Towards the end of the 19th century the French doctor Joséphine Inès Gaches Sarraute criticized and redesigned the old corset to be healthier and more comfortable. The new corsets were “hygiènique”, modern and scientific, and the old corsets “anti-hygèinique” and outmoded. Whatever the practical effects of these new corsets were, the straight-front line quickly became the fashion of the day.

At the same time, the fashions of the day were becoming more and more tailored, aping not only the outward appearance of men's suits, but also the precise and perhaps overly formulaic methods of pattern making used by gentlemen's tailors. These methods were often advertised as “scientific” in nature, and many schools of dressmaking were founded to promulgate the “proper” methods to home and industrial sewers alike, though many of them faced stiff competition from printers of paper patterns.

One such school was the École Moderne de Coup de Paris, which in 1911 published its three volume Cours Complet D'ensignement Professionel de la coupe by Mme. E Lorentz and Mlle. A Lacroix . Perhaps uniquely among extant tailoring manuals, the first volume covers corsets. This volume is available for sale from Atelier Sylphe Corsets on Etsy,  and for free from Gallica.fr. The second volume, which covers lingerie, is available from Wikisource. A third volume, on dresscutting, was also published but is not available online at the moment.

In order that non-francophones may learn this method of drafting patterns for straight front corsets, I have selected two designs from the twenty corsets, girdles, and brassieres in the book. Both are overbust corsets. The first is the tailored corset, the other is a corset with bra cups. Neither one was particularly emblematic of 1911-- the tailored corset is described as an older design, not in keeping with the current natural line:

“Ce corset qui a eu une si grande vogue, il y a quelque années convient surtout aux personnes ayant la poitrine très basse; il les dispense de porter un soutien-gorge. Avec la mode actuelle, il perd quelque peu du sa faveur, puisque cette  mode tend, du plus en plus, à conserver au corps sa ligne naturelle.”

(Approximate translation: "This corset was so much in vogue, there are some years is particularly suitable for people with very low bosom; it exempts wear a bra. With the current mode, it loses some of its favor, since the fashion trends, the increasingly to maintain the body's natural line.")

The corset with bra cups is described as very new:

“Ce corset de forme tout-à-fait nouvelle dans l'industrie est encore fort peu connu car, seules les grandes maisons faisant le corset de luxe, toujours à la recherche d'inédit et des modifications pouvant satisfaire les exigences de la mode l'établissent et le cachent avec un soin jaloux.

Il est vrai qu'il remplace avantageusement le soutien-gorge, n'ayant pas, comme ce dernier, l'inconvénient d'avoir besoin de bretelles, puisqu'il n'est soutien que sur le devant, et que le dos de ce corset soutien-gorge est un dos de corset ordinaire, De plus, il amincit beaucoup les hanches et se recommande aux personnes souffrant de l'estomac.”

(Approximate translation: "This corset shape all at completely new in the industry is still very little known because only large houses which luxury corset, always looking for new and changes that can satisfy the requirements of the user establish and hide it with jealous care. It is true that advantageously replaces the bra, did not, like the latter, the drawback of needing braces, since there is support on the front and the back of this corset bra is a regular corset back, Moreover, it slims the hips and is much recommended for people suffering from the stomach.")

Despite this difference in fashionability, the two corsets do share a common back, as well as certain other design similarities. Thus, I have chosen to present them together...

 

Computer Drafting of Patterns

In the course of studying pattern design handbooks, I have developed a system of drafting on computer using the computer language python. Each line of instruction ---

From 1 to A is 1/24 bust.
A to B is the backscye depth.
A to C is length to the natural waist.
C to E is 1 /12 bust for sizes of 36 bust and under. When the bust is more than 36, C to E is 1.5 inches.
Draw a straight line from A to E, this establishes F.
F to G is ¼ less than the blade.
G to H is ½ inch more than 1/6 bust.
F to 13 is one full half of bust, and 13 to I is ½ inch.
On the divisions of two thirds on the drafting square, we find that the blade size use, viz 10 inches is opposite 14, which shows that the blade us equal to 2/3 of 30 bust, Now find 15 on the divisions of fourths, which is 3 ¾ inches for this draft. Place 15 on fourths at G and make a mark at the angle of the square as at J. Square up from J to establish K.

