Top Tips for Corset Making

What have I learned so far?

1. Duct Tape makes for fitted corsets.
Money-saving and perfectly fitted to your body, wrapping yourself up in duct tape can be the perfect start when you, like me, can't read patterns and need to decide where bones would have to go to tuck all the right bits away. Let's face it, any pattern you buy will never suit you 100%.

2. Cable ties make cheap, strong, flexible boning.
Just that, really. You can easily cut them to size with normal kitchen scissors, file them down and you have all you need to start your own corset.

3. Unless you know your stuff, make a 'skeleton corset'.
I used lining fabric to fit all the corset panels together and attach the bones. It is stiff enough to make a small difference to your shape already, but flexible enough to be able to wrap the bones into the fabric and attach them securely.

4. Buy pins. LOTS of pins.
I don't know how I would have got this far without two pin wheels. Pins have helped me trace where I needed to sew, hold everything in place, adjust panels and fabric and shape my cups.

5. The Look of the Inner doesn't matter.
I am telling myself this one. It's okay if the inner isn't perfect, because, let's face it, no one will ever see it. You cover both ends up with fabric, which will smooth out any little lumps and wonky sewing, as long as you can hide the stitches. The purpose if the inner is to hold everything in place, not to look good. So, if you are making your first ever corset and you are a relative beginner, don't panic.

6. Wear protection.
On your fingers, that is. Despite owning and using a thimble, I wish I had more, as my fingers are well and truly stinging from all the little needle pricks.

Shaping the darned thing

As promised, here is a picture of what the corset currently looks like. The rather crude sewing of the panels for the cup is mainly down to the fact that I had the corset on as I was sewing them together, so as to keep the cup pretty exact and fitted. It also meant that it was much more important to keep the needle away from my flesh than to have it look pretty at that moment in time. I keep reminding myself that it will all be covered up with layers of satin, so it'll be fine. Plus, now that the cup is done and fairly stiff, I can use that to shape another layer of fabric around the outside to soften the bumps and visually increase my boob size further. It'll still have to be smoothed out around the edges, but other than that I am very pleased with today's work :-)

Sew loooong

I will share photos etc. before the weekend is out, as progress is not really evident, but I have bought some stiffening fabric to be sewn into the corset with the (now fully) attached bra. As I am typing, one side has panels 1-2 sewn on and the other has panels 1-2 tacked on. I will likely leave 3-4 out and attach more stiffening fabric at 5 on both sides to aid the back, but allow my hips to create a decent hourglass shape.

I used the same panels that I made from duct tape for the corset shape, so it is indeed a good idea to keep them until you are fully done.

Next I have to figure out how to do a bra shape and attach stiffening fabric to the back of the bra, in order to create a more rounded, slightly padded version. I may use toy stuffing to add more shape to my ample bosom :-)

The back of the corset currently looks really untidy, but I hope that once the stiffening is done and I am happy with the overall shape I can sew the backing fabric on and hide all the not-so-nice bits.

I am in two minds about when to do the front - is that done before or after the back? After all, the aim is to have quite a showy front and no one but myself and possibly my husband-to-be are ever going to see the inside. On the other hand, the messy inside is really bugging me, whereas the front looks quite nice even now.

I have picked up speed now, though, as the stiffening fabric uses crochet thread (yes, I am mixing and possibly abusing different types of yarn, but who cares if the result is the same), which takes up much more space and therefore is quicker to use. I am still using back stitch only, as it said in the Dressmaking book that it is a very strong stitch, and for a corset I figured that strong is good.

Failure no. 2 - and the solution

I spent hours sewing this top together. Hours measuring, tacking, adjusting and re-adjusting. And despite all that, when I tried it on yesterday, it just wouldn't fit! Turns out that in all my measurements, I have failed to notice that - whilst the overall circumference is the same - my breasts are just much larger than those of the dummy. So when I attempted to fit the top to my chest, my boobs were sticking out on the sides.

For a moment, I was tempted to throw a temper tantrum suitable for a two-year-old, throwing things and stomping my feet included.

But then - and I am not sure how I managed to actually outwardly keep my calm - I decided it was time for a little cheating. So I went upstairs and raided my wardrobe. And I found exactly what I needed - an old, redundant white sports bra. Originally a cup B, while my actual size is a cup C, it can still be stretched to fit around and, most importantly, cover all those bits that I had wanted to cover for ages.

I pinned it to the corset and it appears to work and fit! Granted, my cleavage will need to be covered just that little bit more, but since the original idea was to use the inner as a skeleton to fit all the other fabric around, I would say we have a winner.

It is not so much the support I need it for, since the underbust corset does a surprisingly good job with that and I am still one of those lucky girls where nothing is hanging down to the floor yet. It is more the appropriate coverage and saving time now that I am almost having to start over again.

The bra also means that I now have a decent, adjusted skeleton for the straps, which I just couldn't quite figure out last time.

So, ladies, if you want to make your own and you have been following this blog before, find a bra to integrate. It saves time, tears and tantrums.