it its handle. I double-up the fabrics, using the selvage to keep the grain straight, with right sides together and also press a sharp fold which I will use for some of the pattern pieces.

The pattern is pinned to the prepared fabrics paying careful attention to the grain and then traced using a wheel and white waxed paper.

Coutil

I have doubled-up the coutil pattern pieces to allow construction per the patent, which specifies that the ‘fine or open-wove’ material is inserted in between a double layer of coutil.

The centre back lacing panels are cut on the fold.

For the centre front panels (A), the knob side is cut on the fold with an additional 15mm at the centre front edge to provide a front modesty panel. The hook side is simply cut double.

I cut eight strips of coutil to make the external casings (L) on the straight grain, plus four narrow strips to use in the construction of the organza to organza seams.

I decided to thread trace the coutil pattern pieces. I wouldn’t normally do this for a typical vertical seamed corset, as I can use the traced seamlines marked on the wrong side of the fabric. However, the construction techniques I’m planning to use require the seam lines to be temporarily visible on the right side of the corset. To thread trace, I have done a large running-stitch along the seamlines in a fine silk thread that can be easily removed once the corset is put together.  

Thread traced pattern pieces.

My final preparation step is to do a stitch test with scraps of coutil to check the tension and stitch size required. I then note them on the sample, including the needle size and type, so I can be consistent if I swap between projects.

Construction

Lacing panels
The lacing panels have been cut on the fold; I like this method as it reduces bulk at the centre back seam. I like to also stitch the centre back seams as it gives a crisp edge, but you could also leave them as just a fold. I use a quilting foot to form a second line of stitching, 10mm from the first, to create a boning channel for a 7.5mm flat steel.

Using a pin to mark the boning channel width, I find it more accurate and cleaner than marking with a pen. The quilting foot helps to stitch perfectly parallel boning channels.

I then stitch 12mm away from the first channel to leave space for the 5mm eyelets, and then again, 10mm away to form second flat steel channel. I would typically catch a waist stay at this point in construction, but there is no need for this corset as we have the external waist stay to add at the end.

Inserting the busk (A)
The busk is inserted into pattern piece A at the centre front. I tackle the hook side first by pinning the pieces right sides together and marking the position of the hooks along centre front seam.

Marking the position of the busk hooks.

I double stitch this seam, first in a small stitch size and then larger, to form a strong seam. The seam is pressed flat on each side to set the stitches, pressed open and then pressed wrong sides together. The busk is inserted and I use a zipper foot to stitch it in place. I used a large basting stitch as the stitch line is very close to the side seam of this pattern piece. I know I need to fold the edge of piece A under later in the construction so I plan to firmly sew the busk later on.

The panel that holds the knob side of the busk has been cut on the fold with an additional 15mm channel along the centre front that will form the front modesty panel. It will be boned with 12.5mm flat steel. The pattern piece is treated like the lacing panels and pressed on the fold with wrong sides together. The centre front seam is sewn to form the modesty panel. I use the hook side to mark the knob positions and then insert the busk, using an awl to make the holes. Large basting stitches are used again to hold the busk in place until it can be firmly stitched later in construction.

Front pattern pieces A with the busk basted in place.

Bust section (C,b and d)

I press the side seams of piece C under, so that the thread tracing is positioned to be the seamline, i.e. press 2mm away from the thread tracing. I baste in the bust gusset b pieces using silk thread.

Bust pattern pieces C and b basted together.

The lower edge of the bust d pieces is pressed under and I baste them along the top seamline of organza piece b and across the tip of piece C. This forms the outer shell of the bust section. I complete the inner part of the bust by basting the inner C and d pieces behind the outer layer. I set them slightly narrower than the front pieces, so they are not visible, and then topstitch through all the layers.

Bust section basted together.

Piece C gains three boning channels at 8mm each, ready for 5mm spiral steels that will need to be inserted before the corset is constructed, as they are trapped top and bottom. A simple flossing motif is added at this point, using neon yellow thread. I use a machine thread by Coats that has a topstitch type thickness and a texture similar to vintage Sylko.

A simple flossing motif added to the bust section boning channels.

The d bust pieces are also stayed per the patent so I added 6mm channels; there is space for three on one side and two on the other, ready for 4mm spiral bones. I am using this finer spiral boning as these pieces need to be quite flexible to shape around the bust. The bones in these pieces can be added at the end of construction along with the rest of the boning. I used masking tape to mark the position of these channels. I will floss these channels later in the construction, once the bust section is joined to the rest of the corset.

