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Janes-Wardrobe — Edwardian Ribbon Corset
Published: 2008-04-27 19:01:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 5887; Favourites: 53; Downloads: 0
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Description
About four years ago I saw this little number [link], badly photographed and advertised as Victorian on eBay. The seller displayed it upside down, loosely on a mannequin.
Needless to say I was the lucky bidder, I picked it up for what I consider a song. True it's condition is poor, it's unwearable and the fabric is badly stained and weak but I have an original corset I can study and display.
I've been wanting to make a copy ever since it arrived but sourcing appropriate materials has been difficult. In the end I've made this using substitutes so I can get on with other work!
The original corset was made using silk double satin ribbon and I'm not sure if the structural parts are silk or cotton. I have been unable to find suitable 2" wide cotton so in the end I found this aida - an embroidery fabric, this width is probably sold for bookmarks. Because it had the pretty flower detail I decided to use a pale, strawberry ice cream pink ribbon. While I was studying the corset I thought the bones seemed to vary in width so I got a metal detector on the case - erm I think it's whalebone eek! So I used synthetic whalebone (plastic) in the re-construction. The busk was 9.5 inches long, modern busks come in 1" increments so this is a 9" busk. Although I could have trimmed the plastic, my impatience got the better of me so there are only three bones instead of four in each of the boned sections. The original boning was quite a bit thinner than the plastic.
This corset is for sale
Tiny though it is, the corset measures 21" around the waist - it would probably fit a natural waist of 24" quite easily and bigger for someone who has been waist training.
Ideally I'd like to get new photographs on a real model, these have been taken on cushions because by smallest dummy - although only 24" waist doesn't squish
I've just discovered a competition to promote the idea of a DeviantArt Market Place and this qualifies in every respect
- This entry is for the deviantARTist's Marketplace [link]
- A link to the poll: [link]
- This piece is for sale £75 (I take Paypal) Postage and packing no more than £6 anywhere in the world.
Edit: the prices in Euro's and US Dollars were on this deviation. The conversion was at a time when sterling was strong. Exchange rates are going beserk at the moment as a guide visit www. XE . com [link] for current midmarket exchange rates. There is a converter on the page. This is a guide only if you pay by Paypal their exchange rates will apply.
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Comments: 57
Totally gorgeous.
And I really admire all the work you went through to try to replicate the original Edwardian corset.
Also, thank you for the proof to my family that I'm not the only one in the universe who knows what a ribbon corset is.
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Thank you very much, sorry for the delay in replying, I've been a bit busy of late - you should see my latest ebay purchase [link] basically a load of old scraps
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oooh I love underbust corsets <333 I def need one.
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hehehe EVERYONE needs a corset
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xD Corsets are awesome. <3
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This one is really pretty.. it looks like one I have, same base model, only mine is just plain purple and black.. this is way cuter!
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Thank you, I've got some new ribbon to make another - it will have natural coloured linen with burgundy brocade down the front and sides and the ribbon is burgundy - don't hold your breath though - I have a few pieces of paid work I have to complete first...
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Ohh very nice! I hope it turns out just as wonderful as this one
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I'm hoping it will be better
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Your corsets are very beautiful, and congratulations on finding an original ribbon corset to study. I made two of them years ago, and found them to be much more tedious than normal corsets.
I am going to be making some corsets and costumes this year, after a hiatus of several years from sewing. It was truly a pleasure to stumble upon your crafts this evening. Again, beautiful work.
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Thank you very much.
Yes, the ribbon corset was extremely tedious. I am amazed at the price difference beween the original edwardian corsets compared to the heavily boned corsets. Sure they take hardly any fabric andboning so n that respect they are cheap but labour wise I think it actually took me longer to make the ribbon corset than t takes me to make a fully doned two layer corset. Mostly due to the slipperyness of the ribbon, it was impossible to work without tacking every piece in place first - something I don't have to do when working with coutil.
Good luck with your return to sewing - I had a short hiatus when my children were babies and toddlers - I simply couldn't find time enough to do it so I sliped into knitting - as soon as they hot bigger the knitting ceased and the seing resumed.
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It sounds like you encountered the same exact difficulties I did, which is exactly why I do not like making them even though I love making the technically much more difficult normal corsets. I probably will make one sometime this year, though, since they look so amazing when they are worn.
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I wonder if silk ribbon would be less slippery - I tried to source some but finding it wide enough was the biggest problem. In the end I used polyester double satin ribbon in an effort to get the project done and out of the way so I could concentrate on other things.
I'm no longer in a hurry to do the corset so perhaps I can spend a bit longer sourcing the right fabrics.
I have photo's of this corset on a live model - when I get the chance I'll replace this image with the others - corset look so much better on a body than on a pillow or dummy!
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I don't think silk would help. I used poly double satin for one of them, and the other I used a matte-finish with metallic flecks (which was not at all slippery), but each piece of ribbon had to be painstakingly pinned in place in order for it to sew correctly. Silk would be beautiful, though.