(from SS Gordon, 1901 Plain close fitting basque or waist)

gives rise to a similar line of computer code:

...
self.fixedPoint("p1",0,0)
self.downPoint("A","p1", m["bust"]/24.0)
self.downPoint("B","A", m["backscyeDepth"])
self.downPoint("C","A", m["lengthToWaist"] )
self.leftPoint("E","C", min(m["bust"]/12.0, 1.5) )
self.teeIntersectionPoint("F", "B",180,"A","E")
self.leftPoint("G", "F", m["blade"]-0.25)
self.leftPoint("H","G", m["bust"]/6.0 + 0.5)
self.leftPoint("p13","F", m["bust"])
self.rightPoint("I", "p13", 0.5)
self.rightPoint("J","G", self.dist("F","G")*3.0/8.0)
self.angleAnglePoint("K","J",90,"p1",180)
...

And so on. When run, the script writes to a CAD file in DXF format. These can be read by a drafting program such as DraftSight or AutoCAD, and printed out at full scale, on very large sheets of paper, or tiled across many many smaller sheets.

Quite honestly, I use these programs means of understanding and proofreading drafting instructions. Publishers aren't infallible and typographical errors do creep in, and as the example above shows, the authors aren't always clear. However, if I can program a computer to produce an accurate facsimile, it generally bodes well for my understanding...

The pattern instructions presented here are illustrated with the output of my python scripts, in addition to some photographs of my hand drawings. Besides the usual T-square, triangle, and metric ruler, a beam compass and a hip curve may be helpful.

As Lorentz and Lacroix were French, the original instructions were in metric. I have not attempted to translate the instructions into inches. It is probably easier to take measurements using metric units, or convert existing measurements from inches into centimeters before beginning to draft instead of continually converting on the fly.

1cm= 2.54 inches.

The measurements you will need are as follows
Back Length      1—2
Underarm Height    5—6
Depth of bust    9—13
Front Length    9—10
Half the Waist Circumference    10—14—6—2
Half the Bust Circumference 13-12-5-11     13—12—5—11
Half the Upper Hip Circumference (12cm below the waistline)    18—17—16—15
Half the lower Hip Circumference (20cm below the waist line)    22—21—20—19

 

In other lessons from this book, the measurer will locate balance points, so as to more accurately capture the complexities of the human body. But for these two corsets, Lorenz and Lacroix have chosen to simply assign one quarter of each circumference to the front pattern, and one quarter to the rear pattern.

These are the measurements used for the example corsets.

Measurement	Centimeters	Rough US equivalent
Back Length	37 cm	14.5 inches
Armpit Height	22 cm	8.625 inches
Depth of Bust	23 cm	9 inches
Front Length	41 cm	16.125 inches
Half Waist	28 cm	11 inches
Half Bust	45 cm	17.75 inches
Half Upper Hips	42 cm	16.5 inches
Half Lower Hips	46 cm	18.125 inches

 

Lorentz and Lacroix refer to these as Mannequin 40, with thin hips. I doubt that these correspond to any present standard size.

 

Corset Back

Begin by sketching the construction lines for the back. Draw a vertical line, and mark first the "Bust", line, near the upper, left hand corner of your drawing paper. From this Bust point, measure down back length/2.0, and mark this point as the waist.

Example:
The back length is 37cm, so, mark the waist point 18.5cm below the bustline.
Mark the upper hip line 12cm below the waist line, and the lower hip 20cm below the waistline.

Extend the bust, waist, and both hiplines, ensuring that they are parallel, and perpendicular to the back line.

With these particular corsets, the bust, waist and hip measurements are evenly divided between back and front.

Corsets made according to this method specify a lacing gap of 6cm, or 3cm per side. Conceivably, this could be increased, diminishing the waist, but Lorenz & Lacroix have not specified what additional allowances should be taken to handle this less than "hygenique" design.

Halve the half waist measurement, and subtract 3 cm. Then divide this result by three.

Example:
Half Waist 28cm
Halve that: 14cm
Minus 3cm: 11cm

Divided by three: 3.67cm. (If you draft by hand, round  to the nearest millimeter).
Measure 3 cm to the right of b_waist, and mark the point "b1".
Place a point "b2" 3.67cm to the right of b1.
Now place "b3" some distance to the right of "b2" and "b4" 3.67 cm to the  right of "b3". We need enough space to accommodate  the hips and bust without overlapping the pattern pieces.
Place "b5" some distance to the right of "b4" and "b6" 3.67cm to the  right of "b5".

