Marianne shows you how to produce flats - the clean, professional line drawings that show important construction details for each of your designs.

Many corsetmakers accept long distance orders. Is it a good idea? Jenni explores the benefits and pitfalls, and offers tips and advice.

Is it worth spending money on a professional photo shoot? What are the possibilities and pitfalls? Jenni tells us how to do it and what to look out for.

Communicating your brand: more on getting your message across, for corsetmakers who want to earn their own money from their work.

Your brand is your mark, something that makes your work recognisably yours. At its best, your work should subtly convey your mark with concision and clarity. 

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.

 

If you run your own business as a bespoke corsetmaker, you'll know how fragile a process you're getting into. How do you know that your client will pay? How do you know that they won't ruin and try to return what you've made them?

The answer to most concerns is to have a good contract. (And it works especially well if you're not in business, but making something for a friend or family member.)

This article appeared in its original form in Your Wardrobe Unlock'd some time ago; it appears here in an updated and reworked form, especially for corsetmakers. If you've read it before, read it again - are you doing all of these things to protect yourself?

Considering that you are reading Foundations Revealed^TM, my guess is that you are not a weekend-warrior seamstress. If you are anything like me, you probably require a separate room just for your sewing sanctuary and storage of your many beautiful fabrics. You may even be contemplating quitting your day job so you can start your own business making and selling corsets.

Turning your “hobby” into your career can be a very frightening endeavor. Before you give your boss and your spouse the big speech, take the quiz to find out if you are ready to make a living as a corsetmaker!

It's the sixty-four million dollar question: how much should you charge for your work, without either selling yourself short or discouraging potential clients?

I'm going to give you a lot to think about here. I'm going to challenge you to think again; I'm going to tell you the biggest pricing mistakes that corsetieres make. Most importantly, I'll show you where to find the confidence to charge what you're worth. Take heart: success is out there waiting for you!