I don't know if this would work or not, but I thought of this a while ago and thought it might be worth putting up here.

In my textiles classes at school, we had top stitch machines (I think that's what they were called) that did overlocking at the bottom and double stitching at the top... I think that, if you sewed with two layers, you'd get a gap in between the layers. Would this work for quick boning casings (for those of us who can actually afford a top stitch machine... not me)?

Just an idea that I thought I'd put out there :)

Here is a new style of underbust corset I have recently completed (new to my repertoire, that is!)

( Raspberry Chocolate! )

I really like the look of curvy external boning channels. sparkle_sparkle's red and cream polkadot underbust caught my eye. http://community.livejournal.com/corsetmakers/1337058.html#cutid1 So my question is this: Are the curves attainable only with spiral steels?  I know the canny corsetier should only use such boning...  but...  would flat boning work as well? I'm imagining that boning too rigid wouldn't curve right, and would just attempt to pull the fabric straight.  I could just experiment, but meh.  Thoughts?

Hokay - chatting on corsetry, someone is saying 'white' steel boning is a bit crap. Thats the stuff coated in white. I have started buying steel boning from Dragontown corsetry
and even though I do find it VERY bendy compared to the hard weissner plastic I started using, im assuming it is better as it wont end up warping with the heat of the body.
And the shipping pricing is awesome for sending overseas!
Ive also found the plastic boning way more expensive than buying the steels!

In this conversation there was a mention of spring steel and I assumed that all steel boning for corsetry was spring steel?

BAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH LoL
I noes it takes time to sort these things out which is why i like to come here and get opinions!!

So is there a significant difference between 'white' steel boning and what ever else is out there?
Im corsets for waist reduction though my current favourite pattern is this



where the bones are meeting in the middle adn there fore not really getting the pressure of a corset with the bone channels going straight thru. (white lines are the bones - this pic isnt proportionalely correct but it gives the idea) :P

does any one have a preffered supplier?
Im cautious of shipping fees but quality is more important
Thankies!!   O_o

Progress reports! (Hi everyone, new icon - if you're visually inclined, you know me as the lower half of a vintage lady's leg and her shoe. I thought a face might be more friendly.)

The brief, since it's been a little while: curvy, Victorian, lots of external boning channels, the client's own selection of fabric. It's returned from its second fitting, and I'm pleased as punch that it needed adjusting by an amount so small that the client had a job getting the pin in. Not bad!




( More )

Hey everyone!!!

I just finished my mock-up and I am VERY happy with the result! I just have a few questions regarding order my boning, busk, and grommets.

1) My corset is 11" long, so for boning would I buy 10.5" so I could put the bone tips on them?

2) Should I buy an 11" busk?

3) Does anyone use boning channels? Do you like using them? I've tried making my own with this mock-up and I have to say it sucked.

4) I'm not "big" but this corset will be used for waist reduction. There are going to be 12 bones (this is my 1st corset so I wasn't going to attempt bones in between panels yet). I thought about getting 1/2" bones instead of 1/4". Should this be a trial-and-error sort of thing of personal preference?

Thanks for any feed back. And at this time I can't post pics but as soon as I get the corset done, pics will be coming your way!!

~Erin

For those of you using fabric tube boning chanels, what material do you recomend the chanels be made of? How do you turn your tubes once they are created?

The look they create is incomperable, but for something like drill or canvas, turning a boning chanel of that meerial is problematic. And how do you cover them if your matching fabric is too weak to hold a bone without freying?

ETA: The Bats Meow had some instructions on this very issue on annother boning post. Thanks again, mods, for the useful Tags! Though I should have probably read them before posting....

Also, how big do you make your seam allowances? I have a 5/8 seam alowance on my current pattern, and provided soft enough fabric it lays and behaves. More crisp fabrics and I have ripples. 3/8 dosn't seem big enough to me, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

Always inpiring posts, keep up the good work! :D

Or maybe not so weird.

A friend of mine is an artist who creates jewelry and other fine art from clock gears and other innards. While I was visiting her she was disassembling a movement and was left with what I assume is the clock spring (the really long coil of flat metal inside the clock). She has like 5-7 of these with no idea what to do with them.

So here comes the question. Has anyone heard of/seen anyone use clock springs in a corset as boning? They are pretty wide so I don't know if that would be a problem, and I know I would have to grind and dip the ends if I were to use them in anything. Obviously I would have to beg guidance from those of you who have done corsets with only straight bone channels as my experience is solely with the Dore and curvy curves.

