In my first article, I detailed my experience with this Symington pattern from obtaining the pattern through to the fitting of the corset mockup. In this second article, I will share my journey to create the final corset. This article details how I made alterations to the pattern, embellished and finished the corset, and communicated with the model; it also includes the final shots from the photographer.

 

Alterations to the Pattern

With the little that I could conclude from fitting the corset on a Myrna (my model’s) “body double,” I determined that I would need to alter the bust of the corset. I also wanted to alter the front underbust a bit and give a little more ease at the waist. I could also carve a tiny sliver off one of the front panels. As a side note, as I prepared to finish this final corset, after I had written my first article, I realized that I had sewed panel 3 in reverse on the mockup… Whoops!

 

In the above photos, I marked the changes that I would like to make. There were really just a few, which is lucky considering it was my first mockup and first use of this pattern. This is a true testament to the awesomeness of the Symington pattern makers. They were making patterns for mass produced corsets, so they needed a pretty universal fit. Perhaps this one would have fit well without any alteration!

 

Adjusting the Bust Fit

I knew that Myrna’s circumferential bust measurement was bigger than Serene’s (photographed), but her cup size is one cup smaller. So I decided to just curve the seam between panels 1 and 2 in a tad to better frame the bust, more for aesthetics than anything else. I also wanted to make sure that there would not be gapping at the top of the corset on Myrna so I chose to curve in the top of the bust panels.

There was a slightly baggy fit at the underbust on Serene. I figured that this would be a little less prominent on Myrna as her bust to waist measurement is about a half inch shorter than Serene’s measurement of the same. I did, however, put more ease at that seam when altering the pattern initially, and felt that I could take some of that ease back. In order to achieve the correct underbust measurement, I would still need to put that half inch somewhere, so I added it at the side seams to give her a bit more of a dramatic silhouette.  

I also changed the placement of the short diagonal bones on the inside bust. Again, a choice mainly for artistic preference. I think that by raising the bottom of that line up a bit it makes the breast look more lifted than low.

 

Waist

If you read and remember from the first article, there was an issue of where the actual waist was on this corset. I used the mockup to correct my marking on the pattern to have a more accurate idea of where the waist truly is. When I had the corset on Serene, I drew a line around the waist in pencil. I then lined up the top and bottom of the corset on paper pattern and, using a Sharpie marker. I went over the waist line until it bled thru the fabric and onto the paper, marking the waist on the paper pattern. I then transferred that waist marking to the tag board panels.

 

In the photo below, you can really see the difference of where I thought the waist would be and where it actually was. I am still a bit confused about the note on the original pattern that the waist is 5.5 from the bottom… It’s not.

 

Changing the circumferential measurement of the waist was simple, really; I added the ease back in at the side seam and back seams only. I really liked the fit in the front waist and would rather see it at the back

 

Hip

After trying the mockup on two different girls close to Myrna’s size, and studying Myrna’s body shape in photos, I decided not to alter the pattern much at all at the hip. My prediction was that it would fit Myrna well at the side and back hip. I took just a sliver—about a third of an inch—off of the bottom 2 inches of panel two to better cup and control the belly. Then, I was ready to retrace and cut the pattern.

 

Fabric Choice and Colors

I cannot tell you how long I mulled over the color of this corset. I had a design wall dedicated solely to the Symington corset.

 

I had finally narrowed it down, and it was all planned out by the time I made the alterations to the pattern. I had purchased the chutney colored dupioni silk which I would flat-line to a tan herringbone coutil. I had ordered all the things for the corset including the peachy pink satin coutil for the lining the coordinating cotton floss colors. All of my ducks were in a row. So I cut the corset... and then the thread debacle.

Whoops! I had not purchased a matching thread. I searched high and low for the right thread for the corset. It was nowhere to be found. I just could not find a thread that was good enough for this corset. Then, I started photographing it to ask the model and friends which they thought would work. And I didn’t like the way that the fabric photographed either. The color was coming out so pumpkin. I didn’t want a Pumpkin Symington.

 

So, I decided to change the color of the corset. After a short discussion with Myrna, we agreed to go pink. I am so glad that we did.

 

Flat-lining and Assembly

There are flat-liners and there are fusers. I am a flat-liner. I just really can’t deal with fusing things. I am horrible at it. I get the fusing stuck to everything… my iron, my hands, the right side of the fabric, the wrong side of the fabric, my dog… so I flat-line when I need to combine two fabrics for strength. I do this by cutting the fabric and sewing them together one on top of the other a quarter inch from the vertical edges.

 

After I had the fashion fabric flat-lined to the herringbone coutil, I constructed the corset exactly as I did for the mockup. Welt seam, from front to back.

