Recently, my boyfriend made the delightfully sweeping statement that “all girls like sparkles and ponies”. Well, I can’t argue with that, as I do love both. And why shouldn’t I?!

What started as a bit of gentle teasing has grown into an excessive little corset that has its tongue firmly in its cheek.

When I produced the final Hearts corset, I did so with some trepidation about the design. Such beautiful seams required simplicity, surely? Such a feminine motif meant I should be careful not to “overdo” the design, clearly? Well, ultimately that approach didn’t quite work for me. But when I brushed those anxieties aside I created something quite different… something that perhaps embraces the “girliness” of the original design more fully.

Patterning

The battle I had with the Hearts patent was that while I may like sparkles and ponies, I don’t consider myself a “girly girl”. When exploring the Hearts corset I was constantly trying to find a balance between such a romantic motif and my dislike for things that are too saccharine-sweet. This tension inherent in the design was very problematic for me.

So, once the Hearts corset was completed and I was slightly dissatisfied, I thought, there’s just no getting around this… if you’re going to have a huge heart on the front of your corset, you may as well revel in it! So I began work on a new cincher.

An additional consideration was that I wanted to make this cincher, decorative as it may be, using only the left-overs and scraps I had from other projects. That’s the joy of cinchers. Got a small remnant of beautiful, rare or expensive fabric? Make a feature of it on a petite cincher!

I took an old, standard sized test pattern with cincher lines sketched onto it as my starting point (figure 2). This cincher style is a firm favourite of mine. Simply six panels per side, a diagonal slant to the first two seams, most of the shaping on the side and side-back seams, and a very narrow width at the side arching up at centre-front and centre-back. You can chop down any corset pattern to give a starting point for a cincher, or you can refer to Jill Salen’s book “Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques” to see the patterning for a “Swiss Cincher” on p54. Generally, people refer to “Swiss Waists” which aren’t really shaping cinchers in the way we picture them, but Salen’s example seems to be constructed and supported just like a regular corset. You can also refer to the shaping/seaming of this Late Victorian Corset at Lara Corsets.

 

Figure 2: an old standard sized test pattern. The pink lines are our guide.A QUICK TIP:
When patterning a narrow sided cincher that is designed to cinch 2” or more from your waist, you can be at risk of bulges above and below the cincher. We all know this is a danger with any corsetry, but with cinchers it can be even more of an issue (and not very attractive if you’re wearing your cincher as a fashion belt over other garments!). Try drafting in an extra couple of inches of ease around the ribs and high hips to allow for displaced flesh.
As our own Cathy Hay realised recently, this can have a profound effect even on slender figures.

 

For this cincher, I began by tracing out Panel 1 (figure 3, the centre-front). I then lined this up over Panel 2 at the waist and traced it out (figure 4), which you can see results in a small overlap at the lower edge and a smoothing out through the rest of the seam (ie: you will have a flatter front section to the corset than in the original pattern). I drew my central heart in place and a seamline that echoes it in a flattering way and cut the panel out (figure 5). I erased the original pattern’s seam lines and marked where the centre-front was to be cut on the fold (figure 6), then cut through that first seam line (figure 7).

Figure 3: Panel 1 is traced in pencil onto tracing paper. At first I drew in a ½” seam allowance at centre-front, but this was later removed as I decided to make a closed-front corset.	Figure 4: Panel 1 is lined up next to Panel 2 of the original pattern. This is traced out. You can see how this results in a smoothing out of the slight shaping that those two seams create, and that the small section shaved off the front of Panel 2 is accounted for by adding to the edge of our new panel.	Figure 5: the centre-front heart and an echoing seam line.
Figure 6: the front panel for our new cincher design is beginning to take shape.	Figure 7: the front panel for our new cincher design, plus a small section that must be accounted for elsewhere in the pattern.	Figure 8: the section removed from the CF panel must be accounted for here.

 

This small cut-off section now must be accounted for on the next panel. I temporarily taped this section down so that it lined up with Panel 3 of my original pattern (figure 8), then traced out the full piece (figure 9). The resulting piece is very curvy, so it will be interesting to see if this has an impact on fit when finished. 

