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- Article: Corsetry (4)
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 While the original corset was made in drab coutil, I couldn't resist the temptation of bright pink for Valentine's Day. Coutil dyes really well; add a sexy black lace trim and you have a corset far too good for a mere housemaid! Yes, this corset is a labour of love. Yes, doing all that cording takes ages. Was it worth it? YES! This is a lovely corset, comfortable and fun and easy to wear and it looks so unusual and smart.  Follow along as Jema takes her antique Charles Bayer corset, and the pattern she made from it in last month's instalment, and recreates it for herself. Jema shows us the complete details on how one professional corsetmaker would make this one layer corset, step by step. Furthermore, she includes some techniques you may not have tried before, such as a lapped seam for one layer corsets that neatly encases all raw edges on both sides.  My corset to share with you this month is a drab coutil corset. (The word "drab" refers to its colour, rather than inferring that it’s a boring corset!) It uses machine corded fabric instead of bones to stiffen the panels into an impressively curvaceous shape. It also has a sturdy spoon shaped busk. There is no maker's mark inside it, but it has clearly been created by a professional corsetiere.  I can't believe that it's December already and that the Holiday season is almost upon us! There are two questions this month. One on patterning/fitting a corset for a figure where the waist is almost as big as the hips. The other is on horizontal boning channels in 18th century corsets. We also share a letter we received from a reader were she shares what she likes and what she'd like to see more of. Read it and see if you agree! Do you have an antique corset in your collection that you'd like to see featured on FR? Click to read more about writing for us.  Jema Hewitt shares with us pictures and the pattern of a beautiful Victorian corset from her personal collection. Made by the Charles Bayer (CB) corset company around 1899-1900, it has five main pattern pieces, with one bust shaped godet and two hip godets on each side. It is a very sophisticated and elegant piece of pattern cutting. Jema shares the pattern, detail pictures and a little history, working out when the corset might have been made, and then takes us step-by-step through constructing a new corset from this pattern, including a new seam technique just for corsetry that negotiates curves perfectly and encases all the raw edges neatly. |