 

Measure one third of the difference between the front and back lengths below b6, and mark this point "b7".

Example:
Front Length: 41cm
Back Length: 37cm

One Third of the difference, 4cm, is 1.33cm.

The line, "b1" to "b7" is the back waist line.

 

Now for the bust line. Along the bust line, b8 is 3 cm to the right of "b_bust", directly, above "b1". Measure the distance between "b1" and "b2" plus 1 cm, to the right of "b8", and mark this point "b9"

Example: distance between "b1" and "b2": 3.67cm + 1cm = 4.67cm.

Draw lines perpendicular to the waist and bust lines, up and down from "b3", "b4","b5", and "b6",  through the bust and hip lines. Mark where the lines intersect-- "b10" is above "b3", "b11" above "b4", "b12", above "b5", and "b13", above "b6".

 

Now calculate the difference between the back bust and back waist. Divide this difference by four.

Measure this quartered distance:
to the left of "b10", and mark  "b14".
To the right of "b11" and mark "b15".
To the left of "b12" and mark "b16".
And to the right of "b13", marking "b17".

Example:
Half bust: 45cm, halved is 22.5cm.
Half Waist: 28cm, halved is 14cm.
Difference:  8.5cm.
One fourth: 2.125cm.

 

Shorten the b7—b17 line, so that it is only armpit height-4.0 cm long. This is the upper side seam of the corset.

Example:
Armpit Height: 22cm
Minus 4cm
= 18cm

Adjust b9,b14, b15, and b16 so that they follow the slope of the adjusted b8—b17 line.  Note that b9 and b14 as well as b15 and b16 lie on the same vertical level.

Adjust the waist points b2, b3, b4, and b5 so that they lie along the sloped waist line b1—b7. Note that b2 and b3, as well as b4 and b5 lie on the same vertical level.

Now, for the hips. Extend lines down from b8, b10, b11, b12, and b13, so that they intersect with the waistline at b1,b3,b4, b5, and b6, through the upper hip line, where they form points b1h12, b3h12, b4h12, b5h12, and b6h12, as well as the lower line, where they form b1h20, b3h20, b4h20, b5h20, and b6h20. See diagram:

"b22" is placed to the right of "b1h12", at a distance of 1 cm plus the distance between "b1" and "b2"

Example: distance between "b1" and "b2": 3.67cm + 1cm = 4.67cm.

Calculate the difference between the back upper hips and back waist. Divide by four.
Measure this quartered distance:
To the left of "b3h12", and mark  "b21".
To the right of "b4h12" and mark "b20".
To the left of "b5h12" and mark "b19".
And to the right of "b6h12", marking "b18".

Example:
Half Upper Hips: 42cm, halved is 21cm.
Half Waist: 28cm, halved is 14cm.
Difference:  7cm.
One fourth: 1.75cm.

 

Extend a straight line through b2—b22, and mark where it intersects the lower hip line. Label this point b27 .
Calculate the difference between the back lower hips and back waist. Divide this amount by four.

Measure this quartered distance:
To the left of "b3h20", and mark  "b26".
To the right of "b4h20" and mark "b25".
To the left of "b5h20" and mark "b24".
And to the right of "b6h20", marking "b23"

 

Draw in the bottom edge, sloping towards the side seam.

 

Finally, use a hip curve to smoothly connect the waist points to points on the lower and upper hips.

 

With point names and guidelines removed:

 

You can use the same back pattern with both the tailored corset and the corset with bust cups.

 

Tailored Corset Front

Towards the right-hand side of the paper, a few centimeters from the edge, draw a vertical line.

Mark "f0"  on the line, 10-12cm below the top of the paper.
Mark "f1" 1cm to the right of  "f0".
Calculate "front length"- "depth of bust"...

Example:
Front Length: 41cm.
Depth of Bust:  23cm.
Difference: 18cm.
Measure this distance downwards  from "f0", and mark "f7".  
12cm below "f7", mark "f15", and 8cm below "f15", mark "f15h20".

 

f2 is one half of the half bust to the left of point f1.

Example:
One half of the half bust circumference: 45cm/2= 22.5cm.
f3 is the same distance, minus 1cm, to the left of point f7.

 

In this example, that's 21.5cm.

Measure 1/10 of the halfbust above "f3", and mark "f4".

Example:
HalfBust = 45cm.
HalfBust/10 = 4.5cm.

f5 is armpit height-4.0 above  f4-- (same as b17-b7, from the back pattern).