The remaining pieces were traced out following the normal seam lines, so our central heart is the only really unusual seaming detail in this piece. Each piece had ½” (13mm) seam allowances added (figure 10), and the pattern was complete. This is yet another nice and quick way of playing around to create new patterns.

Figure 9: Panel 2 of our new cincher design.	Figure 10: the full pattern with seam allowances added.

 

Fabrication and Decoration

As I’ve said, this was a spur of the moment, tongue-in-cheek corset. I went through scraps of leftover fabric, thinking about colour and texture combinations (figures 11-13). I thought about pearlescent leathers, metallic silks, and various shades of silk satin. This iridescent burgundy satin and a dark taupe satin stood out as perfect for my intentions (figure 13). I had recently used the burgundy satin on a corset that featured hand-quilted jenny wrens on the gussets (figure 14) and felt like improving upon that idea a touch.

Figure 11: dark taupe silk satin with pale pink pearlescent leather.	Figure 12: dark taupe silk satin with iridescent putty duchess silk satin.	Figure 13: dark taupe silk satin with iridescent burgundy duchess silk satin (the reverse side of the putty colour shown in figure 12).

 

 

With that decided, it was time to decorate the central hearts panel.

Now, there is a correct way to hand-quilt, and I am not very good at it. The proper technique involves using a hoop frame and rocking your needle back and forth to make a few running stitches at a time. As an alternative, I saw a beautiful pillow cover at the V&A recently which was quilted entirely in tiny backstitches, literally about 1mm in length each. So this process can be quite swift (as per the technique shown in the video linked above) or exceptionally time-consuming. I really enjoy hand-quilting, so I don’t mind spending a while doing it, though I do need ever more practice. For this piece, I simply used small running stitches, without following the “rocking” technique.Figure 15: the inside of the hand-basted “sandwich” of fabrics.

Hand-quilting thread should be a glazed 100% cotton (such as the dusky pink shown in figure 13) and there are many brands available [one UK option, one US option]. This stuff is a joy to work with, if only because you don't need to mess around with beeswax, and I actually love the way it looks against silk satins.

I cut three pieces of fabric, larger than the heart panel. A piece of white satin coutil for the inner layer (its crispness and thinness make it a really good base for this), a piece of cotton batting (cotton is less likely to migrate through the top layer than synthetic alternatives), and a piece of the burgundy satin. The two outer layers were pressed, then the whole “sandwich” was hand-basted together with silk thread to give stability.

This is another point at which I diverge from received wisdom. I don’t put this “sandwich” in a hoop. The purpose of using satin coutil as the base is that it holds it shape really well. I find that it stays flat, the batting sits against it neatly, and the satin can be manually handled to give fullness or smoothness to the top layer as required. Ie: all the “bump” of the padding is visible to the outside of the panel, rather than evenly spread from inside to outside. If your lower layer is a less crisp fabric you will probably need to stretch your “sandwich” in a hoop in order to maintain tension.

The colours I chose for this cincher, and the quality of contrast stitching, always remind me of saddlery, which I love the aesthetics of. So with horses and sparkles in mind I decided to push that link. I wanted to do it in an elegant a manner as possible, treating the elements as though they were grown-up and serious design choices! Figure 16: “Whistlejacket” by George Stubbs.

I wanted to think “equestrienne chic” rather than “my little pony”… So where do you begin if you want to reference art where horses are depicted seriously and taken to be luxurious commodities? George Stubbs. Stubbs' most famous painting is of a champion racehorse named Whistlejacket. The silhouette alone is highly recognisable and distinctive.

I took this as my inspiration, tracing the outline onto a piece of paper to an appropriate scale for the heart (figure 17). I then pricked through the outline (figure 18) before laying the paper over my quilting fabrics and smoothing loose chalk over the paper (figure 19) so that it went through the holes, leaving an outline on the burgundy satin (figure 20). This is called the “Prick and Pounce” method.

At this point, you can fix the chalk in place or use it as a guideline to lightly paint over your outline, but I’m happy to re-draw in lines if necessary so I left it at that. 

 

Figure 17: the traced outline of Whistlejacket.	Figure 18: the outline “pricked” through. I use a sharp needle stuck into a cork for this and find that my ironing board is the best place for pricking through your design.
Figure 19: chalk in a contrasting colour is smoothed over the design.	Figure 20: the transferred design.

