- All Sections
- Article: Basics (2)
- Article: Corsetry (8)
- Article: Extras (4)
- Article: Free (2)
- Article: Underwear (2)
 A tricky skill to master: Laura details a few techniques on how to do it right first time, every time - and how to keep your stitching straight.  This month we have three questions and lots of great answers! Tilia asks for help in creating a corset pattern for an asymmetrical figure, and receives lots of great advice! Alessandra asks for advice with dealing with models, corsets and photoshoots Suzannah wonders how to clean everyday corsets Twenty-first century corsetieres can gather inspiration from the modern as well as the antique. What better way to create a corset that stands out from the crowd than to give it a visually striking front opening? The swing hook front closure is not only beautiful, but also very sturdy, and easy to fasten and unfasten.  The sad truth is that people notice how a corset fits first, and the detail last. There is absolutely no point spending hours perfecting your stitching if the fit is wrong. In the first of a hotly-anticipated series of articles, Laura rolls up her sleeves and addresses the single most pressing frustration that FR readers tell us they face: just how do you fit a corset properly?  Many makers find inserting gores and gussets a little tricky when it comes to stitching them into a corset. I'll share with you two easy step-by-step techniques that will insert gores and gussets neatly, producing a nice crisp V shape at the bottom.
 Have you ever found yourself repeating a past mistake, but not realising until it's too late? Got carried away and had to unpick your hard work? Miscalculated how long something will take and ended up stitching into the wee hours? Worst of all - ever tried to recreate a previous success, only to find you've forgotten exactly how you did it? Laura shares her foolproof system for preventing wasted time and effort with some simple organizational tools.  Stripes create an unusual visual interest in your corsetry, but you cannot match stripes perfectly along every portion of every curved seam without performing a considerable amount of piecing work - or can you? Laurie shows you how she comes close to doing so (without creating her own fabric) by a simple technique of visualizing pattern matching choices before stitching up the project.  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.  Fabric with an asymmetrical pattern has an image printed on it that is not the same on both sides. If you were to fold the yardage in half lengthwise, the halves would not be a mirror image. The goal when working with asymmetrical patterns is to reconstruct the image to the best of your ability in order to form a pleasing, “seamless” picture, but this requires a lot of time, patience, planning, and extra fabric. In this article I will show you how to lay out and pattern match a corset made from asymmetrical printed fabric.  Practice + experience = better corsetmakers, but at FR we believe that we can help accelerate that process just a little. Let's look at a challenge that'll get you thinking ahead and avoiding construction problems to come up with a fantastic corset on the first attempt. It's all very well to know how to make a basic corset, but when you get a big, inspiring idea, it probably won't be a big, inspiring idea about a basic black underbust. You want wings; you want to defy gravity; you want rows of tiny, deadly spikes down each boning channel. Whatever it is, you get the sinking feeling that this is going to be a tough call.
 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.  If you read historical fashion magazines looking for corset ads, you'll see these words over and over again: "Available in white or drab coutil, or fast black sateen". But what color is "drab" exactly? And where can you get that coutil that color today? The answer is that you can dye it yourself using a very easy process. No toxic chemicals are involved, just a very cheap material from the health food store.
 To continue from last month’s article, I will be talking about the decorative techniques in the six 1890-1910 petticoats described here. Last month I talked about tucks and lace insertion. This month I’ll be talking about embroidered insertion, lace edging and embroidery. Next month I’ll talk about the construction of the six petticoats.  If you're familiar with our sister site, you'll know all about Sunny's extraordinary articles in which she studies antique garments in minute detail with hundreds of detailed photographs. Here she looks at six late Victorian and Edwardian petticoats, studying the methods used to produce the beautiful embellishments so that we can either recreate our own historically accurate underthings to accompany our corsets - or take them somewhere more avant garde...  On this page you can ask questions about any aspect of corsetmaking or historical underwear, however basic, advanced, general or technical, and receive answers both from our contributors and from other readers. We'd also love to publish your own tips, techniques and stories. This month Suzannah asks about corset mannequins, Laurie inquires about the different site look and Natalie wonders how adaptable the corset drafting tutorial could be for other styles of corset.  Thank you very much for passing the news on to our friends - that shows a great spirit of generosity,and that's what we need if we're going to spread the spirit of craftsmanship worldwide. There's enough for everyone, so why not share? As our thank you to you, here's the special bonus chapter as promised. Download The Corsetmaking Revolution: The Next Step here(Suitable both for Mac and PC users) Use it, enjoy it, and feel free to ask questions by contacting us at info@harmanhay.com!
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! |
