How to make a corset - Foundations Revealed

A study of three padded bustles in the Kentucky Historical Society Collection, showing how thrifty women stayed fashionable on a budget.

Part 2 of Push Up and Sling Bras series. You've drafted the cups in part 1, now we'll draft the bra wing with gated back fastening, and sew the push up bra.

In this article on bra design we will look at more cup shaping options, push up bras, and sling bras, and try to solve the problem of "east westing". 

Wendy puts her earlier research on transitional Regency stays into practice and reproduces a set of stays for herself, walking us through the fitting stages.

Mark takes the basic corselet further by adding shaping or control panels to it. He also shows how to adapt the corselet blocks to make : a Girdle, Merry Widow, Basque, Long Line Bra and a Suspender / Garter Belt.

Dresses of the 1770s-80s were worn over a “bum” or “rump,” but there is little extant evidence as to what shape and proportion these rumps took.

Mark shares with us the secrets of working with stretchy powernet, and shows how to make a vintage corselette of the 1950s or 60s.

Silhouette is important for vintage as well as historical clothing: make an authentic pointy bra that Jane Russell or Marilyn Monroe would have been proud of.

Mark shows you how to adapt the basic "darted cup" bra pattern into three further styles, including a strapless bra shape.

Part 3 of our bra pattern drafting/making series. You have taken measurements and drafted a pattern - now it's time to break out the sewing kit!

Part 2 of our bra pattern drafting and making series: drafting the blocks for the cups, cradle and wings of a simple underwired “Darted Cup” Bra. 

The first in a series of articles on bra patterning and making. Before we get out the fabric, there's a big obstacle to tackle: what size bra do you want?

We talk to Mark Garbarczyk, a British foundationwear maker who's tried and rejected formal training in favour of taking his own learning journey...

Trying to date a particular corset, track changes in lingerie fashion down to a few years, or just looking for new inspiration? Plenty here to keep you busy...

An open pair of cotton drawers in the style of the 1840's  (but dated late 1850s to 1860s), with delicate whitework embroidery, sewn on a chain stitch machine.

The underwear situation in the Natural Form Era was.... complicated!  Ladies had an outfit for every situation and time of day, and underwear to go with it. To further add confusion, the "Dress Reform" movement was at its height: its main focus was on changing corsets and what was worn underneath them, all in the name of health. 

So what did women wear under their dresses?  It all depends on a variety of factors.  I'll walk you through all the different layer options starting from the skin out, with variations in necklines and politics. Next month I'll complete the layers and show you how to combine them. Bonus DPP article from YWU

Some underwear is easy to date by the cut or the decoration, other items are almost timeless. 

This month I share with you a knitted silk undervest with a crocheted yoke that could date anywhere from 1880 to 1910. The eBay seller I purchased it from described it as a "vintage tank top", but ladies in the Victorian and Edwardian age would have recognized it as a vest or an undervest.

In the 16th and early 17th Centuries the term "hose" was used for garments belonging to both men and women.

In this article we will investigate the history and construction of lower hose: netherstocks, stockings, and boot-hose. Then we'll drape, pattern and sew our own with a combination of machine and handstitching.

Marion shares a linen chemise circa 1879 from her collection.The chemise is simple in construction with delicate hand embroidered eyelet work around the neck, minute white threadwork buttons, and an eye-opening combination of machine sewing and delicate hand stitching.

If you're looking to get a head start on your Natural Form Era undies, you can't miss this!

In the Napoleonic period, what was once taboo came out from hiding, along with the natural female form. Suddenly, it became necessary to keep the world from glimpsing too much.