Using masking tape to mark out the upper bust boning channels.

Side note

This corset is like a puzzle and some seams are being changed, technique-wise, as I go. It is ok to not know everything before you start; basting and big seam allowances are your best allies in tackling this type of project. Not only is this an unusual pattern, the fact that the organza is transparent adds another thing to worry about; I can’t hide anything with a pretty lining!

Hip section (B,D, F and E)

Attaching the hip panels (F) to the large silk organza panels (B and D) forms an organza to organza seam. In order to make the seam attractive and more stable, I will use thin channels of coutil to cover the right side of the seam. The channel is made using coutil cut on the straight grain and a 6mm bias binding maker. I discovered this to be a rather challenging exercise in itself; the coutil does not want to fold over to form such narrow tape. I found I scalded my fingers a lot less if I switched the steam off and used my fingertips quite close to the iron to manipulate the fabric into shape. I then pressed with steam once my fingers were out of the way.  

I pinned the seams wrong sides together, stitched them, pressed the seams open and trimmed them right down to 2-3mm. The silk organza can snag easily, so I pinned with extra care and used a size 60 sharp machine needle to sew it.

An organza hip panel pinned to one of the large organza pattern pieces.

The 6mm coutil tape was basted over the seam and then stitched down each side.

Narrow coutil tape covers the organza seam and adds strength.  The construction method gives a clean finish to the inside of the corset, especially important with sheer pieces. The next task is to join the main organza panels (B and D) together via pattern piece E. I begin by pressing the side seams of the coutil strips E so that the seam line is 2mm from the edge. I then basted the pieces together.

Pattern pieces B and D joined by basting them to the side piece. E.

The silk has a lot of bias give so I was careful not to distort the pieces too much. I then baste the inner E piece behind and machine-stitch down each side of the coutil strip. Three 8mm boning channels are stitched along piece E so that the 5mm spiral bones will be trapped between the two layers of grey coutil.

Joining the bust to the hip section

The joining of the bust section to the hip section is my first big stumbling block. The overlay waist stay (pieces G + H) anchors to the seam that runs along the front of piece B and a portion of this seam is silk organza on both sides. I don’t like the idea of all of the strain being anchored against only the fine silk organza. To overcome this, I will add a 6mm channel of coutil along the front slope of the seam. This also has the benefit of helping to neaten the organza to organza part of the seam; form and function.

I insert 5mm bones into the three channels in piece C panel, as they will be trapped once joined to the main body of the corset.

Spiral steel bones ready to trap inside pattern piece C.

I then stitch the bust section to the upper portion of panel B wrong side together so that the seam is neat on the inside. This seam is pressed towards the centre back, then covered with the 6mm coutil tape to form a strong base for the waist overlay to anchor to.

The bust section pinned to pattern piece B. The bust section joined to the organza panels with the strengthened seam.

Confession time; I had a disaster (in corsetry terms!). When trimming this seam back I trimmed too much from the B pattern piece on one side, leaving the seam very precarious. I have attempted to strengthen the area with a strip of selvage from the silk organza. It is incredibly stable and strong (never throw it away; trim it and bag it as it’s very useful for stabilising in dressmaking). I will see how the seam holds; if it fails I will have to replace panel B on this side.

Disaster; hopefully averted with some handy application of silk organza selvage!

Joining the main bod y of the corset to the busk (pattern piece A) and the lacing panel

Earlier in the construction, I only basted the busk in preparation for this step. I unpick the top few basting stitches securing the busk, trim the side seam of panel A and press the seam under. This allows me to baste the right side of busk panel A to the rest of the corset and then baste the inside of the panel behind it, enclosing the adjacent panels. I can then re-stitch the busk with a shorter stitch length.

The main body of the corset is sandwiched into the front and back panels.

I use the same method to attach the lacing panels to the back of pattern piece D.

Boning channels (L)

The patent illustration Figure 1 shows four additional boning channels running parallel with the centre front and centre back; two in the front of the corset and two at the back. I use a bias binding maker with coutil cut on the straight grain to make the external boning channels.