The main reason I'm even considering it is because the concept of a steampunk corset made with and decorated with the majority of parts from an antique clock seems like a very artistic concept and a nice challenge to collaborate with my artist friend on. Even if I couldn't use the springs as boning themselves, I considered the possibility of figuring out some way to attach them to the outside to mimic external bone casings.

So, any thoughts?

Hey everyone!

I'm half-way through my second corset. It's two layered with one layer of black drill and the other of a black and red oriental brocade. I have a question about boning channels.

On my first corset, I just used internal boning channels using the boning casing that came with the boning. For this one, or possibly my next one, I'm wanting to test out external boning boning channels. I love the way that they look, but I have no idea how to do them!

Do I just sew them on the same way that I do with the internal ones? Like, sewing them down each side and then slipping the boning in? Or do I attach them some other way? Do I use the boning casing that I buy with the boning? Or do I have to make them myself? I'm hoping to do the boning tomorrow, and I'd love to do external boning channels. Any ideas? If not, I might just see what I can do by attaching them the same way as internal boning channels.

Sorry if this was a newbie and obvious question, but I really am abit of a newbie =P

Thanks in advance!

I am making a corset for a client that has a much narrower waist than myself. I like to have bones no farther apart than 1.5" at the waist and that is the case for this corset. In fact, most of them are no more than 1" apart. Then I get to the side and side-back pieces of a five-pieces-on-a-side pattern. Piece 3 (side) is narrow enough that I'm only putting one bone down the seam. Piece 4 (side back) is only a little wider. Thus we come to my question: do I put an extra bone down the centre of piece 4, making the bones in that area less than 3/4" apart; do I just put one bone down each seam, making them 1.5" apart (farther apart than in any other area in the corset); or do I put two bones down the piece 4-5 seam for a bit of extra strength, keeping the look tidier (even though I only have one bone on each of the other seams)? I think these are all valid options, but I'm curious what other people have done for narrow-waisted corsets. Thanks!

I'd like to put ribbon on the outside of my seams, which won't be a structural thing, as the bones will go between the silk and coutil layers. I'd quite like to machine them on, for consistency with the boning channels that won't be ribboned.

I'm trying to get my head round the order of doing it so that I don't sew down the middle of my boning channels by mistake. I think the way to do it is to sew the seam on the fabric layer, then to tack down the coutil flat with one piece and then make the channel with the second side, and tack that, then put on the ribbon and sew the two sides which will make the actual channel in the coutil/fabric, and at the same time sew the ribbon down.

Does that sound feasible to everyone, or is there a better way of doing it?

I have boning tape/casing/whatever that came with the corset kit, but the instructions for the Dore pattern just sews the channels into the layers. I'm using one layer moleskin suede, an interlining of drill, and an Alexander Henry novelty print fabric as lining, and I'm not sure if the bones will wear through if I put them between the layers. However, I do want the channel stitching on the outside.

So, any suggestions/recommendations on how to work around this? I do have some extra drill (my mom bought me 2 and change yards for my birthday), so I could do 2 interlining layers, then put the bones between the drill. But then I have this leftover bone casing that I don't know what to do with. I suppose I could save it and use it as external casing on something in the future....

I'm cutting the fabric tonight, so I won't get to sewing until tomorrow afternoon, but I figured it was better to make this decision before I start assembling the corset...

I didn't see anything in the memories or in the tags dealing with repairing corsets. Please modify as appropriate.

I have a corset where two of the stays have punched through the end of the boning channel ends and I'm looking for suggestions on fixing it.

( Photos of the damage under the cut. )

My first thought was to use a heavy weight thread (something like carpet thread?) to loop the hole closed, though I'm not found of that idea. It just seems to likely to push through the threads.

The other thought I had was to patch the hole using something like a canvas duct and a heavy weight thread.

How do these ideas sound? What would you recommend?

Greetings and salutations....

I completed my first ever corset for myself yesterday.  All in all, I am satisfied with the first attempt.  I used bargain thin denim type fabric and lumber strapping for boning and prebought binding to finish it off.  It has eyelets rather than grommets, but it gives me the idea and I really like what I see.....  I will post pictures, once I have taken 
some....(grin)

Now, here is where I need the advice;