I'll post images about the process I use if I make one this fall/winter. It's very likely that we both arrived at different methods of assembly, and perhaps there is something in the way each of use makes them that could help the other.
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Hmmm, maybe it's just that the pieces are so individual and quite precise, at least with ordinary corsets you're only trying to sew one piece to another when you're seaming.
Because I had the original to study I tried to assemble it in what seemed to be the logical order to match the original construction. It was incredibly frustrating having to tack everything. I tried by just pinning and was so unhappy with the result I ditched the first attempt and started fresh.
In some ways my contemporary lorry loading strap corset (Juggernaut) was easier - apart from hot melting the strap to prevent fraying and that I had sew almost all of it by hand as more than two thicknesses of the strapping was two thick to use my sewing machine.
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Oh, ouch. I sewed an entire 1760's corset by hand, just for the sake of the experience, and by the end I was pretty fast, but it took a lot of time and I would hate for that to be my only option.
I'm pretty lucky in the sewing machine department. For a couple years I was working as a seamstress with a friend of mine, trying to sell historic costumes. We bought an industrial Bernina, which we still have and won't sell. I can make any corset on that, even leather.
I also have an old all-metal Viking (I'd guess from the 60's), which I bought at a sewing machine store. It was old, of course, and refurbished. I also had them do an extra tune-up on it, and since then it has worked like a charm. It will go through most things, balking only after the layers get to be over 4 coutille, 2 cover, 2 lining, and 2 edging (sometimes when crossing the vertical seams to put on the top and bottom edging, or at the ends where the edging needs to roll over on itself). If all I'm hand-sewing is the edging where the busk or grommets are, that's not bad. You might check for any 60's or earlier, all metal, good-name brand machine. They can usually be tuned or rebuilt, and work like gangbusters.
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Ah I have quite a collection of sewing machines now - My Grandmothers from the 50's or 60's that needs attention on the upper tension, a hefty, mostly metal apart from some of the cosmetic bits, Toyota my husband bought me as a surprise gift 23 years ago, an old hand wound Co-op machine from the 20's that can be used with a treadle (that I recent;y aquired) and my most recent acquisition - an industrial Brother, I have to buy a few accessories and it needed a major overhaul when I got it It doesn't seem to like is changing from a few layers of fabric to several more but I only have a zipper foot so I think that might be the reason. I have to order some more feet for it and other bits and pieces but I'm trying to work out what I need before I order so I only pay one lot of postage.
All of my machines are or have been work horses in their time (my Grandmother worked in tailoring)and all of them are sturdy but I think three+ layers of loading strap webbing would be too much for any domestic machine! The biggest problem was trying to sew over a seam where the number of layers changed fron two to three, back to two, then threee again etc - you get the picture!
As for hand sewing an entire corset - I did that with my copy of the Dorothea Sabine von Neuburg corset - I chose that to be my first attempt at making a corset!
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Nice. I love antique machines. Someday, I really hope I can get my hands on an old foot-treadle Singer. I probably won't, but I would love to have one.
It's so wonderful to encounter someone else who has the motivation to make a corset by hand! It really gave me a great appreciation for the period, and all the hours of work that people put into making their own clothing. Even if I had made the entire garment at the pace I was able to work towards the end, it still would have taken a week or more of solid work. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, even if I doubt I will ever go to the trouble again.
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The old foot treadle Singers come up here in the 2nd hand stores quite often, I paid €27 for one - the machine was in very poor condition but the table and the treadle are perfect. I was looking for a treadle mechanism for my old hand wound machine as it's made to convert easily so I wasn't worried about the condition of the machine. I think it would work again if I coud locate a replacement tension device, it's not seized at all but as I have a beautiful antique machne and this one is frankly dull I'll probably never bother to look for one.
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hehe, thats me, without the me-ness
i was hoping to see mine on here
collections looking great tho xxx
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Actually these are on cushions, I will be changing them for you without the youness though
Your corset will be up soon, too busy teaching to rotoscope and *VOLT-reborn hasn't given me copies of the photo's yet...
Thanks
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ahhhhh i see, thats cool
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BUT I have posted pics of a birthday corset!
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gosh! I'm buying a sewing machine this week! If I won't be able to make a corset like this, I will come back here and order this one! 
are you sure that it can decrease waist? plastic bones doesn't seem for me to be durable... but I don't have much experience in making corsets...
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Thank you.
I usually use steel boning in corsets, the bones I used in this are synthetic whalebone and are quite substantial. It's the fabric that decreases the waist not the boning. The boning merely keeps the fabric of the corset in place and prevents it from wrinklling. If you use lightweight plastic then it has a tendency to kink in wear and doesn't hold the fabric where you want it.
I've just found someone to model it for me and she has a natural waist of 26". Wearing this corset, with a small gap at the back, her waist is 22". This style is not suitable for serious waist reduction as the stress on the ribbon will cause it to pull through the stitching as happened on the original, however 2"-3"reduction should not put too much strain on the fabric.
