In the first article, the corset pattern was scaled up to full-size from the patent’s cutting diagram and then fitted much closer at the bust, with the intent of wearing it with a corset cover that would create the fuller busted silhouette. Now that that mock-up has been fitted, it’s time to move on to construction of the final corset and finding out just how wearable the final product is.

The patent gives the option of either cutting both the top and the bottom pattern pieces along the embroidered edge of the fabric, or just cutting the top pieces along the embroidered edge, with the bottom edge bound as usual with bias tape. To give myself a little more flexibility with shaping the bottom edge of the corset, if needed, and also because the fabric with only one edge embroidered was more than a little bit cheaper than fabric with two edges embroidered, I decided to go with the fabric with embroidery along only one edge. I could have purchased as little as 2 yards at 45” wide and still had enough space to cut all of my pattern pieces, but I bought an extra half a yard to give myself a little wiggle room in case I made a cutting mistake. I thankfully didn’t need it, but always better safe than sorry.

Swiss embroidered lace fabric

In the previous article, I had to do quite a bit of shaping on the three top front pieces around the bust in order to tighten up the massive amount of space the original mock-up created, so the first step was to recut those pattern pieces to match the new shape.

Pattern pieces 1, 2, 3 recut

When laid out, the pieces still mostly look like the corset drawing, so things are still looking good! I drew in a ½” (13mm) seam allowance around all of the pieces. The only exceptions to this were along what would be the top and bottom edges of the final corset and at the center fronts and backs (where I drew in a full 1” (25mm) to give ample room for inserting the busk in the front and setting the lines of eyelets with bones on either side in the back).

Final paper pattern pieces laid out like corset drawing Final fabric pieces cut laid out like corset drawing

I had hoped to weave a ribbon in and out of the eyelets in the top half of the corset, but cutting the pieces at different angles resulted in the openings not lining up along an even row. If I’d bought an extra yard or so to play with pattern matching, I probably could have gotten the eyelets to line up a little bit more, but even then the eyelets on one corset piece would be ½”-1” (13-25mm) higher than eyelets on an adjacent piece, resulting in a weird height difference from piece to piece. I think that would have driven me even crazier than no ribbon at all!

Close up of top corset edge

After sewing the top pieces together and then the bottom pieces together, they needed to be lined up correctly at the waist in order for the boning channels to follow the seam lines correctly and give the proper support in the right areas. The highlighted corset drawing below shows the boning layout between the top and bottom sections. Bones line either side of the grommets and busk and, except for two areas where the boning channels follow a common seam between the top and bottom of the corset, follow either a top or a bottom seam and then run along the middle of its opposite piece.

Boning channels highlighted

I pinned the top and bottom portions on a board with a 1” (25mm) grid to ensure they would line up correctly. I then trimmed any extra fabric away to give the pieces an even, straight line to be connected along.

Pieces pinned and waist edges trimmed

The colored Figure 4 (below) hows how the top and bottom portions should be connected and then how the waist tape is laid on either side of the seam. The double row of stitching connecting the top and bottom pieces, combined with the waist tape and boning channels, should help strengthen the corset along this seam.

Figure 4, colored

First, the waist edge of the top half of the corset is ironed up ½” (13mm)

Waist edge of top half ironed up

Then, the waist edge of the bottom half of the corset is placed directly on top of the ironed edge of the top half of the corset so that both sets of raw edges are lined up.

Bottom half pinned to folded top half

The waist seam is then sewn down twice – once right next to either edge of the seam allowance.

Right side, waist edges sewn

Longer, horizontal dotted lines on the corset drawing indicate the placement of the waist tape. For now, I’ve only sewn it down to either side of the corset. The rest of the waist tape will be connected to the corset as the boning channels are sewn down on top of it.

Figure 3 (below) demonstrates how the seam allowances between top pieces and bottom pieces are sewn down with the boning channels. However, the way this is done can be interpreted two ways.

Figure 3, colored

The first way is to press the seam allowances to one side, sew them down, lay the boning channel on top of the seam, and then stitch down the center and again down each side of the boning channel, creating a place for the two bones.

The second way is to press the seam allowances to one side as in the first method but *not* sew the seam allowance down yet and instead move directly to laying the boning channels on top of the ironed seam allowances. Sewing down the center of the boning channel will stitch the seam allowance down at the same time.

Since I was primarily concerned with how the outside of the finished corset would look, I went with the second method so I’d only need to worry about a single line of stitching showing on the outside.

The boning channels were made from a cream-colored, medium-weight canvas which did the job perfectly, but the corset fabric was sheer enough that the color difference between the channels and the fabric was pretty obvious after they were attached.

To create the boning channels, I cut the pieces on the grain and then used a bias tape maker to shape the channels.

Creating boning channels w/ bias tape maker

To ensure the stitching was as even as possible along the seams and on the front of the corset, I pinned the boning channels to the inside of the corset, but kept the pins on the right side.

Boning channels pinned, inside view Bones pinned, front view

The corset drawing showed 21 eyelets along the center backs, which I thought was going to be impossible to fit, but it turned out that they fit perfectly at ¾” (19mm) spacing in between in each one. I used #00 7/32” eyelets and a hand press to set them.

Spacing eyelets Finished lines of eyelets

I normally use a facing when inserting the busk, but since no additional pattern pieces were shown on the cutting layout, I used the 1” (25mm) seam allowance I added to insert the busk. It’s ½” (13mm) down from the top and is still high enough for me to comfortably sit.

Busk inserted into center front pieces

After inserting the bones and sewing all of the channels closed, I used the leftover fabric to make matching bias tape and bound the bottom edges of each half of the corset.

I was nervous trying on the finished corset for the first time since there was no canvas or support fabric added to the line of eyelets, but everything held together perfectly.

Second try-on

Well, almost perfectly. I noticed two problems right off the bat. First, the center front bottom corners did not quite match up between both halves of the corset. Second, and more importantly, I couldn’t sit! I had gotten so deep into the sewing groove, I didn’t stop to think how having full length bones in the front would make it impossible to sit down.

However, I discovered a hidden benefit to a corset where only one edge is bound – it’s very easy to rip open the top of a boning channel, take out the longer bone, and then adjust the bottom height of the channel for a shorter bone.

I changed the bones on either side of the busk, and the two sets of bones next to it, and the problem was solved!

Final try-on

So what’s the final verdict? Overall, it’s a lovely corset that gives a good silhouette (a bust improver built into the corset cover would definitely help round my front figure out) and I was pleasantly surprised at the strength of the single layer of fabric.

I like the idea of not needing to bind the top and bottom of the corset, although I wouldn’t recommend it for any corset where there would be considerable strain on the ends of the boning channels. Also, I don’t believe having separate top and bottom pieces, especially ones that would be cut on the bias, was entirely necessary and it certainly made fitting the mock-up an exercise in patience (and pinning, lots of pinning).

I recommend giving this corset a try if you’re interested in something new, but don’t expect it to revolutionize the way you make future corsets.

And lastly, this corset will be part of a larger series of articles over on Your Wardrobe Unlock’d where I’ll be recreating an 1907 Edwardian gown (along with the proper undergarments) for my wedding ensemble. Here are a few teaser pics of what’s to come!

Teaser pic