 

I hand-quilted around this outline, starting with the topline (mane and spine) of Whistlejacket in order to give a solid line to press up against.

Using an extra piece of cotton batting cut to shape, I padded out the horse’s torso (removing the basting stitch for access), then padded his flank and shoulder with smaller circular pieces. The rest of the outline was stitched and you can see that the end result is a lovely fullness to the horse’s outline (figure 21).

Manipulating the fabric in this way obviously creates some bumps to the background fabric, but I actually like the end result, it give some character to the design. This is another reason why I love the soft sheen of silk satin for quilting and padding, as the way the light hits it helps create contours, which boost the figurative impact of the image.

With Whistlejacket quilted, I decided to leave the heart as it was. My initial thought had been to fill in the background with scallops or diamonds, but I felt that might detract from the silhouette. So I suppose that technically we could redefine this as “trapunto” instead of “quilting”…

Construction

Next, I prepared the taupe satin by pressing and fusing it to a cotton interfacing. I cut the silk, satin coutil, and cotton lining layers, with the centre-front and centre-back pieces cut on the fold (figure 22). You can also see that I have cut additional coutil pieces without seam allowances, in order to make use of Laura Loft’s “fake double layer” method of creating boning channels (figure 23). You may be wondering why I have used satin coutil when it is going to be totally invisible: bulk. Quite simply, satin coutil has a crispness and thinness that I love (despite my recent disappointment with pink satin coutil!) and I hate bulky corsets. So where I’m using double layers, built-up texture, or exterior casings, I often like to use satin coutil as my base to help reduce bulk.

Incidentally, the little bumps in the satin where extra pressing may have been prudent are barely visible in real life! So much so that I didn’t see them until looking at the photographs… Curses.

Figure 22: the cut fabrics.	Figure 23: this shows Panel 2, cut in black cotton twill for the lining, satin fashion layer, black satin coutil strength layer, and black satin coutil “fake double layer”.

 

The first panel had the heart template laid on top (figure 24), which was followed at the machine (figure 25) to give a seam guideline (figure 26), then clipped (figure 27) and pressed under (figure 28 and 29). This was lined up over the quilted heart (figure 30), tacked in place with hand-basting (figure 31), the original guideline unpicked (figure 32), and then machine stitched in place and the basting removed (figure 33).

 

Figure 24: the CF heart template is laid on top to give us a line to follow.	Figure 25: stitching along the seam line.
Figure 26: our seam line.	Figure 27: the seam allowance is clipped.
Figure 28: the pressed-under allowance, seen from the inside.	Figure 29: with the seam allowance pressed under.
Figure 30: lining up the two pieces.	Figure 31: the two layers are secured with a basting stitch using silk thread.
Figure 32: the guide stitching is unpicked.	Figure 33: the pieces are machine stitched and the red silk thread removed.

 

Next I stitched the lacing panels. Around this point I felt that perhaps a sweetheart topline at front and back would make more sense, as roughly explored in chalk here (figure 34).

 

I altered my pattern to give a sweetheart curve at the front (figure 35), marked the new topline on my CF pieces (figure 36), and cut the new shape (figure 37). The same was done to the two interior coutil CF pieces that I had cut in order to provide hidden support at CF. These two panels were lined up and the waist tape positioned (figure 38).

Figure 35: the altered CF pattern piece.	Figure 36: the changes marked on my CF pieces.
Figure 37: the new CF topline.	Figure 38: the waist tape is positioned on the interior of the hidden CF panels.

 

These panels were stitched to create boning channels for flat steels, then attached to the decorative front panel (figures 39 and 40).

Figure 39: the inside of the now combined CF panels. You can see how the edges of this piece stand away from the table slightly. This was created manually whilst flat-lining the decorative and structural layers in order to allow for the fullness required on the outside of the corset and a smooth fit on the inside of the corset.	Figure 40: the outside of the CF panel.

 

As mentioned above, I used Laura Loft’s guidance on perfect boning channels and fake double layer corsets for this cincher.

