 A tatty old Ebay find leads to a fascinating journey of discovery, recreating both the corset itself and its owner's story.  “Signed by me this 22nd May, 1906. DANIEL KOPS.” Almost exactly one hundred and four years later, this unusual and sophisticated corset design is still of interest. Sinuous pieces curl around the body in a way we've never seen before, forming charming heart shapes at the centre front and over the hips. Interpreting the Edwardian patent into a contemporary corset is a wonderful challenge that I am thrilled to share with you! In this first article we look at the patent and re-create the pattern by draping. In the second article, we'll use a different method (drafting), and in the third we'll compare and contrast toiles from each pattern.  Two questions and a short story on the Letters page this month: Zeina inquires about how to make a set of the 1660 watered silk stays from the V&A. Bernicia wonders about alternative lacing and where to find colored eyelets (hint: its in the most unexpected place!) A short story from 1913, in which the lady's undergarments play a starring role (it's a nice clean story, nothing risque actually happens!)
 A skeleton corset has no fabric between the boning channels, just a few horizontal tapes to hold the bone casings together. Most examples are late 19th to early 20th century, but they can be found mid-century too. Amanda Lerum Faulkner shares photos, details and a pattern for an 1869 American skeleton corset in her collection. Next month she'll share a step-by-step tutorial to reproduce its unique busk.  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.  After the October issue, in which the article Pattern Challenge- Thomson Glove-fitting Corset about Patent 611,116 issued to T.S. Gilbert was published, David in the UK wrote to me asking: "Are you certain that this patent is for a Thomson Glove-fitting Corset? This led me to look more closely at the patent and realize that he was right! So I did a little (ok, a lot) more research into T.S Gilbert, the owner of patent 611,116. I'll share what I found about him, along with my method of patterning this corset, and next month I'll show you the finished piece.  Naturally I noticed the vintage corset lying in the antique store, but since extant pieces are usually cut for Scarlett O’Hara, I passed it by. A few minutes later, my companion was brandishing it about. “I think this would fit you,” she exclaimed. It had to be late 1880s... she held it up to me, and she was right. Even over a t-shirt, it was clearly a perfect fit. Danine looks in detail at this extraordinarily lucky find, and then makes us a pattern. Naturally I noticed the vintage corset lying in the antique store, but since extant pieces are usually cut for Scarlett O’Hara, I passed it by. A few minutes later, my companion was brandishing it about. “I think this would fit you,” she exclaimed. It had to be late 1880s... she held it up to me, and she was right. Even over a t-shirt, it was clearly a perfect fit. Danine looks in detail at this extraordinarily lucky find, and then makes us a pattern.  How to make your own personalised custom Victorian corset pattern - a tutorial suitable for beginners! One of the most frustrating challenges in corsetmaking is to get the darn thing to fit properly. Corsets are such unforgiving, tightly fitted garments that a good one must have a perfect fit; there's no room for error. After getting frustrated with commerical patterns, you're probably starting to wonder how to draft (draw out) your own patterns from a list of measurements. Here's how, in a step-by-step format specially designed for complete beginners. I've devised these instructions for you based on corset designs of the late 1870s. You'll still need a mock-up to check before cutting the expensive fabric, but you will be very surprised how well it fits...  The free tutorial that enables every corsetmaker to create the most unique, beautifully fitting corsets you’ve ever hand-crafted. Download the pdf here, use it, enjoy it, adapt it for your own ends, and tell us what you think in the comments.And there's more: get your free bonus chapter on adding complexities like bust gussets, hip gores and corded panels to your designs when you tell your friends!  The Pattern Challenge feature on Foundations Revealed will inspire, challenge and encourage you to stretch your corset making skills. You're invited to participate and create your own corset pattern and, if you wish to complete the garment, send pictures of your finished corset for our Reader Showcase Gallery. This month's Pattern Challenge is Thomson's Glove fitting corset. We'll look at the 1898 patent, advertisements, a few extant corsets in collections and work on putting the pieces together. In November, Marion will share how she created a pattern from the evidence and show her finished corset.  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. |