It is an 8 panel corset, that goes from just under my breast line, if I had any...I am a male, remember??..  and 
goes down to just above my pubic hair line, again, if I had any...(evil grin)...and up and over the hips.  It fits quite 
well, if I do say so myself, but, the part over the pubic bone in front, doesn't tighten down far enough so is a bit 
loose.  I used 2 lengths of the lumber strapping, cut in half lengthwise, so about 1/4" of so wide on either side of each panel seam and 2 full width lengths down the back where the lacing goes.  Now, for the problems, besides 
the loose front.   The seams just off the center front run right over the points of my lowest rib, which I am trying to compress somewhat, but, the boning there is bruising me...  what are your recommendations?  Do I cut those bones so they don't go all the way, so that they end under my ribcage...or...do I place them on either side of the 'pointy' bit of my ribs or does one normally slant these bones, say starting the top end closer to the armpit and slanting so that the bottom is nearer the center front or....???  My only other concern is that once I am laced up 
nice and tight, the shape under the corset is quite nice and masculine etc, but, I have a large roll of loose skin/fat 
that sticks over the top all the way around.  Am I lacing up too tight?  Is the top of the corset too small compared to the lower part??  Am I stuck with 
this until I lose more weight??  Should I try and add parts to the corset to make it more of a vest that laces up, 
thus controlling the loose skin/fat above the corset line??  Your suggestions, again, are MORE than appreciated.

Thank you all for your advice and expertise and help...

Renta  in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Hi, there have been tonnes of newbie posts recently, and here's another one. I often get obsessed with probably useless details, so this is what this is about.

I've made myself a pattern for an underbust, and after I get some plastidip (I have good leads - when I get it I'll post for the reference of the NZ, and possibly Aussie, people) I'll be putting the boning in - nearly up to the fun bit :)

So, here is my question.

I have a seam between two pieces. Each piece is curved. Together they produce a shaped piece, ok that's good. I want to make the seam allowance to also be the boning channel by sewing it down. So, do I flatten out one of the pieces on one side of the seam so that the seam lies along the curve as created by that piece - thus making the piece on the other side of the seam not lie flat because the corset is obviously created to be curved, not flat. Then, on the piece I have lain flat, I sew a certain distance from the seam creating the channel. And then flatten out the other piece and do the same. OR, do I lay down so the SEAM is STRAIGHT, not curved and both pieces on either side of the seam do not lie flat and then stitch it?

I *think* that I should do the first option, which is flatten out one piece/segment/panel all nice and smooth, ignoring the rest of the corset for now, and stitch a curved line parallel to the seam. This sort of makes sense, but then I wondered if it would end up bunching up when the bones are in or something. I don't know if anyone will understand this at all....

The other question is about when people say that spring steel can only be used for straight seams channels and spiral steel is used for curved ones. Does this mean that the flat steel can only be used on the centre front and back which are generally fairly straight all up, or by "curved seams" is it meant those seams that curve a little sideways or around the body, whereas those that curve inwards and outwards but are otherwise running vertical count as straight?

I'm sure these are obvious and I would know the answers if I tried it, but I don't want to muck it up or have to do it again even because I don't have much time at the moment so want to be efficient :D

I really like the way visible bone casing can add to the appearance of a corset. However, I don't know how people apply it. Do you usually sew it to the outside of the corset as another fashion layer and the bone actually goes between stronger material deeper in the corset? Thinking about doing this with satin or even lightweight cotton, this seems the best solution to me. If you do this, when do you sew it on? If you do it some other way, how?

Are there any good resources describing bone placement techniques and how they affect support and style? How do you determine where to put your bones (beyond following a pre-printed pattern)? Are there bone positions you particularly like/dislike? My Laughing Moon pattern mysteriously disappeared somewhere in my home so I find myself without a bone-placement guide (I fortunately had the mock-up to use as pattern pieces). I'm judging where to put the bones based on a corset I made a year ago from the same pattern, but it started me thinking....

To the Merry Corsetiers:

I have just completed my second mockup on a drafted underbust corset for myself, and a first mock for a client. I'm wondering how best to apply the bias binding. I'm also curious just what is it required to do?

I've been using it to finish the raw edges of corse, but also hoping it would do double duty and close up my boning channels. It... well it's a critical failure on that account. I had two bones slip out on it's second wearing. Factors include:

>weak stitching/ thread: I just used some poly cotton blend and not of any special strength

>wide boning: it's 5/8 steel pallet straping, and I think the width without conforming across that 5/8" dimension means theres stress on the corners helping popping that weak stiching.

>narrow allowance? I just used a 3/8 inch seam allowance, same width as the presser foot for the inital stitching. I turned the 2" wide bias to the inside and topstitched in the ditch to secure it inside, but it didn't seem to close the gap of the casings any better. Narrow allowance is staring me in the face again...

It could possibly be the popped stitches around that wide boning again.

So how do you guys get down and avoid funky with your bias binding? I looked in memories, and I found great tutorials for *making* bias, but I already do that. So now how do I work with it? Widths you enjoy? Contrast or self fabric? Pinning or basting? Stich in the ditch or topstich? Wide or narrow allowance?

Failing minds want to know! :D