Many moons ago, I was rambling on my old blog about my learning experiences patterning corsets. I was talking about how shifting distribution even slightly could have big knock-on effects, with particular reference to the ripples and wrinkles that I had experienced (and had often seen elsewhere) on the front hip of contemporary corsets.

More recently, Julia Bremble (the lovely lady who runs Sew Curvy) asked me about this blog post. What exactly was I going on about? How could that front hip be improved? Our email correspondence got pretty involved and it became clear that this was a topic worthy of an article or two!

Just how can one minimise ripples on this spot? What is it about this style of patterning that causes them, and what other styles of patterning can circumvent the issue?

A Danger Hot Spot

There are certain patterning/fit problems that arise again and again for many corsetieres. Figure 1 (without being the clearest image, my apologies) illustrates this problem.

See those deep shadows? They're doing us a favour and showing us that there is a deep diagonal crease at the front hip, just below the waist.

This was one of my first self-drafted patterns and so it was the first time I really experienced this problem of bias ripples at the front hip. Having experienced the problem, I began noticing it everywhere, on both beginner and advanced corsets. Most frequently, it was attached to a type of 6 panel patterning in which the front seams flowed slightly diagonally down towards the lower busk. The problem was exacerbated further when a large hipspring (waist-to-hip difference) was involved.

Was an entirely new patterning approach required? Or was it possible to improve this style of pattern to reduce those bias ripples?

The front hip is a danger hot spot for bias ripples. The first step was to consider what was causing the issue.

Here is that super-early patterning attempt on the flat:

Look at those angular shapes! Goodness me, I'm glad my patterns got prettier! If you remember that I said a large hipspring exacerbates the problem, you may begin to see what could be happening.

This pattern featured reasonably vertical seaming (which I will discuss later as a way of actually side-stepping this front hip problem), and is cut exceptionally straight through the front hip section. Imagine a 2D cut out of a woman face on (the flattest tummy imaginable!) and you may begin to see what sort of shape this front hip patterning wants to create.

My model has a natural dramatic pear-shaped physique with a large hipspring. Is all of her natural curve to be found on the side seams? No, she's a three-dimensional person! And yet, my pattern here seems to believe it will smoothly navigate her curves whilst not accommodating the curve that also happens over the front hip. Foolish pattern...

 

If we look to another early test pattern I made (figure 3, by no means perfect, but better), we will see that the hip now broadens from the waist around the entire figure, not just the side and side-back. The curves are more gentle and the narrowing of the waist swells out over both the side and front hip, allowing for the corset to curve over the hip from the side-front right around to the side-back, not just at the side seam. This is where a lot of new makers go wrong, in drafting patterns which take too much (or all) of the reduction from the side seam.

 

 

The resulting corset (figure 4) is a lot smoother, but still doesn't have those diagonal front seams that I wanted. I continued practicing custom patterns, but also began developing a standard sized pattern, aiming for the 6 panel, diagonal-front-seams, aesthetic. Figure 5 shows an early developmental piece in black satin coutil and you can see the diagonal slope of the side-front seam. This piece rippled considerably when worn, teaching me about fabric, patterning, boning, and the relationship between them all (more on that in part 2).

Eventually, my standard sized patterning settled on the shaping and smoothness that I craved (and I will explain the simple “fix” that was required to achieve this presently). The curves were gentle enough to allow for that diagonal seaming at front without rippling across the hip (even when minimally boned). I had the shaping, smoothness (figure 6), and seam placement (figure 7) that I wanted!

 

So what do I mean by the common 6 panel pattern with slightly diagonal front seams?

If we take an average example, the pattern will probably look something like this, though perhaps not as curvy (figure 8, a bespoke pattern):

The side seam is vertical and symmetrical from front to back (a modern trend) whilst the first two seams are slightly on the diagonal. You can see this style of patterning everywhere and it is indeed lovely.

But it comes at a price. The tricky issue of that front hip. Let's discuss the limitations of the pattern, ways of achieving smoothness, and alternative approaches.

The Joy of Gentler Curves

The simplest way to use this style of pattern with great effect, is to use it on clients who have a very mild hipspring or gentle curves.

The front-half seams in figure 9 give our desired diagonal lines, but the slight figure of our slender non-tightlacing individual (in stark contrast to our curvy pattern in figure 8) means that there are no massive changes in size throughout the panels (ie: the difference between waist and hip, etc. is not very large). Less curvy even than my standard sizes (figure 6), the front hip danger spot for bias ripples is not much of a problem for a figure like this. Figure 10 shows the completed corset, though I hope you will forgive me the other few lumps and bumps, as it was (yet another) pre-business experimental piece and I used a poor choice of fusible interfacing.

So, to summarise, the benefit of working with a figure with gently sloping curves (or sticking to repeatable standard sizes with mild waist reduction) is that you can attain smooth shaping much more easily. This is the main limitation of the pattern, that beyond a certain waist-to-hip ratio it can become rather difficult to achieve smoothness.

Refining the Patterning and Keeping your Diagonals

But what if your client has more curves (such as in figure 8)? What if your standard sized pattern is still not sitting smoothly?

The “fix” for this issue is remarkably simple and works for gentle curves right up to most standard sizes and slightly beyond.

We need to look closely at the problem area. Often, it will be the case that the lower section of the seam between panels 2 and 3 is creating tensions diagonally. Figure 11 is a sketch showing these tensions.

All we need to do is relieve this tension.

If you imagine a pair of hands pulling at the two arrows marked in figure 11, what does that do to the area in-between? It pulls it too taut. There is essentially not enough fabric across that area to allow for the rest of the corset to sit smoothly.

We need to add a small crescent of fabric to the pattern.

