I don't know about you but the one big challenge I still have in corset making is the bust, especially big cup sizes, and even though I've been doing this full time for six years, and have over 200 corsets behind me, I'm still more stressed out when I have to pattern for a D cup or above. It's always delicate: my clients don't all want the same thing and it's important to be able to create a shape that'll enable them to enjoy their corset and want to wear it. This article was a good reason for me to take time out, experiment on the subject and hopefully, learn or at least consolidate what I know! I hope it will enlighten you as well.
My guinea pig for this project is a good friend of mine. I met Emilie when she commissioned a made-to-measure corset, and during the course of the fittings we discovered a common passion for everything laced. She is a French 95E cup (US 36DD ) and she is not a tight-lacer. She is just well proportioned and very squishy. (You'll understand very soon why I'm pointing that out! Some people are just made to wear corsets - I am SO jealous!)
Her measurements :
(I have purposely rounded the heights for conversion reasons)
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Full measures |
cm |
inches |
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Full bust |
109 |
43" |
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Underbust |
87.5 |
34½ " |
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Waist |
83 |
32½ " |
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Small hips |
102 |
40" |
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Full hips |
121 |
47½ " |
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Waist to full bust |
20 |
8" |
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Waist to underbust |
10 |
4" |
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Underbust to nipple |
12.5 |
5" |
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Waist to small hips |
10 |
4" |
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Waist to full hips |
25 |
10" |
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Nipple to nipple |
21 |
8 3/8 " |
Starting point : Emilie's Green Corset
Over a year ago, I made Emilie a custom corset in which she didn't want her breasts to be too high up, nor feel like she had them right under her throat. However, she liked her corset tight and since she has a constantly changing weight, we decided to give her a lot of room in the back.
There are ten ¼" (7mm) spirals here, and four steels in the back.
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Let's look at the pattern and analyse what I did. The pattern has twelve panels total. It's custom drafted, but if you want a good base to start from, with a similar shape, the Truly Victorian 110 or the Laughing Moon Dore corset seem to be quite similar as they both have the princess cut at the bust. |
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I followed Emilie's wishes and started the bust curve very low, almost immediately at the waist actually. This means that this corset almost does not push her breasts up at all. Here is a side view of what this pattern does: we can see that her breast is in a very natural position. Even if I like what this corset does to her breast, I always thought I should have placed her bust line a bit higher, and start the curve higher as well. |
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About bones...
We started talking about number of bones and support right after I made her my very first Edwardian corset, which had much more bones at the front.
As you can see in these pictures, her breasts are a bit higher and the corset is higher as well , since it's an Edwardian design. We know we don't want to achieve exactly the same result as this, since Edwardians are really flat fronted corsets, but it gives us an idea of where we want her bust to be.
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She could then compare the support given by each corset, and we agreed that more support was needed to compensate for the weight of her breasts. I ended up adding four more spiral bones in the front of her green corset for a grand total of fourteen spirals, eight of which are at the front. Conclusion: don't hesitate to add extra bones in the front.
Supporting the Bust
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For the purpose of this article I did some thinking and tried to come up with a more logical little rule. For a B cup, the natural instinct would be to start the breast curve at the underbust height (10cm above the waist in this case), well, for an E cup, it's not as simple, look at the measurements: The waist to underbust height is 10cm (4") - in red in the image (right). The height of one breast is 12.5cm (5") - in blue, making a total of 22.5cm (9"), but the height from the waist to the full bust (measured almost in a straight line) is 20cm (8"), meaning that we have 2.5 cm (1") to put somewhere... |
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What does this mean? It means that the volume of one breast, when in the right position and correctly supported, is making the breast spill out of the breast base diameter. So if you want to create a beautiful shape you have to lower the starting point for your breast curve. Here is our mysterious 2.5cm (1")! |
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Does this mean that we have to start the curve at exactly 2.5cm (1") below the underbust line?
Well, yes and no.
- Yes, if you want a very rounded breast underneath.
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This will actually make your bust look bigger, so I do not recommend it for D cups and above. (Not as much as starting the curve right at the underbust point, but still!) (The drawing is almost not an exaggeration) |
Or it might really push it up, depending on the depth you allowed for your breast at the front. |
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- No, if you want to achieve a much more flat fronted corset, give it a smoother line, this will also help minimise the appearance of your bust. In the next example I've actually doubled our 2.5cm and started the curve 5cm (2") below the natural underbust line.
So you have to consider 2.5cm (1") as the bare minimum measurement below your bust to start your curve.
