So far I have been working with thick and sturdy fabrics like coutil, leather and similar ones. I got used to the ‘security’ they give. There is hardly any wiggling and the only difficulty that might occur is the thickness and your sewing machine capabilities.

This time I decided to work with something quite different, namely tulle. This sheer fabric looks fantastic as a corset. It makes this type of garment look delicate - but is it sturdy enough to endure the stress the corset is exposed to? Where to start? How to tame this difficult material? What to do to avoid unnecessary stress and frustration? In this article I will share my experience and pinpoint what I learned during my sheer corset making.

Tulle - Fabric to Love or to Hate?

If you have ever had a chance to touch tulle you know that there are a few kinds of this fabric, which differ in texture, strength and weave. The one I decided to use had been bought by mistake. I had wanted to get something more like organza to make a lovely petticoat-like skirt... I ended up with something thick, stiff and more like some fence net than fabric (“thank you” on-line shopping). Yet, no doubt, the fabric was pretty. It took me some time to finally decide to make a corset out of it. The first project was really unsatisfying. It was partly due to the fact that I treated tulle as regular fabric and used tailor’s chalk to make the pattern pieces. After having finished the project I realized that my corset was as uneven as it could possibly be. Tension while wearing it revealed all my mistakes! What is more, I used very few bones which added to the overall defeat.

I had just decided to hate tulle for ever when my friend requested a corset like this. That motivated me to give tulle a second chance.

Before You Start - Materials

• Tulle (surprise, surprise),
• Black satin (for boning channels and front and back),
• Interfacing,
• 20mm wide twill tape (for waist tape),
• 10mm wide twill tape (for boning channels),
• 6mm two-part grommets,
• Bones, busk,
• 10mm flat steel bone (at least 30cm long), a bias maker or a loop pressing bar,
• Sticky colourful paper, pens, pins.

The Process

The most important thing before I actually started sewing was perfecting the pattern. It took three mock ups before I finally decided to move to the next phase and start sewing.

To begin with I traced the pattern pieces onto sheets of colourful sticky paper - you need to prepare separate pieces for the left and right side of the corset. I marked the waist line and made sure the pieces would not get confused later on (you may either use letters L for the left side and R for the right, or draw arrows – as I do – showing you the way from the front of the corset to the back). I also ironed the fabrics (before ironing tulle try the heat on a scrap. It is not natural fabric so you must be extra careful).

When everything was ready, I cut the tulle into rectangles following the grain line. This way I made sure the weave would stay straight while cutting out the pieces. You have probably already started to wonder what the sticky paper is for. The time has come to reveal the secret. If you stick the paper onto tulle it ‘holds’ the fabric in place and prevents it from wiggling while cutting out or sewing. You also don’t have to worry if your tailor’s chalk will leave marks or not. What is more, this kind of paper does not leave any stains on the fabric (NOTE – you must check the paper on a scrap and make sure it will ‘behave’ the way you expect it to).

After having prepared all the rectangles of tulle, sticking the pattern pieces in place and cutting the fabric with 10mm seam allowance, I zigzagged the edges as close to the paper as possible to make the fabric stay in place. Another crucial element of the project was marking the waist line on the fabric - it was obvious that paper would not stay there forever - using red thread to mark the line.

The time finally came to assemble all the pieces. I left the paper in place, used pins to secure two pieces together and double-stitched each seam. Now you can see why tailor’s chalk was unnecessary. It’s enough if you follow the edges of the paper. I removed the paper and pressed the seams open. To strengthen them I zigzagged each seam. I also strengthened the front and back pieces with interfacing. As the boning channels were supposed to be 10mm wide I trimmed any extra material on seam allowances. Then I basted the waist tape following the red thread and stitched it in place. At this point it is important to remove basting. If you don’t do it now it will stay sandwiched in between the boning channels and the fabric.

The next step requires yet more basting. I used 10mm wide twill tape to cover the raw edges and thus finish the inside of the corset. You need to do it really carefully as the tape will show you where to put the external boning channels. When I was ready I stitched the tape on both edges and removed the basting. The base of the corset was ready.

Satin Accents

As I mentioned before, the corset was supposed to be a mixture of tulle and satin. The time has come to write more about front and back of the corset and the boning channels, and I will start with the latter.

