After experimenting with patented Victorian patterns in coutil and leather, my adventurous soul started looking for yet more inspiration on the corset front. I had noticed that sheer corsets were suddenly ‘all the rage’ and decided that although I am not a great fan of the see-through look myself, the medium does lend itself quite well to different creative ideas. Most of the sheer corsets I saw were sweet bridal ones or elegant sophisticated creations – and so I decided to make something much darker and more unconventional.

The two aspects I wanted to have in mind were: using sheer, (but the corset not being sheer itself) and the dramatic Gothic, or maybe even ‘cyberpunk’, look. I started sketching, but it was the arrival of the synthetic whalebone at Sew Curvy that made it all click… the whalebone looked like, well, bone, really – and it was white enough to show through the sheer, if I enclosed it between layers.

A couple of days of frantic sketching ensued, producing quite complex designs (including making the bones look like actual ribs, maybe broken ones, with a Steampunk styled heart peeking through); in short, a bit too complex for me for just an experiment. So a simple trial version was decided upon - the complex ideas would have to wait their turn, if the experiment turned out to be successful...

I decided to make my experimental sheer during my next ‘bitch and stitch’ session with Julia from Sew Curvy - I suspected that I would need all the help I could get! Julia didn’t seem to be particularly impressed with my project but promised to keep her eyes on the work, hopefully forestalling any impending disasters.

And so, without further ado, let us have a look at the process…

Materials

• Cotton sateen (any kind of coutil or sturdy corsetry fabric can be used),
• Sheer,
• Spiral steel,
• Wide flat steels for the centre front,
• Flats for the CB panel,
• Binding,
• Laces,
• Herringbone tape for the channels,
• Synthetic whalebone,
• Thread – either normal or nylon, since it will not be seen.

Pattern

Sew Curvy underbust pattern (This pattern will be available soon - at this initial stage I was trialling it, and this was my second corset to be made from it).

Process

1. First cut out the pieces in sateen coutil, all apart from the sheer panels - so in my case, the CF and numbers 3 and 5 are sheer. The CB panels need to be either cut each on fold, to double as facing, or cut as four pieces.

Cutting out the sheer

2. Sheer panels will have bones sandwiched between two layers, so make sure you cut each sheer panel twice.

3. Put the coutil panels aside for the time being - let us tackle the sheers first.

4. On the centre front panel (layers),  sew the boning channels for the wide flats that will act as busks.

5. Take each side panel (two layers of sheer) and sew boning channels horizontally. This will take a while, but in the end you will have four panels with horizontal channels.

Sewing the channels in the sheer panels Sheer side panels ready

6. Take your front sheer panel and sew panels 2 in coutil on both sides. Sew sheer panels 3 onto the both sides too. Press the seam allowance open, if possible – light steaming worked on mine – then trim to reduce the bulk and press to one side, so that it doesn’t show on the sheer panel.

7. Sew your boning channels as you would on a normal corset. If you wish, you can now insert the busk bones, even if it is just to see how cool it looks!

Front ready - outside Front section, inside view showing the channels

8. Work on the centre back pieces in sateen - sew the boning channels, etc.

9. Sew CB and panel 5 together. Steam, trim, press inside and use tape to sew in the channel, again making sure it is sewn onto the coutil. Repeat on the other CB panel.

Preparing the back panels Back sections ready

10. You will now have two back sections, front section and 2 panel 4's still on their own. Before all the panels are joined, there is a strenuous task to do – inserting all the artificial boning into panels 3 and 5….

11. Prepare the boning – mark the length of the bones on each panel first. Cut the boning – normal scissors will deal with the whalebone with no problems. To keep you sane and to make sure you will not lose or misplace each sliver, simply partially insert each bone into its channel. Repeat for all the horizontal bones.

Preparing the boning - bones cut and half inserted before filing, here in the back panel All sections with boning cut, ready for filing

12. File the bones. Take each one out, file on both sides (grinder, sand belt or even a simple file will do – though it will take you ages with the last one!) and insert back, this time fully.

13. Theoretically, you can do it as you cut each bone, not much different, I simply preferred to do it all one process at a time.

14. Repeat the filing and bone insertion for all sheer side panels.

15. You should now have one front section, and two back sections all boned – time to connect these with the panel 4…

16. Sew the panel 4 to the back section , then attach the front section. As before, trim the seam allowances, and if applicable, press/steam and sew on the tapes to create bone channels on both seams. Repeat on the other side.

Back section showing flied bones in the sheer - back panel, 5 and 4 are not stitched together All panels stitched together, inside view

17. Prepare the vertical boning – here I used 7mm spring steel bones for the sides, and 7mm steel flats for the lacing panel. File the bones, secure the ends (with caps, dipping or tape), and insert onto channels.

18. Mark the eyelets on the back panels. Cut the holes and insert eyelets and washers. You can do this step before boning the back – I found out that this order works better for me and I ended up with neater holes. I use the Prym pliers or a press to insert them – but if you are using other tools and a hammer, it is much better to complete the eyelets before inserting the bones.

Eyelets ready - here laced on a dummy with a ribbon

19. Almost done now – just the binding to do. Here a plain cotton binding was used. Place the boning right side onto the right side of the corset and sew alongside the groove. Trim the edge, flip the binding on the inside, secure with pins and carefully hand stich down. It's a pretty standard method, with one difference; if the binding on the inside is longer it will show through the sheer, so make sure that both sides are even.

Binding stitched on

Lace the corset – and it is done! You can now either floss the bones if you choose to, or make a modesty panel for the back. I chose not to do so for the experimental piece, but am already toying with some ideas for a more advanced piece…

Provisionally laced on a dummy

Close-up pictures

Binding close-up Side close-up

We laced the corset on me, then on Julia and then on my daughter-in-law. As I cut size 8, it was just a tad too small for either me or Julia but worked great for Beth. Proper cotton laces were used for lacing on people, ribbon for the dummy for display.

Corset laced on me and on Julia

It gives a flattering silhouette Side close-up

 

The name – credit goes to Julia, and I must admit it looks like something Darth Vader’s missus would wear… maybe should make the rest of the costume now! :-)

 

Conclusions

1. The horizontal boning seem very stiff, but once on, the corset felt surprisingly comfortable. The synthetic boning is quite malleable and placed next to the body it warms up and slightly adapts to one’s shape.

2. Talking about warmth – we found out that sheers are not the best type of corsets to wear in hot weather, at least not next to skin. The plastic fabric makes you sweat, as you slowly boil away…

3. I was concerned that I forgot about waist stays – but the amount of horizontal boning worked well as stabilising element, I do plan not to skip this step in future projects of this kind, since here it caused no drama.

4. The aesthetics - well, that was a different thing. Perfect for a cyberpunk, space-punk, etc., and would also look great with a Goth outfit.  The lines are rather dramatic so not to everybody’s liking. Having said so, the most valuable lesson I learned from the experiment is that inserting stuff between the sheer layers works for distinctive looks – and quite a few varieties can be achieved - black lace inserted with pale sheers, you can even insert cogs, sprockets, etc. between sheers if you aim for the Steampunk look – lots of possibilities there! I will definitely play with sheer again – the effects are worth it.

 

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