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16th Century Elizabethian Corset Reproduction July 26th-27th, 2003 This is the first of many projects I hope to have information about on-line. For my first project, I decided to reproduce an Elizabethian corset. I've recently become very interested in corsets and wanted to make one myself. First of all, I must let you know that I'm not a seamstress, or a period fashion guru, but nonetheless, I thought it would be helpful to share my corset construction experience. I did a lot of searching on-line, and found that most sites are very vague with their instructions and assume you can read their minds. As such, I'm going to try and be as detailed as I can to help you out with your own corset construction. If I do get too vague with my explanations, please let me know I can resolve that issue. Before I begin, I have one caveat to share. My digital camera is currently broken, so I didn't get to take any pictures of my corset-making progress. I will, however, have pictures of the materials I used as well as my completed corset once I get the camera fixed (in the next couple of weeks). Well, let's get started! Step #1 - Drafting your custom corset pattern. I found a pretty neat site titled, The Elizabethian Costuming Page, which had tons of information about 16th century costuming. This site has it's very own Elizabethian Corset section, where I stumbled across the Custom Corset Generator. This generator allows you to enter your measurements in order to give you instructions on how to draft your very own corset pattern. Before you go on to step #2, be sure to head to the corset generator by clicking here. Follow the instructions on how to create your pattern. They also have information on how to create the corset using your new pattern, but I found it pretty vague. Anyway, I slightly changed the shape of the front portion of my pattern since I wanted more coverage over my lower abdomen, rather than the "point" that's created with the corset generator (see image). Step #2 - Materials you'll need for the corset. Below is a list of materials needed for the corset*. All of the items on this list were found at my local Hancock Fabrics, and at a relatively low cost.
Step #3 - Cutting the pattern pieces from the fabric. First of all, we're going to cut two identical pieces of lining from the canvas. Have your canvas folded in half (be sure it's folded straight; not at an angle). Pin your pattern to the canvas with the Center Front on the fold. Cut along the pattern for your first piece of lining. Pin pattern to the remaining canvas and cut out the second piece. Place the pieces on top of each other and trim any differences. Mark the top and bottom of the pieces and then Lay them aside. If you're not using decorative fabric, skip to step 4. Next, fold your decorative fabric in half (right side in) and pin the pattern with the Center Front on the fold. Cut out around the pattern. Take the decorative fabric and lay it on top of the lining. Trim any differences and then mark the top and bottom of the piece. Step #4 - Baste (attach together) the layers of fabric. If you're using a decorative fabric lay out all three pieces of fabric and pin them together. Make sure to have the decorative fabric, right-side out. Use a basic stitch along the BOTTOM (1/4 inch from the edge) portion of the fabric pieces to bind them together. If you're not using a decorative fabric, just baste the two pieces of canvas. Step #5 - Draft & stitch the boning channels. This is probably the most tedious part of the corset-making process. Once your pieces are stitched together, grab a ruler to begin drawing your boning channels on the INSIDE of the corset. Don't worry about exact placement of the channels; just make sure it's symmetrical. I folded my corset in half (inside out), started in the center and worked out. Each of my channels is 1/4 inch wide with consistent spacing between them (see image). I then did the same thing on the other side of the corset following the same exact measurements. When I compared my placement of the channels on each side of the corset, I found out that I was about a 1/4 inch off. I wasn't worried about it since it's a pretty insignificant difference. Once the boning channels are drawn, stitch along each line (through all the material) to physically create the channel. Step #6 - Finish the corset's back and bottom edges. Take your ribbon and iron it in half. Starting along the back edge of the corset, pin the ribbon around the back and bottom edges. DO NOT COMPLETE THE TOP PORTION OF THE CORSET'S EDGES. Once you've finished pinning the ribbon to the back and bottom of the corset's edges, stitch the ribbon to the corset on the right side. When you've stitched the ribbon in place, flip the corset over to ensure that the ribbon is also secure on the inside of the corset. If you've missed any spots, you may hem-stitch them by hand or use a strong fabric glue to close any gaps. Step #7 - Insert the boning. I found that the boning was much easier to insert when it wasn't in the bone casing. As such, I removed the bone casing and saved it to lace up my completed corset. :) Anyway, insert the one end of the boning into the first channel. **Be sure to cut the boning about a 1/4 inch shorter than the channel to allow room for finishing the corset's top edge. Continue until every channel has boning in it. Step #8 - Finish the corset's top edge. Once the boning is in place, take the remaining ribbon and pin it along the top edge of the corset. Stitch the ribbon in place on the right side of the corset. When you're done stitching the ribbon, turn the corset over to ensure that the ribbon is also secure on the inside. If you missed any spots, hem-stitch or glue them. Step #9. - Add your grommets (eyelets). Now that you've finished the edges of your corset, it's time to add the grommets! Take pencil or chalk and a ruler and start measuring where you would like the placement of your grommets along the back edges of the corset. Start about 1 inch from the top of the corset and continue down adding about 7-9 marks, depending on how long your corset is. Each marking should be approximately 1 inch apart. I had 9 marks on each back edge of my corset. Once you're done marking, take a sharp object to puncture a small hole at each mark (NOTE: Grommet pliers will NOT work to create a hole since the canvas is too thick). Then, take scissors to widen the holes for the grommets to fit into. Follow the instructions on the grommets' packaging for crimping and tightening the grommet into place. Step #10 - Lace 'er up! Take the bone casing that you removed from the boning. Stitch two of the casings together to create one long "lace". Finish the edges, by stitching them, wrapping tape around or thread around them. Have someone lace you into the corset rather than trying to get into it with the laces loosen (believe me....it's hard!). Once you're in....relax! You don't have to suck in anymore! :) Congratulations! You've made a 16th Century Corset! |