I first baste them in position, stitch down either side, and then stitch down the centre to create two narrow channels to hold 5mm spiral boning. It was at this point I encountered another slight problem. I always use strips made with a bias tape maker to form external boning channels. These usually are strong enough as they are sewn onto a strong base fabric like coutil. This is one of those occasions when making some coutil tubes would have been better. The back of the channels is silk and not nearly strong enough to hold the boning without damaging the fabric. As a fix I threaded some boning tape through underneath the coutil strips to add strength to the boning channels. I then stitched down the centre of the coutil to form two channels for 5mm spiral steel.

Another crisis averted; using boning tape to strengthen to inside of the boning channels.

Mistakes like this are always a little disheartening for me at the time I discover them. Hindsight and time allow me to embrace the mistake as a lesson learnt; most things can be worked around and if not I can always start again (or throw it away in a fit of fury, sulk, and then move on to something new!).

Thankfully I did not throw it in the bin; here is the corset ready for binding.

Eyelets, binding, flossing and boning

I add 5mm two part Prym eyelets in silver along the lacing panels, between the two flat steel panels. I punch a 4mm hole, add a little Fray Stoppa, and stretch it to 6mm with a knitting needle ready to set the eyelets.

I then bind the bottom and top edges of the corset using 18mm tape made using strips of the grey coutil cut on the bias.

Binding pinned and ready to sew.

I double check that the centre front bindings line up and then hand-sew the bottom binding, making sure that it lines up evenly to not show through the silk organza from the back. I then sew the top binding on before the bones are in so that I have a clear line to floss too.

A simple flossing motif is added to the bottom and top of the boning channels before the bones go in.

The flossing motifs in yellow neon.

It is then time to measure the channels for the flat and spiral steels. The flat steels are filed and covered with PTFE tape, and the spirals are finished with end caps and PTFE tape. To insert the bones I unpick a few stitches at the top of each channel and insert the steels into the channels (L), piece E and the top of the bust. I then re-sew the top binding and hand-sew to finish. The corset is then ready for me to insert the last two eyelets on each side.

 Hand sewing the binding in place.

Waist stay (G and H)

I decided on patent leather for the waist stay; it’s firm, so won’t wrinkle or crease easily, and I have some in a beautiful dirty lilac which complements the grey coutil perfectly.

I start by marking the pattern onto some coutil; I’m using a fine white coutil to stop the overlay becoming too chunky. I then fuse this to the wrong side of the patent leather. I have used this technique before but I would say 'be careful'. Not all leathers will be happy near heat or steam. I find this works fine on the wrong side of patent leather but don’t get the iron on the right side as it will melt.

I use a rotary cutter to cut around the overlay on the seam line for most of the seams, but along the front and back I cut 5mm from the edge. I also trim the inside edges at a slight angle to stop the coutil being visible as it tends to fray a little along the edges. I will hand-stitch the overlay on so to make it neater and easier I run the front and back seams through the sewing machine with a leather needle and a long stitch length. The longer stitch length will prevent the leather from being weakened and so tearing. I use doubled waxed thread, in neon to match the flossing, to stitch the front and back seams.

Final Corset

So here it is; the completed corset.

The completed corset.

And here it is on a body, I have been seasoning it tentatively as the silk organza is so delicate.

The front of the finished corset. The side of the finished corset. The back of the finished corset.

Does the patent work?

I have gradually seasoned the corset and found that, so far, the waist overlay is very effective. There are no tears in the fabric or split seams at any point in the corset. I made the waist overlay ever so slightly smaller than the waist measurement of the corset which means that the corset waist is never under full tension.  

The silk organza is more precarious around the ends of the boning channels; some of the steels were tricky to insert and so the fabric got pulled about too much.

The silk organza was a relatively well-behaved as a corsetry fabric. On the straight grain it has a nice firmness suited to this application. On the bias it has an awful lot of give and I found the large panels (pattern pieces B and D) difficult to handle. Applying the boning channels was particularly challenging and I think that that some of the wrinkling in these panels is, in part, due to the silk shifting so much. It firmed-up perfectly once the binding was attached, so next time I would try stabilising the top and bottom edges temporarily with some selvage or cotton tape.

There is some wrinkling in the overlay at the waist along the centre back. This is where much of the tension of the corset is focussed, so I would suggest double-stitching this section to add extra strength.

This patent was so much fun to make. I enjoyed using a non-corsetry fabric and there are elements I look forward to including in my own work in the future.

 

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