Each piece without seam allowance had a corresponding paper template. These templates were used to plan placement of the boning channels (figure 41). As the front section of this cincher is a totally new design, I approximated the placement of the steels based upon past experience. The proof will be in the pudding and we may well find some issues with the seaming and/or boning placement. Each stitching line was cut on the template and traced onto the coutil, before moving onto the next stitching line (figures 42-44). I have diverged from Laura’s method in that I am working from the inside of the corset (figure 45) instead of the outside, to allow for turn-of-cloth to be created manually whilst stitching (figures 46 and 47).  Every panel is stitched in this way (figure 48). They are also flatlined within the seam allowance to again allow for turn-of-cloth, but I forgot to photograph that step.

Figure 41: an interior piece of coutil for Panel 2, shown next to its paper boning placement template.	Figure 42: tracing the stitching lines.
Figure 43: tracing the stitching lines.	Figure 44: the fully traced stitching lines that will create our on-panel boning channels.
Figure 45: the marked piece is laid over its corresponding coutil piece, with the satin fashion layer to the outside.	Figure 46: by stitching from the inside, I can manually curve the three pieces of fabric upwards away from the machine bed. The fullness created in the outer layer depends upon how sharply I curve the fabrics upwards.
Figure 47: You can see how the satin of this piece has a slight fullness which causes the panel to sit away from the table and will “fill out” when curved around a body.	Figure 48: the entire corset, ready for the seams to be stitched.

 

 

The remaining seams were stitched as normal, pressed open and the waist tape positioned (figure 49). The seam allowances were stitched down from the inside of the corset, catching the waist tape. I usually don’t stitch from the inside of a corset (mostly it depends upon the trickiness of the top layer fabric), but it can work brilliantly.
	Figure 49: the seams were stitched twice, pressed open, and the waist tape positioned.

If you do decide to do this, ensure that you have thoroughly checked the tension on your threads and presser foot, and done stitching testers using scraps of fabric, and remember to stitch slowly and evenly. Also ensure that you check progress regularily, to make sure you aren’t getting any skipped stitches or wrinkled fabric (figure 50).  I then measured out the stitching lines in order to create boning channels, before repeating the action creating my on-seam boning channels (figure 51).

Figure 50: the seam allowances stitched down.	Figure 51: all the boning channels are now stitched.

 

 

I inserted my flat steels for the hidden CF panel, then stitched and attached my black twill lining layer (figure 52). Yes, the central panel of the lining is running in the opposite direction to the rest… remnants, remember? A lower edge binding was applied (figure 53) and my remaining steels (a combination of spirals and flats) inserted.

Figure 52: the lining layer, in black cotton twill.	Figure 53: the lower binding attached.

 

 

The facings and binding were hand-finished in place and 4mm Prym two-part eyelets were inserted (figure 54). With the corset essentially finished (figures 55 and 56), I moved on to completing my decoration…

Figure 54: hand-finished details and two-part eyelets.	Figure 55: the corset, pre-crystals.	Figure 56: the corset, pre-crystals.

 

Crystals

Sparkles and ponies, remember?!

As mentioned, a personal consideration for this project was that I wanted to make it really quite excessive, but using only remnants and left-overs from other work. These Swarovski crystals have been re-appropriated from another project (figure 58). They are clear, in a range of sizes. 

These crystals are not hotfix, as I personally don’t like using the hotfix wand. I find that the glue can become stringy, is very visible if you make a mistake, and you don’t really have any time to adjust the placement of a crystal. That said, the hotfix wands are inexpensive, so it’s worth trying out as they suit some people better than others.

Figure 57: design illustration.	Figure 58: Swarovski crystals, some still a bit gluey from a previous project.	Figure 59: gemstone glue is used to secure the crystals. In my experience so far this glue holds better than the hotfix crystals, but any crystals are prone to falling off with wear and time.

 

Using gemstone glue (figure 59), I placed the crystals with a view to basic symmetry but without counting or measuring. I prefer corsets that have an organic feel to them. I start with the largest stones (figure 60), and work my way down through the sizes (figure 61). The completed crystals spray outwards from the heart and are weighted heavier at the top arches (figure 62).

 

Figure 60: the largest stones are secured first.	Figure 61: the remaining stones are applied in size order, ensuring a pleasing distribution of sizes across the design.
Figure 62: the completed corset, detail.