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thanks for an exhaustive reply
you see, here where I live (Poland) there's a huge problem with corset elements such as busks and even boning - here you just can't get it anywhere. The only boning which I can get in Poland is this plastic one that you buy by the metre but I think that it's just useless - it gets bent under pressure of the body. What do you think about this?
Surely I will try to make my first corset using some substitutes, if it will be generally ok then I'll import some 'true' parts and spiral boning.
But your point of view is interesting, because I used to think that reducing waist is impossible without heavy boning. And it means that probably I will be able to construct a corset with substitutes, and that's a heartening information
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You're welcome.
I have heard some people use industrial cable ties for boning. It is probably better than the plastic boning you buy by the metre
If you are using substitutes you will need to make sure your fabric is very tightly woven and doesn't have any stretch, coutil is the best but not easily available from normal shops.
Vena cava [link] are excellent suppliers of corsetry components. They accept Paypal and send internationally - I get almost all my corsetry components from them. They are very helpful and friendly.
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Congrats on winning - this is really amazing, and I'm happy people are getting to see it more
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I was shocked - I'd almost forgotten about the competition until I got a note last night from ~chasingrainbows AND I have a friend over from the UK who is tiny enough to wear it and she's going to model it for me - so new pics are on the way!
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That is so beautiful! Congratulations on winning first place- you deserve it! And reading about the process of how you made it was really interesting- you put a lot of work and thought into this, I'm impressed!
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Thank you very much - I've found a live model who can wear it so there will be new pictures soon.
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This is gorgeous, I love it.
I totally knew this would win - congratulations!
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Thank you - watch out for new pictures, I found someone who can model it for me.
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Gawd, I love ribbon corsets!!
I just made one off of the Laughing Moon pattern, which reminds me I must post pictures of it - oddly enough, this one and mine would go fabulously together 
This was definitely quite a find on eBay - it must be great to own original pieces to pattern off of!
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How was the laughing moon pattern? I look forward to seeing pics of yours
It was an amazing find I was so happy, adly it's more fragile than it was so I just want to frame it. I think I'll see if I can get any information from textiles conservation experts as to how I should treat it first. I don't want to wash it or iron it or anything I just want to know if there's anything I should do to help preserve it, for example should I dampen it? It may be it's so dry now it will just fall to dust.
The only other original clothes I've had chance to study first hand have been things from the 1940's and later. But being the daughter of a hoarder there were quite a few things from the 1950's and 1960's
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Not nearly as bas as I thought it would be, quite honestly. Yours looks more like I envision a ribbon corset to look like, though
You definitely should frame it up, just be sure to use UV resistant glass, that much I do know. I wish I had someone to refer you to for conservation, but I never got in the loop on that project at school XP I do know ~MissMaggie1860 has been doing a huge amount of work with our historic collection - she may be a good starting point to help. It is definitely "her thing"
Ha! That's it - that's how I would justify keeping a lot of random clothes ~ I'm saving it for future study by my children
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I will definately be using UV resistant glass, probably anti glare as well. I was thinking of sandwhiching it between two sheets so you could see both sides, there are quite a few repairs that are pretty rough on the inside - but I think that adds to the garment - I love seeing something that's been so loved it's been literally worn to death.
I might send ~MissMaggie1860 a note - if she doesn't know she may know someone who does
I never thought of that! saving things for future study - HAH - husband yu have no argument any more 
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I'm sure she'll know someone to talk to - she knows a lot of people who do American Civil War reenactments, who own original garments and whatnot, so... hopefully, she can point you in the right direction!
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Oh and yes.. It culd ne feather bone inside the original..those were very popular bones then
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It could be, I'm not really sure what feather bone is. It's certainly very light and thin but very strong and flexible. I know whalebone could be cut into very tiny strips but without di-secting the corset I will never know for sure. Originally I thought it was fine steel boning but the metal detector showed it wasn't metal!
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well feather bones are light and thin, but again vary strong and flexible, whalebone as it goes old it thends to be mor rigid and brake prone, especialy if they are weakend by cuting them in thin strips.
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I just read this morning that featherbones are made by glueing feather spines of goose and turkey feathers together. I don't know if they were used in conjunction with eath other or independantly - I need to do more research now. Though this corset dates perfectly to the featherbone period and they are American so that does fit better than whalebone. They are still very flexible and unbroken, even though they must be 100 years old.
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nicely done! i have to tri and make on of those thing soon
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Thank you, it was the original inspiration for Juggernaut! [link] I didn't have it to hand so I made it up from memory with a very patient model who allowed me to do fittings for every strip of webbing
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you have one patient model
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He's the best - he will try on things every time I need him to - he just wants me work to be as good as it can possibly be and he's my son.
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Beautiful remake and I love the detailing and layering of the ribbon sections. Really lovely!!
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Thank you, and thank you for the fave
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