1903 Savoye Corset, part 2

In part 1 we focused on learning more about Emile Savoye, the corset improvements he patented during the early twentieth century, and some of the contemporary designs of other inventors that he was striving to improve upon. We had also made a detailed study of US Patent No.740930 in an effort to learn as much as possible about how Savoye had intended his creation to be constructed. We also began our Savoye adventure by creating our initial pattern.

In this article we will check the fit of that pattern and begin creating our final corset.

Thoughts on Boning Layout

While some of Savoye's patents discuss potential layouts for boning, such as his U.S. Patent 774,537, Savoye does not discuss layouts for the boning in his 740,930 corset design (Fig. 1). So in this case we are left to our own devices to discover how best to lay out the boning for the corset. I started by looking at Savoye's other corset patents to get an idea about how he might have done it in this design.

Savoye's primary boning layout, the one discussed in U.S. Patent 774,537, utilized a novel method of interlacing ribbons to stiffen the bust, but it was a little later than our 740,930 design. Unfortunately that layout would not really work in for our design, so I turned to contemporary designs from other inventors to see how they laid out their boning. Lawrence's U.S. Patent 720,363 (Fig. 2) and Schottlander's U.S. Patent 736,029 (Fig. 3) were probably the most helpful in my search.

Fig 1: The front view image submitted with the patent of Savoy’s 740,930 Corset. Savoye, Emile. 1903. Corset. U.S. Patent 740,930.

Fig 2: Alternate view of the corset submitted by Laura Lawrence for patent in late 1902 U.S. Patent 720,363.

Fig 3: Design for a new corset submitted by Theodore Schottlander for patent in 1903. Schottlander, Theodore. 1903. U.S. Patent 736,029

Materials Needed

Sewing machine
Thread
2 yards (1.8m) of 60in (150cm) wide canvas or coutil for mock up and interlayer
2 yards (1.8m) of 60in (150cm) wide silk taffeta or other fabric for outer layer
2 yards (1.8m) of 60in (150cm) wide linen for lining and boning channels
Pencil
Sharpie marker pen
Tape measure
Scissors
Steel boning
Corset busk
Waist tape

Fitting Your Pattern

Step 1: Now that you have finished the draft fitting on the dress form it's time to check the fit of the pattern on the person that you're creating the corset for.
Step 2: Undo the seams on the test pattern and trim the pieces up to the correct seam allowance.
Step 3: Iron the pattern pieces.
Step 4: Iron your toile fabric. For the toile you should use fabric of a similar weight to the fabric you plan to use for your final corset. I chose to use the same canvas I will be using for the interlining of my final corset.
Step 5: Lay out and trace the pattern pieces.
Step 6: Cut out the toile.
Step 7: Assemble your pattern pieces. Since you are just doing the toile you can sew the front pieces closed. Attach the boning to your mock up. I used masking tape to temporarily secure the boning and busk to my toile, but you can sew channels if you prefer.

Step 8: Try on your mock up. I used a temporary lacing strip in the back for the fitting. Now is the time to make any tweaks to the pattern that you feel are necessary.

I tested a boning layout similar to that depicted in Lawrence's patent as part of my first fitting. Unfortunately it didn't work with my body. It didn't feel very supportive and it didn't really seem to give me the look I wanted.

While I felt like the pattern itself fit pretty well I was unhappy with the boning layout and the way the corset felt. I didn't really want to create a greater waist reduction but the corset itself didn't feel supportive enough.

So for my second fitting, I redid the boning layout and added two additional bones. I laid out my boning more similarly to the way Schottlander did in his patent. It felt much more supportive and seemed to work better with my body type. Based on these trials I chose to use the second boning layout for my final corset.

Here you can see the corset with the final boning layout.

Front, second fitting, different boning layout

Side, second fitting, different boning layout

Back, second fitting, different boning layout

Assembling Your Corset

Step 9: Now that you have fully fitted and tweaked your final pattern it's time to cut all your pieces out.

I decided to create my corset with a red silk taffeta shell, interlined with a layer of heavy cotton canvas.

For comfort, and to ensure that the inside of the corset would be as pretty as the outside, it's lined with linen.