 

 

The Cincher

The end result, my Crystal Whistlejacket Cincher, is pretty silly. Well, “pretty” and “silly”! I almost wish there were more crystals radiating out from the central heart, but that would have required cutting the top edge with more room. Next time, perhaps. I also now feel that additional quilting may have been okay. Diamonds or stirrups or bits, something absurdly equestrian.

Since so many of my narrow sided cinchers have sharp points at the top and bottom, it was a pleasant change to do a more curvy style, and I think the sweetheart shaping of the topline is especially successful. Whether it will look right on a body is another matter though. I do feel that my heart should have been a wider shape (more like in my illustration, figure 57), which I will bear in mind for the future.

Incidentally, my boyfriend declared this “the most girly thing ever”, some girls squealed delightedly over it, whilst one of my tomboy friends really disliked it… which I think means we have succeeded in our brief! Sparkles and ponies and girliness.

Figure 63: the completed corset.	Figure 64: the completed corset.

 

 

On the Body

Shown on the body, this little cincher is cute! In figure 65 you can see how the lower front curve of the first seam could do with a little bit of flattening, by shaving a curved wedge off the panel. Otherwise, the boning placement has worked quite nicely. I would perhaps use more flat steels at centre-front in the future (almost like a fully boned stomacher), although the texture and bump of the quilted heart is something I actually really like. You can also see here how this standard size isn’t quite right for my model, but it gives a good enough idea of the shape. Also note, those little hip bulges… hipster jeans and high hip corsets are not the greatest combination!

Figure 65: front close-up of the cincher.

Figure 66 gives an angled front view, showing the smoothness of the satin panels. This is also shown clearly in figure 67.

Remember, I manually curved the panels whilst stitching, accounting for turn-of-cloth. So the outer satin layer has a fullness greater than the coutil layer beneath, and so on. When wrapped around a body, the result is a smooth and full corset. 

The back view in figure 68 shows how this corset is a touch too small for my model. The lacing gap is wider than if we were to make this corset to bespoke specifications, and the top edge bulges. This pattern could be altered to fit this particular model with minimal fuss, however.

Figure 66: front angle view.

Figure 67: back angle view.

Figure 68: back view.

 

Summary

It is very much my personal feeling that excessive seriousness can stifle enjoyment and experimentation in any artform. Considerations that we all have (about the expense of learning/experimenting, about the reception of our work, and so on) can become limits with which we restrain our work. I’ve had a lot of people say, “I dreamed up something like that a while ago, but was too scared to ever make it”… This is a real shame, and I feel that part of Foundations' role is to encourage all its readers and writers to have the confidence to try anything they wish. We won’t all agree on style and taste, but that shouldn’t stop us from following our own aesthetic preferences as far as they will take us.

I hope that this piece has illustrated that sometimes it’s worth diving in head-first.

 

• Not sure of a design? Just try it out! Make sketches, toiles, illustrations, or build the corset proper.
• Think friends and family might dislike or disapprove of your designs/hobby? Let them, they’ll get over it. It’s your art.
• Worried about the reactions of your peers? Don’t be. The only person you’re in competition with is yourself. Again, it’s your art.
• Intimidated by patterning? Scribble, photocopy, tape, and cut up paper patterns, learning as you go.
• Hate the possibility of failure? The effort is more important than the outcome and so you can never really “fail”.
• Struggling with the expense of studying corsetry? Try cheaper alternative materials and re-use whatever you can from old/forgotten projects until you’re in a position to play with the more expensive stuff.

This cincher was made with less than a yard of the taupe satin, a tiny scrap of the burgundy, re-used crystals, threads and materials left from another project, and flat and spiral steels from an old test corset that were cut down and re-finished. The design was deliberately whimsical, and approached without fear.

The end result? Well, right now I like it. Whether I still like it in a month’s time remains to be seen. But the next time I decide to use crystals, hand-quilting, or quirky patterning, I’ll be far less anxious about it. Having weaved them all into one mad little cincher, they will be much less intimidating as isolated design elements.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little spin-off project.  In my final Hearts article of the series, you can see how I originally took the patent in a more restrained direction and made use of a different patterning process.

If you’re looking at this little cincher and thinking anything along the lines of, “hey, I’d like to do something similar, but with a diamond or star shape at the front, and as an overbust!” then just give it a go!

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