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janey-jane — 1603 corset reproduction
Published: 2007-01-25 05:27:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 14564; Favourites: 167; Downloads: 0
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Description
REALLY needs to be re-shot with proper undergarments and lacing.As close to a period reproduction as I could get; followed original shape to develop a pattern, the materials are the same (except for the whalebone stays - mine are bents which is still a period boning material) two layers of linen stitched with silk thread and bound with leather.
Entirely hand sewn - that means all that leather binding, the 60 lacing eyelets, and all the backstiched boning channels. Ugh...I am such a masochist...
...but I'm actually quite proud of it, even though the pic is a bit wonky.
EDIT: Thought I'd put up some links to images of the original, just so people could know where I'm coming from. Cheers!
[link] - laid flat
[link] - on the effigy
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Comments: 85
I love people who can make a perfectly structured and accurate historical corset like this. Its completely amazing 
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thank you! its one of those things that when I think about it I'm like "How in the WORLD did I have the patience to do that?!?!"
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amazing job, congratulation and thanks to share.
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I would love to see a re-shot, but you are right to be proud of it. I wish my hand were up to leather-binding!
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I certainly haven't felt particularly compelled to do leather binding since then. It really tore my hands up!
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I can understand that! Not so odd that stay-making was a male profession, back then.
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beautiful! masochistic indeed but so worth it. The shape is lovely, how small is the waist when corseted?
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hmmm...its not too small. I don't have it on hand to measure, but if I remember correctly its around 23-24 inches closed.
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Wow! Now I HAVE to make one too, thanks to you I know now what bones I should use (the English translators didn`t tell me that it is basket reed).
It looks gorgeous!
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May I ask, what is the button that helds the bearer? carrier? (what's the English word for it?) on the corset in the front part that looks like a needle point?
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I did a big long paper on the effigy corset not all that long ago....
STUNNING reproduction. One of the best I've seen, I think, and I've ended up seeing a lot. Everything looks absolutely top notch. I can't handsew like that to save my life. >_>
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I wrote a huge paper as part of this project too! it only had to be like 500 words, but I think mine ended up being around 10 pages.
Talk about overacheiver!
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Hahaha. I completely understand. 
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This is so well done. I'm REALLY impressed. I'm almost finished with my first corset (a modern hourglass corset made of fake leather).
Keep up the amazing work-Its really inspiring!
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Wow. I'm very, very impressed. I love handsewing, but I've never even considered handsewing a corset, let alone one with so many bones! It looks fab.
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It is indeed an act of obsession. But there's something zen about it too (at least there is when you don't want to rip it shreds or haven't just stabbed yourself with the needle for the millionth time). I really enjoyed doing both the handsewn corsets I've done. Glad you like it!
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You really are a masochist, but if this is the result then it's definitely worth it! Simply stunning! I would never have the patience to handsew something on this level, so I applaud you, it's inspiring. Beautiful work, and it's great that there are people keeping the traditional practices alive.
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You are a masochist...I am very proud of you!!! Am contemplating giving a corset a try. Just finished a feathered cloak by hand... I may just stick to hand doing my satin stitch embroidery....but probably not *giggles*
Wow, lots of ladys are doing the corsets by hand in this little corner of the deviantart eh? Yay!!
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lol... thank you!
I'm a corset pusher so I'll never discourage anyone from doing one, but they are a lot of work. But then that feathered cloak had to be a lot of work too....
I always wish I had more time for embroidery.
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wow, these comments are really long, so there's a good chance I'm repeating something that's already been asked, haha...
ummm, so where do you get this reed boning stuff? and what do you have to do differently than metal spring steel or whatever it is? i don't know much about sewing (nothing actually..haha), but i read somewhere about someone who made the effigy corset and was saying the reed boning shrank...but then stretched? i don't know. haha, i might just be babbling..
anywho, your corsets are genius ((and your art is beautiful!)), so i was wondering if you would bestow a bit of wisdom to me so that i may make one someday
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no worries! I love talking about costume. The reed boning is the reed they use to make baskets. Most of what I use is left over from my mom's basket-making days in the early 70's, ages before I was born. You can get it new from several places online. If comes in different sizes, and of course the thicker it is the stiffer it's going to be. It also comes in round and flat styles (i've used both, when I'm going for historical accuracy I usually use a quite small, round reed, and if I'm going for fast and easy boning and historical accuracy doesn't matter I use a wide, flat reed. I've only used spring steel on one modern project so I'm not as experienced with it but I do know that you have to be conscious of the ends of either the reed or the steel because if it's too sharp it will abrade the fabric and eventually poke through (and jab you in the ribs, or under the armpit etc.). They sell tips you can put on the steels, or a special dip which forms a plastic-like coating over the end. With reeds you can sand the ends down, or just make sure that when you cut them you don't cut them into a sharp little point.
I think the article you read was probably by Drea Leed who runs the Elizabethan Costuming page. She reproduced the effigy corset several years ago and used reed boning, and mentioned some of the quirks in using reed boning. What happens with a fully boned (the boning goes all the way around with no gaps) reed corset is the round reed "shrinks" the size of the corset because the fabric has to mold around them (imagine a flat piece of paper, and then wrapping that paper so it fit halfway around a drinking glass - the original horizontal span of the paper is now decreased to fit the round). Then, as you wear the corset the reed shifts around in the boning channels and sort of 'molds' to your form so the corset "stretches" out a bit to better fit your body.
I'm all for more costuming in the world, and in particular more corsets!!! Thanks for your comments!
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ahhhhhhhhhh this reply is amazing, thank you so much!!!
