1911 Corset – CAD Pattern 2 | Foundations Revealed

Corset making

1911 Corset – CAD Pattern 2

In part 1 of her project, Lowana began to draft this 1911 corset using CAD software. Here she constructs the actual corset to see the final results...

Corset Construction

Constructing the corset was fairly straight forward and very enjoyable. As I'd already sewn the toile in the same cotton sateen coutil I was able to just enjoy the process instead of fussing with a new fabric. (I highly recommend this fabric for single layer corsetry - it's just so soft and luxurious!) I prefer to get all the 'little things' out of the way when constructing a corset, so after cutting everything out I started with adding a tiny, narrow binding to the edge of the facings (image 33). For the main construction I started from panel 6 (centre back) and worked my way to the front. I used a 2cm waist tape for added support but placed the channel casings directly against the fabric, with the tape sitting on top. This way the waist tape would be invisible from the outside and not show as a bump (images 34 and 36). For the boning placement at the back I stitched a channel down the centre of each seam and a channel in the centre of the panel.

Once the back panels were together I set to work on the front half. I stitched the cups and the underbust sections together separately and then joined the cups to the lower half. I pressed the seams open and trimmed the seam allowance down. I'd been giving it a lot of thought and had made the decision to try and keep the underbust seam as flat as possible as it would be sewn into the busk seam at centre front. I stitched the seam allowance down on either side of the seam, trimmed off the excess and then top stitched a 1cm wide herringbone cotton tape to cover the raw edges (image 35). The result was four rows of stitching at the underbust line which I think was a lovely, subtle detail. The herringbone tape ended up a tad bulkier than I would have liked, but sort-of served as a sort of 'underwire' and worked out just fine. Now that the underbust seams were covered I was able to join the front and the back sections of the corset together. I finished sewing the boning channels and securing the waist tape and then set to work on the eyelets. I wanted to recreate some of the details I'd seen whilst visiting Symington's antique collection of corsets (UK) so decided to use 4mm (Prym) eyelets in silver as they seemed about the right size for a reproduction. I set 18 pairs of eyelets evenly spaced at 2cm apart (image 37).

I used some pre-cut flat steel boning on either side of the eyelets and cut my own 7mm spiral boning for the rest of the corset (image 38). The silver busk I had in my stash and available to use was 40cm in length - too long for the corset. I cut it down to size and even worked a 'V' shape into the steel to allow for some more support at the bust line (image 39).

After I'd inserted the busk and put the steel in the channels, the corset ended up with 34 steel bones (plus the busk) with the waistline measuring 25" (designed to be worn with a 2" gap). In regards to boning placement I put double channels (directly next to one another) at the front to support the bust (at seams joining panels 1&2 and 2&3 as well as in the centre of panel 2). The rest of the boning was placed on seams and in the centre of panels. As the corset is very long, I shortened some of the front channels by machine-stitching horizontally so that I'd be able to sit down when wearing the corset (image 42). The final result was rather lovely - I'm a big fan of subtle detail.

As I mentioned earlier I wanted to mimic some of the details in the antiques I'd seen at Symingtons, so I had sourced a 1cm wide herringbone cotton tape to use as binding. I pressed it in half and then basted it in place along the edge of the corset (image 41). I top-stitched it with my machine and then unpicked the basting, and the end result was spot on (image 42). I laced the corset using a flat cotton cord and it was finally ready to try on.

The (nearly) Finished Corset

The final corset fitted a treat! I'm really pleased with the sleekness of the fit - not a wrinkle in sight. It's a very comfortable corset to wear and I'm particularly pleased with the fit at the bust and lower back. The way the cups sit pushes my bust forward and they come up high enough to prevent any overhang or ugly creases near the underarm. The waistline is very curvy and I just loved the dramatic shape at the back. It was interesting to note that the overall effect of the pattern really does push my chest forwards and my bum out. It's actually mildly uncomfortable to stand up completely straight in this corset and incredibly comfortable to lean forward a little. This corset is going to make the perfect foundation for an Edwardian gown and I've got so many ideas!

Final notes on fit and changes I would make in future

Overall, the fit is great - however there's a few things I would tweak if making another. I would bring in the cup at the top just slightly to lie completely flat against my breast. I'd also shave off a tiny bit of the cup volume below the apex as there's just a tad too much room (I overcompensated a little). I would also add a touch more room to the lower hipline to round out the hip shape when looking from the front. It'd add a little more ease at the top of panel four to counteract the tiny bit of bulge happening, and I'd raise the boning at the front hipline another inch at panels 1 and 2. Those changes are all just very minor, but I always strive to improve with each corset and I've always been something of a perfectionist!

Embellishment

Now that I knew that the corset fitted, it was time to continue on with some embellishment. I had held off starting anything until I knew for sure that it fitted as it would have been a waste of time if it hadn’t worked out!