 

Okay… Let’s talk about welt seams. I find them really difficult and try to avoid them. Why? For me, they are too bulky at the seams, especially if I am using my seam allowance for a boning channel. They are tricky to make line up correctly and they can cause undue wrinkling and bubbling if I make little mistakes. However, I wanted to use them for this corset because I figured that the original Symington construction must have been a welt seam.

 

Hindsight being 20/20, I would make this how I usually make my 4 panel corsets: Using single layer constructions and adding a floating lining. I get more into this later.  

 

Flossing Embellishment, Grommets and Binding

I put on matching bias binding and stitched it down by hand. It’s just the way I prefer to finish a corset. I like that it adds a bit more of that “handmade” feel to a corset. I am pretty sure the binding would have been done by machine by the Symington Company.

 

I was also told, by a pretty reliable source, that the Symington Co. also did their flossing by machine. I did not know this. Flossing an entire corset with this satin stitch design by hand really does a number on your fingers, especially if you are trying to finish it quickly. There was a map to the flossing on the original pattern. Remember the markings?

 

It wasn’t until I deciphered the code of the letter stamps that I realized how much flossing this corset was to have. It has nearly every bone flossed. I decided about a quarter of the way in, that I would skip some of the flossing. So not every bone on my corset is flossed. Especially on the bones that are in seams. Pushing a needle through all those layers….no, just no.  

In the middle of about a 4 day journey of flossing for a few hours every night, I took a trip to the local quilt store to find some goodies to save my fingers. I had an adjustable thimble, but it still kept falling off.  I pick up the following things which helped a ton. The first in the photo (hard to see) are these black coated needles. They have something on them that makes them just glide through fabric. They do not bend, but they do break a bit more easily. The second was a leather thimble with a metal tip. This thing is the love of my life. I don’t want to ever hand sew without it again. The last item is the Needle Grip-its. I wouldn’t have gotten these if I could have found my Needle grabber that Julia from Sew Curvy sent me. It’s just a little rubber circle that you can grab the needle with it you are having trouble pulling it through.  It really helps.  It also cushions your little finger pads, bonus!

 

The flossing pattern is pretty self-explanatory and you really can pick it up just from looking at the drawing. The trick I found with the diagonal satin stitching was to start with the longest stitch and go down to the smallest, following the tip of the bone as a guide for where to start your next stitch. You really need to place your needle close to your previous stitch if you want to have more of that satin finish than diagonal flossed lines.

 

I used a single strand of cotton floss for the white part of the flossing and just did as many stitches as were needed until the entire end of the bone was covered. For the gold part of the flossing I used a double strand of cotton floss, just one stitch in each direction. 

 

For the “X” flosses, I just did all the flossing in one direction and then the flossing in the other direction. It seems to be drawn that way on the pattern. 

I put the flossing through all the layers of fabric so the flossing is visible from the inside of the corset, which bugs me to no end. I really hate that it isn’t as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside.

 

I really had no choice but to do it this way, given the welt seaming.  

 

Working with the Model

Myrna was a doll through this whole process. I really put pressure on her to get some professional photos to me as soon as she got the corset in the mail. I shipped it to her and the shipping fees on my end were astronomical; she had to pay customs fees, too. When she did get it, she had a photo shoot lined up within a day and photos to me the next day. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from her. She really stepped it up for me and I appreciate this no end.
 
I asked Myrna to style the shoot however she wanted to style the photos. She chose a lovely lace shirt and a really pretty skirt to go with it. I love her little coronet, too. She says that she would like to shoot the corset a couple more times with different styling. I look forward to seeing what she does with it next!

 

Photos

Myrna chose photographer Egon van der Linden to work with on this project, and he did a really great job. He was also prompt about getting the shots back to us.

 

What I will do differently for my next corset with this pattern

I love, love, love this pattern and I do plan to use it for many corsets to come. I will be using a single layer construction method with a floating lining going forward. I want to try this pattern without alterations made to it, as I want to see the subtle differences in it. I would also like to use it as a base for some pretty embellished corsets. I may also manipulate the pattern to make it into an underbust pattern. There are lots of options to explore.

 

My Future with the Symington Patterns

I have now purchased four of the Symington patterns, and have only found the time to make one of them. I do want to eventually make some more corsets from the pattern collection. I have an upcoming custom commission that plans to use a pattern derived from one of the Symington patterns, but I am not sure which pattern to choose for the future owner. This finished custom-commissioned corset will go with me to the Oxford Conference of Corsetry, where attendees have been invited to create one of the Symington corsets to share and display at the conference. I cannot wait to see all the new antique corsets and the different interpretations of them. What a treat!  

I hope that you all feel as inspired as I do by this treasure that has been made available to us. Like I said before, it’s an exciting time for the world of corsetry!

 

 

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