Step 9: Now that you have fully fitted and tweaked your final pattern it's time to cut all your pieces out.

Step 10: Pin and baste your outer layer and interlining together to reduce issues with the shell and interlining slipping during assembly.

Step 11: Sew your first two pattern pieces together and clip your seam allowance in the curves so that it will lay smoothly.

Iron your seams and assembled pieces.

Step 12: After reading Joanne Arnett's article on the 1906 La Mode Illustree Corset I decided to press the seam allowances towards the center front of the corset and stay stitch them in place.

This gave me a nice, smooth, sturdy seam.

Press the seam allowances towards the center front of the corset and stay stitch them in place

Step 13: Use these techniques to assemble all of the other pieces of the corset except for the back lacing panel.

At this point you should also assemble the lining in the same manner.

Step 14: Pin the waist tape into place and baste it down by hand. For my waist tape I used a sturdy linen twill tape.

Step 15: Insert your busk. For this corset I used a standard 13 inch (330mm) busk.

I started by marking the point on the corset that I wanted the top of my busk to start. I then marked the points where the busk loops would fit through on the left side of the corset. I stitched the front edge of the lining to the front edge of the corset leaving the spaces for the loop open. I then ironed my seams, fit the left half of the busk into the left side of the corset and finished encasing the left portion of the busk into its channel. I then marked the points where the buttons on the right side of the busk would need to fit through the right half of the corset. Using an awl, I opened holes for each of the buttons. I stitched the front edge of the lining to the front edge of the right half of the corset, fitted the right half of the busk into place, and encased the right portion of the busk into its channel as I had done before.

Step 16: Pin down your boning channels. I chose to use some linen bias tape I had left over from an earlier project for my boning channels.

As the patent does not discuss materials for boning channels, feel free to use what you prefer.

Step 17: Sew down the boning channels and unpick the basting stitches on the waist tape once you have finished.

At this point I inserted the boning into my channels. For this project I chose to use ½" (13mm) steel bones that I had ordered to length based on measurements I took after the initial draft fitting on my dress form, taking care to ensure that I left approximately ¾" (19mm) of space between the edge of the corset and the edge of the bone. This gave me a little bit of leeway and ensured that I had plenty of room to sew down my binding.

Step 18: Attach the final rear panel.

As this panel will hold the grommets for lacing the corset closed I chose to double mine over and make it extra strong.

First I cut the panel twice as wide as I needed and then sewed the edge of the rear panel to the rear edge of the corset.

Iron the seam and top stitch it.

I then folded the panel in half, ironed it flat, and sewed it down with a top stitch similar to the way I sewed down the seams of the other panels.

Finally I top stitched the rear edge of the panel to give a nice crisp edge to the back of the corset.

Once the rear panel was in place I pinned down my lining and whipstitched the back edge down to cover the raw edge of the rear panel.

Step 19: Bind your corset.

I chose to bind my corset with strips of the same silk that I used as my fashion fabric.

If you are interested in in-depth instructions on binding Cathy Hay has a fabulous tutorial on binding.

Step 20: Add grommets to your rear panel for lacing. I spaced my grommets one inch apart but you should use the spacing that works best for you and the size grommets you are using.

Optional Step 21: If you would like to add lace or some other appropriate decoration to your corset do it! I considered adding lace to the top binding of my corset but chose not to in the end.

The Finished Corset

What I Would Do Differently Next Time

I really enjoyed this project but there are some things I think I would like to try next time. I think I would adjust the boning layout a little more using narrower bones spaced closer together. I would also like to play a bit more with the pattern in order to try to achieve a silhouette closer to the fashionable pigeon breasted silhouette of the early 20th century and possibly try to achieve more waist reduction. I also think I would add garters to the next version and I would probably use a different fashion fabric as well. The silk was pretty but I think I would prefer to use something different next time.

The curved pattern pieces do go together quite nicely though and the resulting corset is really quite comfortable. Overall Emile Savoye's 740930 corset was a delight to work with and I look forward to working with some of his other corset designs. First though I think I will add some lovely flossing to my current version.