Example:
Armpit Height: 22cm - 4cm= 18cm.

 

Draw a line from f7 through f1, and extend it by half the distance between "f2" and "f5". Mark this point f6.

Example:
The distance between f2 and f5 is 4.5cm, so the distance between f1 and f6 is 2.25cm.

 

Divide the line f5-f6 into four equal parts. (Label the intermediate points, beginning at the left, 5a, 5b, and 5c.)

 

Divide each the rearmost three segments  (f5-f5a,f5a-f5b,f5b-f5c) in half.
Label those intermediate points "f5d","f5e", and"f5f".
Drop lines (parallel to f5--f3) through "f5d","f5e", and "f5f", and mark where they intersect the waistline f4--f7. Mark these "f5dw",f5ew", and "f5fw".

 

The four panels of the front of the corset are all equal in width at the waistline. As half of the half waist is allocated for the front, and half for the back, divide the half waist circumference by 8.0.

Example:
Half Waist Circumference:  28cm.
28/8.0=3.5cm.

Measure out this distance from f7 to f3 to get f8.
Measure out half this distance along the waistline on either side of f5fw to get f9 and f10.
Do the same on either side of f5ew to get f12 and f11.
Do the same on either side of f5dw to get f13 and f14.

 

Construct the hip lines parallel to this waistline.

 

Extend the lines f5d--f5dw; f5e--f5ew; and f5f--f5fw to intersect with the hip lines.

 

Along this upper hip line, measure out a distance equal to 1/8 of the half upper hip circumference minus two centimeters and mark "f16".

Along the upper hip line, measure out 1 cm from f5fh12 to f15 and mark "f17".

Along the upper hip line, measure out a distance equal to 1/8 of the half upper hip circumference minus two centimeters from f5h12  towards the rear of the corset, and mark "f18".

"f19" is located at the intersection of "f5d"--"f5dw" with the upper hip line.

Calculate  the remainder of the upper hip measurement-- half upper hip/2.0 minus the distance from f15 to f16 minus the distance from f17 to f18.

Example:
Half  of Half upper hip: 21cm.
Minus the distance from f15 to f16: 3.25cm.
Minus the distance from f18 to f17: 4.25cm.
Difference: 13.5cm.

Along the upper hip line, measure out this distance from "f19",  towards the rear of the corset, and mark this point as "f20".

 

Extend a line running through f8 and f16 to the lower hip line. Mark this point f21.
Extend a line running through f9 and f17 to the lower hip line. Mark this point f22.
Extend a line running through f10 and f18 to the lower hip line. Mark this point f23.
Extend a line running through f11 and f19 to the lower hip line. Mark this point f24.

Calculate the remainder of the upper hip measurement -- half hip/2.0 minus the distance from f15h20 to f21 minus the distance from f22 to f23.

Example:
Half  of Half upper hip: 23cm.
Minus the distance from f15h20 to f21: 3.08cm.
Minus the distance from f22 to f23: 4.75cm.
Difference: 15.17cm.

Along the lower hip line, measure out this distance from "f24",  towards the rear of the corset, and mark this point as "f25"

 

Extend the side seam "f20"-"f25" by about 2 cm to obtain the bottom of the corset: f25bot.

Connect "f25bot", "f25",  "f20" and "f14" using a hip curve.

 

Extend a line from "f13" through "f5dh12", and mark "f25", where it intersects with the lower hip line.

 

The top of the corset is a circular arc, extending between 8cm and 12cm above the bustline f1-f2.

 

As with the back, it's necessary to correct the waistline, so that the sides of the panels match up. As shown below, the uncorrected panels are half a centimeter longer on one side.

 

If you are working with paper, it may be easier to fold the paper, redraw the waistline from f14 to f7, unfold the paper, and then make your corrections that way.  Alternatively, lengthen f5a-f13 so that it matches f5a-f12; f5b-f11 so that it matches f5b-f10, and f5c-f9 so that it matches f5c-f8.

 

Curiously, the bottom of the first dart (f13, f5dh12, f12) has much the same problem. However, the pattern gives no direction for resolving the problem.

 

The differences in lengths may be made up by extending the bottom of the rearmost panel.

 

The final draft of the front.

 

And with point names and guidelines removed for clarity.

 

With the pattern pieces separated:

 

 

In the next article we will discuss the draft of the corset with bra cups and compare the two. Please stay tuned!

 

 

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