Note : this method does not work for small cups (A,B and C.) I tried but the result was that the breast would disappear and have no volume, which most women don't like when you don't have much to begin with. ( *cough cough* speaking from experience :-) )
This method is a general guideline derived from experimentation. There are other methods that work just fine, but if you want a breast shaped like Emilie's in this corset, try it!
Testing the Theory
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So now that I knew better, I wanted to test this theory and see what else I could learn. I re-made my pattern and decided to take baby steps. This way we can all see what works and what doesn't. First test : the same twelve-panel pattern with 5cm (2") added above the waist to take this new data into consideration. |
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From this pattern, I made a fully boned mock-up in coutil.
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I like the shape of the breast much better, but there are still a few things I do not like :
- There are a lot of deep wrinkles under the bust , telling me there are some things to change in that area.
- Her breasts look like they're escaping on the sides: I'm thinking not enough bones and not enough height.
- When she moves her arms up or tries to bend, her nipples are saying hello to everyone...
- And I know we're supposed to focus on the breast but I also think it's too tight in the back.
What I should change :
I should make it higher, add some bones for support, and make more panels to create a smoother line. I should add some room in the back, both vertically and horizontally.
Before making all those changes I wanted to test my theory on "more panels means less deep wrinkles" and since we're here to experiment, let's do it! I kept pieces number 3,4,5,6, and remade the first two into three panels which are now called A,B,C.
It's exactly the same measurements as before, except that I spread them over three panels. There's nothing to it.
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First : measure your two pieces at the bust/waist/hips (don't forget to substract the seam allowances or you'll be in trouble!) Do not touch the center front or the side of the second panel. We are working between those two lines. |
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Add the measurements and get a total for each |
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Locate the nipple = half of the nipple to nipple measure. (I was off by 25mm (1/10"), not that it's really important, but let's be precise.) |
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Draw a vertical line, parallel to the center front line, through the nipple. |
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And from there divide everything into three and reorganise it to create three pieces. |
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Draw beautiful curves, add your seam allowances, and Voilà! |
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We are now working on this pattern: |
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Mock-up N°2 : Pieces 3,4,5 and 6 were the same so I kept them and only changed the front. Here is the second mock-up :
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I think it's a lot better then before. We still have to correct a lot of things, but more panels means gentler curves and fewer wrinkles, and more bones means better support.
One thing I have to add to my previous list of "what to change" :
- Change the angle above the bust line to embrace the breast better.
So here we go with the final changes :
- I added 5cm (2") in the back to make it higher and to prevent that less-than-aesthetic skin from popping out.
- I added 2cm (less then 1") in the front to cover the breast better.
- I changed the angle above the bustline, as mentioned above.
- I added 8cm (3") total to the back of the corset, horizontally, so the corset is not as tight as before.
- One extra centimetre (3/8") in the high hips area in the front to make this part more curvaceous.
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Ta-da! The final pattern |
Compared to the previous one |
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And the final mock-up :
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I don't know about you, but we both felt that the difference was stunning! And we loved it!
Emilie felt much more supported, she could move around without problems, and as you can see she can bend forward without revealing too much. The breast could be more covered, for those who do not want such a cleavage, but for this corset we liked it like that!
There is still one thing bothering me : when you make the front come up this high, the busk (or centre front boning) is too flat and does not allow for an attractive curve as it does not follow the natural shape of the breast. I think I would prefer to use a shorter busk and close the centre front bust with eyelets and lacing. This also makes the bust area a bit more adjustable, depending on how tight you lace it. But if you do not like it, I think the center front should stop exactly at the bust level to avoid this problem.
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I'm really happy I got to do all this, it made me see some problems I never considered before and help me to draw some general guidelines for supporting large busts.
General Guidelines
- Start the breast curve according to what the numbers tell you.
- Cover the breast by minimum 2/3 of one breast height (In this case 9cm (3½"))
- Under the arm and in the back, go easily 5cm (2") higher than the bust line to prevent unaesthetic skin rolls and ensure better support.
- Over the breast, the more panels, the better. I showed you an easy method to transform any base pattern into a multi panelled one.
- Plan for the busk to end right at the bust level.
- For a rounder bust, make the the busk end around the underbust line, and finish the rest of the front opening with lacing.
A Final Note About Bones
- 7mm (1/4 ") is the minimum.
- The more the better. One per seam might not be enough. If at any point a panel is wider then 7.5cm (3"), add one in the middle.
- For slimmer people with big cups , add some extra bones to the front for support , maybe add some extra panels as well and keep the "back half" of the corset as it was.
A big thank you to Emilie for helping me do this! I hope you enjoyed it, I sure did! Any comments, questions are welcome!
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