Stripes create an unusual visual interest in your corsetry. Running your stripes along the exact grain-line of your pattern is a common choice, but is not the only possibility.

With any pattern matching on a 3D object using a 2D patterned fabric you can not achieve perfect pattern matching along every portion of every curved seam without performing a considerable amount of piecing work - or can you?

I will show you how I come close to doing so without creating my own fabric. We will be focusing on a technique for visualizing your pattern matching choices before stitching up the project.

Below you will see some examples of corsets I have made with the the stripes running exactly perpendicular to the waist line, as well as an example showing matching of stripes along the seam lines all the way around the corset.

Varied-width blue stiped underbust corset and gold & red fine-striped corset (below): Both examples show stripes running perpendicular to the waist with minimal pattern matching.

Black & White custom striped corset (right): The grain of the fashion fabric was varied to create a unique corset with a chevron front and curved lines around the body. We will be looking more in depth at the technique used to make the black and white corset, using a simpler fabric with step-by-step visuals.

These two general rules will help maintain stability and prevent warping of your corset. This is because the bias sections, when under pressure, need to pull the same amount on each side of the body or your corset may skew or list to one side or the other, even with perfectly symmetrical figures.

As with any pattern matching on a 3D object using a 2D patterned fabric, you cannot achieve perfect pattern matching along every portion of every curved seam without performing a considerable amount of piecing work. However, I will show you how I come close to doing so without creating my own fabric.

Starting the project

Before beginning your pattern matching, you will need to have already made your pattern into a mock-up and adjusted it for proper fit. A plain pale-colored mock-up of your final patterning will be a good tool in making decisions on how to run your stripes.

An example of boned corset mock-up	This overbust example shows fitting notes in pink

To start, do not fuse or flat-line your fabric yet. After you have planned your pattern pieces, then you can use your preferred interfacing technique for your fashion fabric, whether it's fusible interfacing or flat-lining the fashion fabric with another fabric such as cotton batiste or silk organza.

Fusibles should be pre-tested on a swatch, as the thickness and type of fusible you need will vary according to the weight of your fashion fabric. In the advanced options discussed below, for example, you will be taking advantage of the stretchy bias of the fabric to create more pattern matching points, so you do not want to stabilize your fabric prematurely.

The more pattern pieces you have and the curvier the pattern, the more you'll have to compromise and let different portions end up NOT matching along each seam-line. You cannot match everywhere without printing up custom fabric pattern pieces. Converting your pattern to fewer pattern pieces can make pattern matching easier, with fewer seam lines, but do not do so if it will change the style lines and fit of your corset. Check out Alexis's article on asymmetrical pattern matching, in which she gives a tutorial on how to combine your pattern in the section labeled "Pattern Preparation".

Pattern Planning

In this step-by-step portion we will focus on pattern matching at the waistline then walking the pattern. An advanced option will show you how to manipulate your fabric grain to gain smoother transitions along your seam lines.

Supplies:

Clear paper, fine point permanent marker, adjusted pattern, and corrugated cardboard (you do not want thin cardboard since you will be pinning your pattern and fabric in place on the board)

1.  Clear cellophane wrapping paper or thin plastic sheeting that is semitransparent or close to clear, such as tracing paper, or baking parchment [UK: greaseproof paper]
2.  Corrugated cardboard (you can just break down a box - the example (right) shows it done on a cardboard table-topper)
3.  Two fine-point permanent markers (if using plastic base) or pencil (if using matte paper). Two colors, one for indicating patterning and another to indicate the match points
4.  Your finished pattern without seam allowance (or with seam allowance with stitching line indicated) The most important thing to remember is that you are matching at the seam lines and NOT at the outer edge of the seam allowance. I'll be showing a pattern with the seam allowance built in but it is actually easier to do your pattern matching with a pattern made up without seam allowance so you do not forget to match at the sewing line.
5.  Your striped fabric. (When matching patterns you will need more fabric than usual. As a general rule, one yard minimum for an underbust and two yards for an overbust. Actual yardage required will vary with the size of your pattern and your individual pattern pieces.)

