I still haven't gotten to a) taking good pictures and b)finishing the rest of the work, but I decided that if I post nothing soon I will never get around to posting anything about these.

Corsets were made for an anime convention. There were supposed to be 4, possibly 5 made, but I only finished 2, one not to my own standards.

( The details... )

I've been lurking for a few months and have a fashion fabric question for my first corset, which will 1) be worn as a top with a skirt, not underneath a gown, 2) have coutil as the base and 3) not be tight-laced. I looked through all the posts tagged fabric, but I didn't see what I needed.

I went to Britex Fabrics last night and spoke to a corset maker there who said I could use whatever I wanted for the fashion fabric. I had a vague recollection of not wanting to use anything that was 100% polyester, but I asked her and she said it would be fine. So I bought 100% polyester bridal (duchess? I don't remember) satin. When I got home, I looked through my emails and saw the email I had vaguely recalled from a corset maker I've been emailing with that said shiny satin made of polyester tends to bunch and wrinkle around the waist unflatteringly. I don't know if she's referring to the super shiny stuff, which my fabric is not, but now I'm worried. Would this fabric work or would it wrinkle the way the second corset maker described? Would interfacing take care of the problem or should I just buy something else?

Greetings, fellow corsetmakers!!

I hope you are all doing well! Have you Europeans turned into football freaks yet? I have!!

Anyways, I have a question for those of you who use lots of silk fabrics. Do you ever recieve silk fabrics which smell wierd? Yesterday I recieved some silk gabardine and it has a wierd "odor" to it It's not a Marrakesh in August-type of odor. It's just......different. I tried soaking it in gentle handwash detergent. Now it smells like flowers and *that odor*.

Have any of you experienced this before? If so, what did you do to remove *that odor*? This silk gabardine costs a spare kidney and it such lovely fabric. I just don't want a customer to end up smelling a bit......off.

Suggestions?

Heys all!!

1st actual post here but I've been lurking and learning for a while. A friend has been conned into making a corset for me (fair's fair, I'm trading hard labour for this ^_^) and I'm hunting fabric ideas. I have no idea what I want beyond "something differnt" so I'm here to ask what's your fav supplier of fabric (online preferably). Anything from the classic's to that cute flash print stuff to... whatever... just website suggestions in general.

I found this one which I love

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... and if you all would like I'll update this post as we go along so there's a nice comprehensive list at the end.


THE LIST!!!

http://reprodepot.com/index.html  - Vintage and reproduction and hard to find fabrics including Japanese prints.
http://stores.ebay.com/Emerald-City-Fabric-and-Craft - Cotton prints
http://www.hawaiianfabric.com/ - Bring some hawaiian goodness into your day :) Actually, they have some lovely oriental designs.
http://www.sewmamasew.com/ - For some awesome and fun prints (I'm in love with this site)
http://stores.ebay.com/Renaissance-Fabrics - Medieval and gothic brocades
http://stores.ebay.com/fabricmasterpieces - goth brocades
http://www.thaisilks.com/ - Thai and Chinese silks (you'd never have guessed from the site name of course)
http://stores.ebay.com/SILK-BARON-DUPIONI-FABRIC-DRAPES - More silks (the colours *Drools*)
http://www.silknature.de/index2.html - Silk in German (I think)
http://www.puresilks.biz/store/index.php - Solks, chiffon, satin, silk brocade... prettiness
http://www.transprism.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=62 - Gorgeous Chinese fabric... I will end up spending a lot here...

Hallo people!

Awhile back there was a discussion regarding coutil and herringbone twill. Some of you have been led to believe that they are the same.

( They are soooo not the same )

I know it wasn't long ago we were talking about skeleton corsets/mesh corsets with summer around the corner and I was just wondering if anyone was in the middle of making one or if anyone had any luck making one so far?

I know a bunch of different mesh type fabrics came up such as: Aida cloth, buckram, and eno-weave. I think I am going to give Aida cloth a try if my local fabric store has some in with a count that has big enough holes in it. I have noticed that many of the Aida cloth types seem to have very small holes and I just don’t think the small ones will work out right.

Another type of fabric that seems like it would work is Kevlar mesh. (Yeah, Kevlar as in the bullet proof stuff.) It seems like it would fit the bill in being strong and looks right but I have never worked with the stuff before and don’t know if you would need any special type of cutting tools?

Another problem is: Where can you buy the stuff? It seems the only places I am finding online are based in China and I don’t think shipping will be that great. It would be nice just to buy a yard or two if it is not too expensive but I am not sure that is possible? I think the Kevlar mesh is used in motorcycle gear but for some reason I just can’t seem to find any suppliers. Maybe someone hear knows of someplace?

Anyways I am real excited to try and make one of these corsets and try it out this summer so hopefully one of these fabrics will work.

Lil Miz Cheez Cake

Hi everyone,

In my traditional fashion, I have decided to undertake a corset (my third!) on a very short timeframe - in fact, I'm preparing myself for the eventuality that I probably won't finish in time. I do not have any coutil on hand, and what I ordered will probably not arrive in time. (Someday, this will not be a problem...)

I am working on the muslin today, as I am trying to adjust the Dore pattern for my desired measurements, and will probably be doing the bulk of the work on Saturday and Sunday, with hand finishing on Monday, Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday.

