How to make a corset - Foundations Revealed

Michelle tackles C.L. Olmstead's 1912-13 corset patent and learns a lot about good corset making, especially about fabric selection...

Sannie explains how to tackle resizing and using historical corset patterns with very unusual pattern pieces, such as this very curvy Edwardian example.

Antje tackles the first of two corset designs from Savoye's 1905 patent # 845582, featuring a special panel designed to show off some great embroidery.

When corsets dipped below the bust in the early 1900s, what did women use to support the bust? How did bras develop into a must-have garment?

Alison checks the fit of the pattern created in Part 1, researches and tests patterns and numbers of bones, and creates the final corset.

Joanne tackles this elegant and drastically simple Edwardian corset patent, a pattern with only three panels!

A novel design using curves. We'll learn more about the inventor and his corset, and begin our journey to recreating this beautiful piece ourselves.

Jenni shows off her final Hearts corset and draws some conclusions. She includes some details on fitting and adapting corsets for asymmetrical bodies.

The S-Bend is probably the most misunderstood and under-studied corset fashion in history. Marion separates the myths from the reality.  

Joanne shows how to use old patterns to make beautiful garments that are just not possible with today's mass market sewing patterns.

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...

Jenni alters the antique "Hearts" corset pattern to emulate the archetypal “Edwardian” posture on a modern body, and weighs up the effect on comfort.

Last month a very decisive 73% of you wanted to see the pattern re-worked twice for the model.  This month, we will focus on the first version, as it came off the pattern block.

Re-creating a real Edwardian corset pattern for a modern body, using antique drafting books to find elusive clues.

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.

“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!)

 

Sunny concludes her exhaustive study of six Belle Époque petticoats by comparing the remaining construction details and techniques to the instructions in various Belle Époque sewing manuals.

The result is enlightening (and freeing) if you get hung up on trying to make all the details “right”. You’ll be able to see just how varied the methods were for basic things (like constructing a ruffle or inserting a placket) and be able to relax and sew your petticoat with confidence.

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.

In the last two months I talked about the different decorative techniques used to trim Belle Époque petticoats (here and here); now I will discuss the different factors that combine to create the shape of the skirt, and the petticoats that support it. Patterns of the six petticoats are included this month.

There are many factors that affect the shape of the skirt, and I will be discussing all of these in this article, particularly as they relate to the six 1890-1910 petticoats described here. Next month I will be talking about the basic sewing techniques (plackets, seam finishes, etc.) that were used in these six petticoats.