 

Figure 12 shows the front half of a sketched pattern, with the appropriate alteration. Simply adding a small lengthened crescent moon shape to this area (between the waist and lowest point of the bias ripple) takes that seam closer to vertical and changes the tensions throughout the rest of the seam. The panel now fits together around a body without tension, and that small sliver of extra space does not hinder the overall proportions of the corset. Figure 13 shows a standard sized corset making use of the improvements.

By changing the slope and angle of that seam just slightly, we have suddenly created a smooth shape to the front hip whilst also maintaining the diagonal slope to the seams that we wanted.

 

 

Changing the Pattern and Compromising your Diagonals

As I hinted at above, once serious curves come into play this little refinement won't help much if used in isolation. The corset will either regain its front-hip bias ripples or the sloping lines of the pattern will create a Victorian thrust to the lower busk and dish to its middle. If these details are unacceptable to you, then you must reconsider the patterning in more depth.

The first option is to change the placement of the seam. By taking the seam between panels 2 and 3 further backwards (ie: towards the side-seam), you narrow its width and shift it closer to the hip bone (figure 14). As the front of the corset is normally wanted to be flat (thus, flattening the tummy) putting the seams further away from centre-front is not a problem. You may still get some bias ripples with this approach, but I have seen it used by many exceptionally accomplished tightlacing corsetieres with great effect and a minimum of ripples. Of course, you must remain mindful of your fabric choices and their suitability for this patterning style.

 

 

 

The second option is to add another seam, giving a 7 panel/side pattern (4 panels on the front half, 3 on the back).

As this article began with a question from http://www.sewcurvy.comJulia, let's go back to her... Upon discussing potential changes she could make to smooth out her front hip section, Julia added an extra panel to the front half of her pattern and achieved great smoothness in the resulting toile (figure 15). This extra panel creates more seams, more areas for creating shape, whilst also shifting the seam of the side-front panel backwards as mentioned in option 1 above. The side-front seam is now closer to the side seam, giving a narrower panel. Remember, a narrower panel has less scope for warping along the bias. This 1907 corset design features very similar seaming.

Another example comes from a Black Cherry underbust that I made in 2010. Figure 16 shows another pattern created with 7 panels and demonstrates how this is especially useful for larger or curvier clients. As the horizontal measurements increase, so too does the width of each individual panel. Wide panels generally equate with poor fit and shaping, so as your sizes get larger you may wish to add/alter seaming for smoothness.

On this corset (figure 17), the heavy duty spoon busk also helps to keep the front of the corset smooth, whilst the extra seam allows for more refined shaping of the lower front half, helping prevent the busk/tummy section from “kicking” forwards. For a truly flat tummy and a corset that doesn't “kick” forwards, a heavy duty flat busk is a more modern choice than a spoon busk (figure 18).

The third option, is to retain your diagonal seam placement and relieve the created tension over the front hip by adding a gore.

Adding a gore can help relieve tension by allowing you to control more accurately the grain placement and curve on any given area of the panel. The best way to figure this out, in my opinion, is with your flat pattern and a boned/laced toile ready. I'm sure it can be flat-patterned very effectively, but I prefer to work in this way sometimes. The toile must be a good representation of the final corset (similar fabrics, construction, etc.) in order for it to be really useful.

Get the toile on your client or padded mannequin.

Establish where there are any bias/tension ripples, and then carefully mark/cut a vertical line from the edge of the corset. Snip away very gradually and carefully until you have released the tension. You can now insert a piece of fabric and trace off the resulting triangular gore required (figure 19). You can also play around with details here. For example, you could cut a triangular sliver instead of a straight line, thus changing the shape and size of the required gore.

Your gore may need its own support (either through additional steels, cording or quilting), which you can figure out at the second toile fitting.

The fourth option, is to forget about diagonally sloping seams and move towards a more contemporary and sharp vertical seaming.

Vertical seaming has two main characteristics.

1. It creates a flat tummy almost automatically (just ensure you don't take any waist reduction between the centre-front and side-front area).
2. It tends to be synonymous with the sharper hipspring of tightlacers, having the potential to give good shaping and comfort around bones (with seams either side of the iliac crest) and it can cup the front ribs more dramatically.

Figure 20 shows a broche corset dress with sharp hipspring and a side-front dip at the waist, creating a boxier hip shape reminiscent of many modern tightlacers.

Each of the seams are close to vertical when on the body, and the waist reduction and hip flare now occur at different points on the flat pattern (ie: curve over the front of the hip is also accounted for).

The fifth option, is to stick fast to your diagonal seams and provide support with applied vertical boning channels.

As per Edwardian corsetry, you may choose to keep your diagonal seams for the visual effect (even making them more dramatically on the diagonal, if you wish), whilst applying steels vertically across the seams for support and shape (figure 21. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons). If this is the case, consider keeping the reduction to the side seam and side-back of the pattern.

A heavy-duty straight busk and flat steels applied vertically in interior casings will give the straight shaping you need, leaving your diagonally sloping seams unspoiled.

Summary

With each of these options, the overarching question is one of fit and aesthetic. Where do your own priorities lie... In the seamlines? In the smoothness? In the overall proportions?

It is perfectly possible to create corsets that fit any figure by choosing any patterning approach. But something fitting does not mean it will give beautiful shaping. Which patterning approach is most appropriate to the design at hand, the client's physique, and your personal tastes or brand aesthetic? Knowing which element is your priority will allow you to choose the most appropriate pattern refinements for your own corsetry, whether for business or pleasure.

We've seen how this common problem of a rippling front hip can be tackled, and learnt a bit more about how the pattern, proportions, seamlines and placement of waist reduction affects the shape. But what happens next...

What refinements/explorations can you make after the patterning is sorted? What if you can't make the appropriate pattern changes, but still desire increased smoothness? Part 2 will address these issues by looking at material/construction choices.

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