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sidneyeileen — Victorian Underbust Corset
Published: 2008-10-21 06:38:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 6092; Favourites: 58; Downloads: 535
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Description
This is a very basic style of Victorian underbust corset, dating from the mid-1800's. The cover layer is black linen, and the pink stitches hold the boning in place. The top and bottom edging is satin ribbon. It is custom made from beginning to end, without the use of a pre-made pattern. I originally made this corset to fit myself, but I have since gained weight (much to my joy) and I can no longer wear it comfortably. It does, however, fit one of my friends, so later on I will hopefully be able to upload some pictures of her wearing it.Related content
Comments: 38
Looks beautiful and comfy
I'm working on a corset at the moment, and it seems I have drafted a very good pattern, but I'm still unsure about the 'decoration' and details... So, does the stitching on top and bottom of the boning channels serve a purpose or is it just for the good looks? I could imagine it reinforces the channel to prevent the boning from poking out, but I'm not sure ^^ Either way, it looks really nice. Would be great if you could tell me the name of that particular stitching!
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It prevents the fabric from bunching around the boning and causing small wrinkles along the length. It also prevents the boning from shifting up and down as you move, which abrades the inside of the boning channels and will cause them to wear through faster. This is one of the places a well-worn corset will wear first, but the stitches help to extend the life of your corset.
I have a bunch more tutorials on my web site: [link]
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This is lovely. I like the decorative stitching reinforcing the channels, it's a really nice touch and I wish I had the patience and the steady hand to do that myself.
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that looks... painful xD no, I think it's really well done! I assume you used bones made of metal?
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It's only painful if it doesn't fit right. Yes, the bones are springsteel. Those are the easiest, cheapest material to use for stiffening. Plastic boning doesn't work, because it buckles. That is very uncomfortable at the least, and painful at the worst.
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aah, okay 
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Honestly, it's a miracle if a premade corset pattern fits anyone without modification. The nature of corsets is such that if they don't fit precisely to the shape of your own body, they will be uncomfortable or even painful. I threw out a rib one time wearing a bodice that was ill-fitting. I don't even want to know what an ill-fitting corset would do. Yikes!
If you can find a premade pattern you like, you may be able to tailor it to your measurements. I'll be posting some info, pattern sketches, and describing some of the steps in making the corsets, so I don't want to go into detail here. Be sure and ask me for more info later, if you would like some help.
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ouch, that ribthing sounds truly nasty D:
and yeah, if I'll ever give my sewing skills a try, I'll definitely ask help from nearly everywhere I can
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Lovely work 
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Wooooow… I am thoroughly impressed! My sister is a seamstress as well, so I understand (as a viewer) that not using a pre-made pattern can be intricate. Amazing work!!
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Thank you very much.
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Haha! Wow your accurate phrasing left me laughing out loud!
And you're welcome. ^_^
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Nice work... My girlfriend's searching for such one
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Thanks! Yeah, it can be very hard to find a good corset, whether one chooses to go with an off-the-rack model, or a custom corsetter. I decided to teach myself how to make them after buying one from a very reputable maker in San Francisco. It fit her so poorly I was appalled, and they refused to modify it or give a refund even though the poor fit was their fault.
If she's willing to pay a little bit for a good corset (something that is usually worth while), I might be able to help research a decent corset-maker in your part of the world. Also, once I'm back in practice, I'll be willing to take commissions for some styles of corset. Most corsets can't be reliably constructed for a comfortable fit without in-person fittings.
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Well, I'd appreciate your effort. She's been looking for one for quite a while. AFAIK, she wants something a bit different... without those (err... how is it called?
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Uh... Well, if she doesn't want a stiff garment, then she doesn't want a corset. She might look into purchasing negligee clothing intended to imitate the look of a corset, but being boned and stiff is what makes a corset a corset. When people attempt to make "corsets" without stiff enough materials or some sort of boning (plastic doesn't work), the garment is guaranteed to deform and become hideously uncomfortable. A well-fitting corset can be amazingly comfortable to wear, but even then they are not for everyone. If she doesn't like being confined in clothing, she probably won't want a corset, no matter how neat they look.
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there were at some points in history corsets that were made with cording not boning, I have not found out completely what the cording was made of but those corsets were made for the working class but still provided the look that the upper class had in their boned corsets. so I have to in a way disagree with your comment about it having boned. what the lady (that caithuniverse is taking about) is looking for is rural corded corset or something like it (rural corded corset picture and patter can be found in the book Corsets Historical Patterns & Techniques By Jill Salen). some of the corsets in that book have very little boning other then at the back where they lace up. only thing in the rural corded corset that makes it stiff is the spoon busk in front and the boning in back at the lace up.
on another note, I pity your pillow model, always being stuffed into corsets never getting a say.
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Ah. I see my misunderstanding. I hope I didn't offend you with my response, but most of the time when I have heard people say they want a corset without boning, they believe it is the boning that creates a torture device, and without boning the corset would magically fit the same as modern negligee.
I have researched into chording, and plan to use the method myself at some point. I think it sounds fascinating. It was one of many alternatives to baleen that was tried in the late Victorian, and quite successfully. The point of boning is simply to prevent the corset from buckling. The more pressure that is placed on the corset (be it by large size or tight lacing), the more boning is required to prevent buckling. If you go to any event where people are wearing cheap off-the-rack corsets, you'll see at least a handful with corsets that are boned with too few 1/4" bones, and parts of the corset will buckle from the pull of the laces. The chording was made from thick fibers, glued and quilted together into strips. It was quite thick, and stiff enough to prevent buckling when enough of it was quilted into the corset. In most of the photos I've studied, chorded corsets have the chording sewn into most of the body of the garment, which would make for a very warm corset.
Chording looks amazingly gorgeous, and doesn't have the problems of popping out of boning channels. It doesn't need to be broken in, either. In the long run, I think steel boning won out because of cheap mass production, easy of use (far less labor involved), and a social emphasis on lightweight corsets. At this point, there is no company that mass-produces the chording strips, so anyone seeking to make a chorded corset would need to create the chording personally. That's the biggest stumbling block I've found, and I don't know of anyone who has made a chorded corset in the modern context. I wish I could help you find someone, but I really don't know where to even start looking.
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Then of course there are the transition stays (early 19th century) that often had cord in channels - which would appear to be a thin rope and not what you describe. These were often heavily quilted as well which would also add rigidity to the form though they usually had a wooden or whalebone busk in the front as well as bones in the back where they were laced.
Tis true this form of corset is not very figure changing so needs less boning.
I have also used cane in my 18th C stays with great effect - it's not very stiff but I think it works because the bones are placed next to each other all around the corset. I have a friend in the Uk who has used reeds to stiffen the 16th century bodys with great effect.
I do wonder if what you are referring to as chording may in fact be the featherbone that was in production in the late 19th/early 20th century - my understanding is that was produced by layering and glueing different materials including the hard central core of wing feathers from big birds.
I agree wholeheartedly with you that steel boning is essential in any Victorian/Edwardian style of corset and that anything sold as a corset with plastic boning is not in fact a corset.
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now thats hot. Making a corset would be a great skill to have with my model photography L()L
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I look forward to it (-;
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