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I thought I had read something similar, but not regarding to the shift in boning but to the eventual stretch of the fabric itself. I think the original was made from fustian, which has something of a give to it, much like twill. I think it was actually the article to which you are referring, she explained that while the boning shrinks the bodies, the stretch of the fabric compensates for it?
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Alright, (if this has already been asked, please excuse me, but I'm corseting at this minute and am trying to take short short breaks)
Can you sit in it? I would imagine at the very least that it would cut painfully.
Thankyou!
And friggin' incredible job!!! Hand sewn? You ARE a masochist!
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no worries, I love getting practical questions about my work, esp. the historic stuff. A lot of people shorten this style of corset because it is so long in front and they do find it uncomfortable to sit in. The class I was making it for required as close to historical accuracy as possible and the late-elizabethan/early jacobian style was VERY long waisted (examples [link] [link] etc.) so I went ahead with the original proportions of the garment. Luckily (and this is the only time in my life I"ve ever found this physical trait to be lucky) I am very, very long waisted naturaly. Also I found that because the garment doesn't have a front busk it actually curves out a bit (both under the bust and away from the belly - actually if you look at the original laid flat [link] you can see that the front edge is cut in a slight curve, and not straight).
Still, I think even with the curve it would be more practical from a wearable-costume standpoint to shorten the front a few inches. I can sit in mine, but in a stiff historic portrait type way and not in a modern look-at-me-being wild and crazy at the fair sort of way. Thank you for your questions, feel free to ask more!
(see my 1598 corset [link] )
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Thankyou so much!
Yes, I figured that much. I'm doing an Elizabethan corset right now and am also incredibly long waisted. (I'm 6'0) and was looking at the length of my corset and frantically comparing. I know the historical style was long but, I have to work in mine (I work for a company called Alter Years [link] , we sell historic costume patterns and all of the hard to find busks, steel boning, boning tape, corset kits, millinery wire, ect and we do faires so I have to be all period outfitted yet still manage to be completely functional.) I just ended up shortening it to only be around 21" long at the longest point since when you're on your feet all day, being able to sit when you can, and comfortably is a worry.
Thankyou so much for your help!
Now that you've encouraged historical questions, I may never stop asking. But I'll try to keep the nerd to a minimum!
Thankyou again!
-Lex
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let the nerd out! this is about the only place I can get my nerd on with felow historic costumers, so I'm all for it.
anyway...(now that it's a month later), Alteryears! I used to buy stuff from them (via mailorder) that's so kewel. I'll look forward to seeing your costume stuff!
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This is very well done. And paedon if I'm mistaken, but I believe the "effigy" photo you linked is of a corset believed to be owned by Elizabeth I, but I could be wrong! Hardly anything og her's survives, except some stockings, some boots, a pair of gloves and I believe that pair of bodies!
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thank you so much! *warning: impending wordy personal costume theory* There is so much controversy around this pair of bodies. People arguing that their period (eg. circa 1600) people arguing that they're 18thc. , people who argue that the effigy was dressed (originally at least - the effigy was at least partially redressed sometime in the mid 18thc.) in Elizabeth's own clothing, people who claim that the idea is rediculous; the claim that the remaining underclothing was that of a commoner (cause it isn't fancy enough) etc. I'm of the camp that feels these *are* from around the time of Elizabeth's death (the sillhouette is all wrong for later in the century, and it's bonned wrong for a 18th c. set of stays) - the way it fits and allows for a gentle curve of the body is consistent with portraits from the eary 17th c. And as to the is it Elizabeth's/is it a commoners? - if you base it on dressing ease and time I would have to go with the idea that it had to at least belong to a wealthy woman because it takes FOREVER to get into it. The lacing up the front may make it possible to lace oneself but with all those lacing holes it takes me around 45 min. to an hour to get it fully laced. And although it's relatively comfortable it is quite long waisted, even on me (I'm 5'7" but my legs are the same length of my friend who's 5'3"), and provides a considerable impediment to movement. I don't think many common women could afford to own a garment representing such an investment of time and sacrifice of ease of wear.
It just kills me that almost nothing of hers remains. I think James I and Queen Anne were like "what is all this outdated rubbish?" and had it torn apart and made anew, or gave it away as gifts *dies*. And her surviving boots 
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Nice analysis. I think that it of course could not have come from the 18th century, but beyond that I don't know. As for what you said about James I and Anne of Denmark, in fact, by the time Elizabeth heaved her last breathe, her courtiers were litteraly ripping her clothes to shreds, getting jewels, laces, gold threads etc. anything of them that they could. Apparently some of ther dresses survived though, because Anne wore a few of them, even in portraits! It's funny that not one dress survives out of a wardrobe of 1,000!
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lol...silly courtiers.... I've been wanting a decent read on Good ole' Bess but everytime I go to the library it's complete overload, do you have any recomendations?
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definately bios, well researched, engaging etc. With lots of good juicy tidbits.
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Hm, well I would start off with "Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne" by Dr. David Starkey since he is *the* leading Tudor authority and also becuase it deals with the early years of Elizabeth's life.
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koowel... thanks, for the rec!
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Whoa. Impressive, by all means.
I've made a decent amount of period corsets myself (Ren. Fest., same), but I'm not dedicated enough to actually hand-sew the entire thing.
Nice work.
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you have infinitely more patience than i could ever DREAM of having!! THis is awesome!!
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lol...thank you so much, I did most of it in front of the tv watching movies I'd already seen a hundred times (so I didn't have to watch). There's sort of a zen to hand sewing.
That said, I wanted badly to chuck it into the fire on more than one occasion
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My friends are reallyold fashon clothing and stuff like this too.
I'll have to send them to your site! ^_^
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that would be awesome! I 
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I can't wait!
My friends are always working on things like this!
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