I wanted to make the channels in such a way that they would serve decorative purpose as well as contribute to the durability of the seam. I used thick satin which I interfaced to add to the overall strength of it. I cut the fabric on the bias and wanted to use my newly bought bias makers. However, I think I will need more practice before I am proficient enough to make perfect bias tape. I used an old, well-known method that has never let me down. (Funnily enough, I never got the original set of loop pressing bars and always use the steel bone instead.) Anyway, I cut the strips of fabric and used the 10mm flat steel bone as my guide while sewing. It is good to prepare the strips of fabric a bit wider when we use loops pressing bars (or a bone) - I will explain why in a moment. When I finished stitching the channels, I twisted the bone to be able to press the seams open. Here you will notice that the wider the raw edges, the easier it is to press them open. It is likely that the raw edges of the fabric will show on the right side of the bone. If they do, just clip them - yet be extra careful not to damage your beautiful, ready, boning channels.

I noticed that the boning channels, even if ironed well, look a bit ‘puffy’. To flatten them I put a heavy book on top just after ironing, when they were still hot, and left them there for some time. That gave me perfectly flat boning channels that were easy to work with.

Boning channels are just one part of the satin touch. Inserting bones or busk to the tulle would be quite risky, so I needed to make the front and the back of the corset out of satin. Yet I didn‘t want the satin elements to look different. It is well-known that satin cut with grain reflects light differently that the same satin cut on the bias. To make the corset look neat I cut the front and back elements on the bias as well. I used only satin, but I think it will not make a difference if you use coutil for the inside part of the corset. Here I also added an underbusk. If you plan to do so, do it now.

Time to Assemble Everything

Before adding the satin at the front and back, I needed to prepare the elements in the right way; which is sew the outside and inside parts together following the usual rules of busk insertion. Yet it was not the time to insert the busk. Instead, I just pressed the seams open and folded and pressed the edges (you may need to baste the edges or secure them with pins).

With the satin elements prepared I moved to the next phase, namely adding them to the rest of the corset. As you probably remember, I reinforced the front and the back with interfacing. I inserted the loop side of the busk by cutting holes in the interfaced tulle and securing them like buttonholes. Then I just slid the loops through the holes and stitched the fabric using my zipper foot to secure the busk in place. I did the same with the knob side (instead of cutting the holes I used and awl to push the tulle threads and slide the knobs through) and then I trimmed the excess fabric. Then I sandwiched the front part in between the prepared satin pieces. Basting came in handy once again! I stitched the front as close to the busk as possible using once again the zipper foot. Then I stitched close to the edge of the satin element making a boning channel.

When it comes to the back I repeated the same steps. To make sure tulle would not fray, I folded the edge before adding the satin element and stitched it so that I could slide a bone. Then I trimmed the excess fabric and continued with adding the satin.

When the whole corset was assembled, I moved to finishing it. First I trimmed the boning channels and raw edges. Then I cut the satin on the bias and finished the bottom. (NOTE – here you must be extra careful and really accurate as tulle is transparent so you will not be able to hide any excess of the bias tape on the inside of the corset.) First I pinned the tape in place (right side together) and sewed around the edge of the corset. After that, I zigzagged the edges to make sure no bones would poke through the seams. Then I flipped the tape, ironed it and folded on the inside of the corset. I paid attention to make the inside and the outside even. I secured the tape with pins (putting them really close to each other) and topstitched on the outside. I know that it is considered neat to finish the corset by hand, but in this project it was rather tricky (although now that I am thinking about it probably not impossible) and I thought topstitching would match the boning channels really well.

When the bottom part was ready, I measured and cut the bones and finished the top in exactly the same way. I added grommets and could probably call it a day if it wasn’t for the back modesty panel. Imagine this – a sheer corset with a tiny strip of satin... what kind of modesty panel can you make? The answer is – as tiny as you can make it. Here it was 6cm wide. Just enough to fill the space when the corset was not closed and narrow enough to be hidden when laced closed. I used bias tape to make loops for the laces instead of using the grommets. I found it neater this way and also easier to close the corset.

And here it is!

Dos and Don'ts – what I have learned?

As usual – I learned a lot while making this corset (and the previous one as well). Here are a few tips:

• If you don’t want to end up with an uneven corset (look above)then you should pay extra attention while cutting out the pattern pieces. Secure the fabric to avoid wiggling.
• Secure the edges of your pieces (I zigzagged them, you may try fray check as well).
• Make basting your best friend.
• Cut the satin front and back of your corset on the bias, just like your boning channels (then you will avoid reflecting the light differently).
• Encyclopaedias make excellent weights to flatten your boning channels.
• Always walk in your shoes to avoid pinching your feet by the tulle scraps (they can be really sharp)
• And (above all) have fun!