I had a couple of ideas for different decoration and was tossing-up between putting a slightly modern spin on it or going in a more ‘authentic’ style. My ‘modern’ idea was to use some black metallic French lace around the bust line and then do some flossing around the hips in a black metallic thread, but after playing around with placement I couldn’t get it looking quite right so decided to go with my more ‘authentic’ approach.

I started out with making a minor adjustment to the length of the boning at the front (see image #49). It was just slightly too long and made it difficult to sit down in so I thought it best to shorten it or I knew I’d never wear it! I also hand finished off the edges of the herringbone tape at the back and front so that it wouldn’t fray. As the tape was a little bulkier than bias (and not as flexible) folding it under itself wasn’t really an option so hand finishing was the best solution.

I decided to use a charcoal grey thread to floss along the hipline. This was actually my first time doing flossing so I was excited to see how I went with it. I did a simple little motif along most of the channels and then a more ornate design at the base of the bust boning channels. I think I did quite well and I’m happy with the end result (although I confess it did take me rather a long time to do the whole corset) and I’m looking forward to using flossing in future corset designs.

Now that I’d properly finished the hipline it was time to focus on the neckline. A lovely friend had gifted me with some beautiful antique Victorian embroidered net and I thought this could be a nice project to use it on. The net looks like it’d be quite rough (in the photos anyway) but in reality it is so soft and delicate, and perfect for what I had in mind.

It was a little nerve racking, cutting the net, as it’s a sentimental piece - but everything went smoothly so it turned out okay. I cut the net length-ways and used a 10cm strip from the edge to make use of the embroidered section. I used an edge for each half of the corset, and carefully gathered and pinned it in place.

I carefully hand-stitched the gathering in place, starting on the lower line first. I then folded the ‘raw’ edge of the net over to the inside and hand-stitched that down. As the net is so old and delicate I did lots of tiny, tiny stitches so that it would be evenly supported and no section under any great pressure.

After I finished attaching the net I trimmed the excess net off and hand-stitched some cotton bias binding on to cover the raw edge. The bias was 1cm in width but it was still too wide for my liking (I wanting it to match the binding on the facing) so I folded it under itself and hand-finished that edge as well. The end result was a tiny 5mm binding and no raw edges anywhere! I love making the inside of my corsets look just as lovely as the outside and since this piece isn’t lined (I usually do a floating lining) I thought having little delicate finishing touches would be a nice way to go about it.

After I’d finished all of that I, noticed that some of the net had disintegrated from my handling. I wasn’t rough, but it is very old and I guess it’s just the risk of using antique net. I had wanted to build up the lace work at the bust line anyway so I had a look through my stash and found a lace trim that was along the lines of what I was envisioning. This particular lace is too stiff and synthetic looking (I’d rather a cotton type) but later on (when I find The Perfect Lace) I’ll add some along the top line and thread some narrow ribbon through it. It’ll help protect the top edge of the antique net and also end up looking like some of the beautiful detailed corsets I’ve seen in illustrations of the era.

For now it’s (nearly) done and I can show you all the details in the following mannequin modelled photos. My mannequin is a bit small for this corset so it’s not perfectly smooth, but it shows all the details clearly.

In Conclusion...

I would consider this pattern a success! It provided an excellent starting point and cut out a lot of number crunching which I know will appeal to many of you. Personally I’d still prefer to draft my own pattern from scratch as I think I work best (and am certainly most comfortable) with starting a project right from the start. I have my own method of drafting patterns and I like that when I’m drafting I can take into account things like flesh movement and body quirks – not something a computer can account for as everyone’s body is different. I think were I to start again on this project I wouldn’t be so hesitant to make changes to the pattern initially, but for the sake of experimentation I did deliberately hold back in order to see how the pattern turned out without major adjustment. That said it was very educational working with this pattern as the panel shapes are very different to how I'd normally approach drafting a corset pattern so it really opened my eyes to a different way of patterning. It was a fun project and I really enjoyed trying something new and I’m absolutely thrilled with the corset.

I think this pattern would be excellent for those wanting to focus more on construction than on pattern-drafting and for those perhaps lacking confidence in drafting their own pattern right from the start but wanting a little bit of a challenge. If you are going to try this pattern for yourself I would recommend adding in some upper back ease and paying close attention to the shape of the bust. I highly recommend you sew a toile or two to perfect the fit but that’s no different than working with any newly-drafted pattern. Overall, the pattern is a great success and does provide a very lovely shape. I’m really looking forward to seeing what you all come up with when it becomes available!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article, if you have any questions, comments or feedback I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

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purplepincushion 10.01.2015 03:01

Great job, it turned out amazing! You confirmed my thoughts on how to deal with the underbust :-) And it looks like that allowed you to run the busk all the way to the top rather than trying to deal with buttons. I like the idea of buttons but they really aren't practical.

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