When the corset challenges came out a few months back this one jumped out at me for several reasons. Simple panels, separate bust cup, and cording. I didn’t realize it was a corset-waist patent until a little later when I was reading the description closer. A corset-waist is basically a light duty corset meant to still give support but to allow greater movement and flexibility.

C.W. Higby was located in Southern Michigan, pretty much directly east of where I sit in Southern Wisconsin on this below zero January morning. Our windchills are supposed to hit -20 to -30 below for the next couple of days. I have an ideal modern life, I can stay inside my forced air heated home, snuggled up with my electric blanket, watching Netflix until spring comes. If I do have to go out I can let my car run until it and its heated seats are toasty warm. The ladies of 1889 had no such luxuries. I cannot even image how cold a fully steel bone corset would have been on days like this, even with tons of layering. No thank you!

Apparently Mr. Higby had been thinking of some of these things when he came up with this patent. Maybe not the cold factor in particular but his stated goals were to make a lighter weight, yet supportive and more flexible corset. He also mentions the health benefits of a less restrictive corset. In fact, his corset-waist only has four pieces of flat steel (for the lacing panels) and the center front busk. The rest of the corset-waist structure comes from the cording.

 

As you can see from the diagram this corset has only five body panels per side (total of 10) plus the bust cup and the yoke/shoulder strap. He doesn’t even draw out the shape of the pattern piece for the back strap. The waist line is also not clearly marked on the patent. I decided after studying the diagram that I would not be able to use it as a scale drawing. I was going to have to come at this from a different direction to bring this patent to life.

One of the most challenging parts of creating my last patent corset was fitting the shoulder straps to me. That has to be one of the most difficult, if not impossible, fitting points when you have to fit a corset by yourself. And here I go and pick another corset with shoulder straps. But since I was not going to scale up this drawing exactly I decided to take an approach that would give me an easier way to work through the shoulder fitting on my own.

Using my patterning software I designed a yoked princess top and took it down to zero ease so it would fit me like a glove. This would allow me to not only fit the shoulders more easily, but it would also allow me to get a better idea of the yoke placement. I tacked in a separating zipper at the center front to get in and out of it for fitting purposes.

 

I love drawing on mock-up garments. Sharpie markers are awesome. Once I knew the basic garment fitted pretty decently, I started drawing out the shapes of the corset-waist pieces right on my mock-up. The first pieces I needed to get right were the bust pieces. I was a little worried that once I cut out the “boob holes” it would drastically change the fit of the rest of the garment - but it didn’t. For the center front I marked the edge of the boob hole far enough from center front to allow me room for adding the busk. I drew my top line across where I would take my over bust measurement. That line needs to be far enough back on your chest so it isn’t floating out over your bust, otherwise you will have trouble getting the busk up against your chest wall. I marked the far outside edge of my bust and then I tried to estimate the underbust mark. I wanted the opening of the hole to be large enough to squeeze my boob through but snug enough of an opening to provide a good, supportive frame. The bust cup or pocket is gathered so I knew that piece would not be constraining and would allow for comfortable spillage if you will.

So this is what my mock up looks like without the bust cup. The neck line is very high and the body is very long. You can also see that my initial overbust line appears too high. But I felt comfortable enough with the fit of this test garment to draw out my approximated pattern lines and try a real mock up.

 

It was in drawing out these pieces that I really started to discover the curvy beauty of this corset. I had originally thought that some of the curve of the patent drawings was exaggerated but when I started drawing and comparing to the renderings I discovered that in order to place seam lines to match the rendering I actually needed LOTS of curve to accomplish it.

This is what I came up with after drawing out my lines and cutting my fit garment apart. The center front piece looked goofy to me, but that was exactly where I had drawn my lines so I didn’t monkey with it.

 

I didn’t want to cord my whole mock up so I just did some test cording on one side. WHY have I not been using more cording before this?! I LOVE working with cording. Don’t ask me what it is about cording but it just makes me so happy. But anyway, this is how the mock up turned out. The patent works. Even though there is no busk and only plastic boning this fitting told me enough to know that these pattern pieces are functional and appropriate. Even the front panel that I thought looked goofy works just fine.