Advanced techniques: easing the pattern to fit

I often decide to match at the waist and let the pattern deviate as it goes up over the bust and down over the abdomen. But you can actually CREATE more match points. Yep, I said it: you are going to create new match points by taking advantage of the fluidity of fabrics on the bias. This will not work well with all types of woven fabric of course, but this is what I did to create the example corset. You are skewing the grain of the fabric at the stitch line, which means the your fashion fabric must NOT be the structural fabric. Do not try this on a single-layer corset.

As you can see, by manipulating the fabric there are now seven match points instead of two. In some cases you will be easing the fabric outwards to cover a greater length and in other you will be squishing it inwards to make it cover a shorter distance to match up with the angled stripes (like easing longer fabric amount into a shorter piece along shoulder lines in suit tailoring).	The perfectly matched points are indicated with yellow-headed pins and those that could not be matched are indicated with silver-headed pins. At this point you will be drawing the stripe pattern of the fabric on to piece number 2, and repeating what we've done up till now for each piece thereafter until you are done.
This figure shows how the fabric bias has been manipulated so the stripes are no longer perfectly parallel but curve smoothly upwards.	At this point you can start seeing how the corset will come together by placing it on your mock-up. It is even better if you can lace the mock-up on to a squishy mannequin such as a Uniquely You. Note how the bottom was matched up to the waist but then up over the ribcage it has gone off perfect matching. A pattern that has less difference between underbust, waist, and hip circumference will be easier to match. This specific pattern is quite curvy but you can still achieve a lovely striped pattern.

If you are going to manipulate the fabric to match more points along your seam line, this has to be done before the cutting process. If you cut the fabric and then pull the stripes to match you will then end up with a differently shaped pattern piece! I pull the fabric into line and then lay the clear stripe template I made over the fabric and cut it to the correct shape. You may consider flat-lining or fusing AFTER you have cut the fashion fabric, so that the interfacing is still on grain.

Each clear pattern piece then becomes your cutting template. If you were using no seam allowances on your pattern, you'd need to place your clear piece over your fabric until they match and add seam allowances before cutting. Alternatively, some people just draw on the stitching lines and cut irregularly around the corset piece and sew along the actual "drawn on" stitching line. Use whatever technique you are comfortable with. I use a ½" (13mm) seam allowance on most of my corsets.

[Ed- After the publication date, Laurie sent us these pictures of the finished corset. Stunning work Laurie!]

Technique in Action

A more complex example using this technique, with a waist band allowing for separate matching along the top and bottom portions of the corset.	The upper and lower portions are at different angles. This is what the final, completed pattern looked like with all the stripes marked out.
You can then cut the pattern at the waist line, add a seam allowance and stitch the fabric together.	Sewn together at the waistline, ready for the final pattern shaping to be cut. At this point I chose to fuse with cotton batting, then cut out each piece.
To make sure the stripes do not shift around it is wise to hand-baste, especially along the curved sections.	Chevron matching at the bust point
Lovely flow of lines along the corset from front to back	Final corset lying flat. Look at those curved stripes!

A final word

As you can see, matching stripes can be approachable if you just take it one step at a time. Using this technique you can feel a lot more confident cutting into your fabric, knowing that you put the necessary time into planning the layout. Your clear pattern templates make sure that everything lines up exactly right each time. Each decision you make on stripe angle and placement can make for a very different and unique-looking corset. Finally, stretching and compressing fabric along the bias for better matching, though time consuming, can provide results that more than justify the effort. It is true that fabric bias can be your friend. I hope to see some of your stripy corsets!

Pattern matching on corsets using this technique (below). For non-striped fabrics, you can draw portions of your pattern instead of stripes to find match points.