 

On to the real deal! The only major adjustment I made to the final draft was to take in the yoke. You can see how much gapping was occurring. I have a large bust but a small rib cage and I think that shows well in the fitting here. The yoke really needs to fit the ribcage, not the bust. I also redrafted the pattern pieces with some negative ease since my first drafts were my size exactly with no ability to cinch down. This corset isn’t supposed to be any type of waist training corset or major shape changer. It is intended for support of the existing shape so I only took it in enough to allow for the standard 2” gap in the back.

 

 

For my final draft I decided to test a new fabric I found at my local odds and ends shop. The owner of the shop had restored a 1920s Model T Ford a few years ago and had purchased an entire roll (50 yards?) of headliner fabric; the fabric the covers the inside ceiling of the car. The fabric was sold as authentic for restoration purposes. He probably only used 10 yards off the roll and had no use for the remainder. It feels like a light weight canvas. Of course he didn’t keep any of the fabric information so I have no idea the fiber content, but it feels like cotton. It has no stretch, which is what appealed to me about it and it is in this nice, neutral tan color. So this is what I am using in place of coutil. At $15 for 40 or so yards I figured I couldn’t go wrong.

For my fashion layer I have using a larger weave home decorator linen that I have used previously for a corset. I have close to 10 yards of the peony print brown linen and it coordinates beautifully with the tan headliner fabric. I think the style of this corset lends itself nicely to steampunk styling as do the tans and browns that I picked out. I only wish I had some antique finished hardware. Oh, well, I can do that on the next one I make.

I only have the drawing to go off of for the placement of the cording within each panel. Once I saw how curvy the panels were actually going to be I wanted to make sure that the cording was going to accentuate the curviness and not diminish it. I also had to decide how wide to make each cording strip according to the size of each panel. I think this could vary greatly depending on the size of each corset and the size of cording you choose to use. I am using a heavy weight cotton crochet cording; of course I tossed the wrapper so I can’t tell you the size or weight :-/ But for me it worked out that three of my panels would have five rows of cording each and the forward most panel (number two) would have seven rows.

I cut my tan fabric to the exact pattern piece size and I cut my linen fabric larger to allow for shrinkage when sewing the cording in. I decided ahead of time which edge I was going to start the cording on and added my extra to the opposite edge. I had drawn my starting cording line on the back of the tan fabric so I was able to stitch my two pieces together along that line thus giving myself the perfect starting edge for the cording.

 

Originally I had not planned on lining this corset. I had thought about adding 1/4” spiral steels to each seam but decided against it, since it was not part of the patent - but that left me with unfinished edges inside, so I did decide to add a floating lining. I did deviate slightly and I added a spiral steel on the seam between panel one and two. Otherwise there would have been about a 4” span with no cording or boning. That just seemed like too much to me.

 

Corded curves! Gotta love them, and look how much shape the cording alone gives to a piece?

 

You can see the main body of the corset laid out here before the bust pockets are added. I decided to do an exposed channel for the two seams that would have the spiral boning.

 

This is the bust pocket before the yoke was added. I backed the bust pocket canvas with cotton lining as well. This made it a little thicker and bulkier at the seams than I would have liked but it doesn’t impede the design at all.

 

And now you will just have to wait and see if I finish my binding this afternoon and manage to get some final pictures of the finished product...

 

Ta da!!! I did it! And I even added some appropriate winter time props to match the freezing cold here in Wisconsin.

 

This corset was a blast to make and I am very happy with this first true fit test. I will tweak a few things before I make my next one. The waist seems to be hitting me a little high and I would like to lengthen the front and shorten the back just a tad.

I love the high back and shoulder straps. Even with the gathered bust pockets there is still good bust support. And can I just say again how much I love the cording? It is amazing how much strength some simple cotton strands can add to the structure. It felt just as strong and sturdy as steel, but softer and gentler.

I hope you enjoyed this review and I really hope you take the plunge and try this one yourself.

 

 

add