So finally, my question. Since I am looking for a waist reduction, what should I use for my strength layer? I've used cotton duck before (and can purchase some at my local JoAnns), but I'm worried about heavyiness/bulkiness as I will (hopefully) be wearing this corset all day at the Kentucky Derby. I was planning on two layers of strength fabric and one layer fashion (a pretty white eyelet fabric), with a convoluted version of the sew and flip method that I was going to practice on my muslin, with the bones between the strength layers (I haven't played with actually putting bone casings in a corset yet, the between the layers channel thing seems to work okay for now).

So, any other suggestions for easily acquired strength layers that may not be as heavy as the cotton duck? Or should I just wait for the coutil, deal with the fact that I won't be so fancy at the Derby (we're in the infield anyway so I'd prolly just end up with a dirty white corset =P), and move on?

I just ordered three yards of Tutu's coutil... and I find it to be of rather unacceptable quality. It seems to be extremely stretchy to me in every direction and not very tightly woven--it is stretchier and less tightly woven than the $5 cotton duck I got from Hancock Fabrics. For those who have made corsets with this material--how has it held up? Does preshrinking (I just did this and am waiting for the fabric to dry) make a huge difference? The "coutil" is a herringbone weave but is really quite loose to me and stretchy even on grain.

Thank you very much!

This is a corset I'll be wearing under a bustle dress. (I can post pictures of the dress later if you are interested.)

The corset is made of one layer of cotton coutil, which is dyed grey (although it can look a bit greenish under artificial lighting.. *grrr*) External casings are made black satin coutil. Then it has black cotton lace on top and silvery white flossing on bottom. I've never done flossing before, so I'm pretty happy with the result. The corset also has a spoon busk; I've always wanted to try one and it's really comfortable to wear. 

Just a bit of information I have collected over the last couple of years.

In case you are searching for coutil here is a bit of information.

Coutil goes by many names. There may be more than what I list here so feel free to add to the list.

Coutil
Herringbone Twill
Broken Weave
Dobby weave
HBT

Broken Twill Weave
(Right now believe it or not Hancocks has a denim herringbone weave that is pretty nice. The weave pattern is small, it's distrubited by Oak Hill fabrics I believe but I couldn't find the manufacturer. I have seen this before but this is the nicest weight and weave)

"Coutil" is often used for other items. Yes it's not the exclusive fabric of corsets.
Other uses
Upholstery-Used as interlining most often.
Mattress Ticking-The weave is so small keeps dust mites, feathers and allergens at bay.
manufacturer in Germany owned by a company right here in my state in the US is http://www.schoedelgmbh.com/en/index.htm
Uniforms-Durable
Orthopaedic fabric-because it doesn't stretch

Here are a couple other "coutil" links
http://www.algeos.com/acatalog/New_Sheet_Materials.html
http://www.collybrook.co.uk/acatalog/natural_cottons.html

Keep a check on ebay. I recently purchased 68 yards of very very nice 100% cotton nice coutil for a whopping 17.00...yes folks 17.00 for the WHOLE 68 yards. It's a heavy tight woven herringbone fabric. It was advertised as Herringbone upholstry fabric.

As promised, here're some pictures of the corset I made during JoAnn Peterson and Barbara Muran's Victorian Corset Workshop this weekend.


(click for larger)

( more pictures! )

The pattern is Laughing Moon 100, Dore, but with extra hip gores in the lower back to accommodate my ghetto booty.

I brought the fashion fabric along, just in case it was needed, but the class really did provide for everything. Regardless, I flatlined the brocade to the coutil and used that as one layer, and the lining as the under layer. All bones and grommets and the busk (even the gold one I used here!) were provided with the cost of the class (only $100!).

The really interesting thing about the fitting technique is that Barb and JoAnn had each size available, already mocked up, then wrapped each participant in various sizes to see what would be the best fit. Then we adjusted from there. As my torso length is standard, we didn't need to adjust the pattern in that way for me, but others did.

I cut my fashion fabric as a size 20, but put in a hip gore between the center-back and side-back panels. When we fit the assembled (unlined) corset on me, we decided to take in the top by 1/8" between the center back/side-back panels and side-back/side panels. (total 1 inch reduction on the top). The hips were too big still, so I added an extra hip gore between the side-back and side panels. With those pieces added, the back laces evenly.

After that, I assembled the lining, attached it to the rest of the corset, stitched the boning panels (no boning channel tape or sandwich methods or any of the crazy channeling contortions I normally do), slapped on the bias, inserted the spring steel bones (no spiral), put on the top bias, laced it with the ribbon in front to create a curve over the bust area, and voila!! Finished from start to finish in about 12 hours! Easiest corset I ever made!

While I was there, Barbara had some gorgeous coutil she had embroidered for the front panels. I couldn't resist the purple on black and snatched it up:
( black coutil with purple embroidery and bias )

(there's a picture of a finished corset with this detail here)

I'm looking forward to making up the black and purple one for everyday wear. Purple flossing!! MMMMM....

When I found these cutwork doilies about four years ago, the color and style reminded me of the classic Wedgwood Blue Jasper pieces of dinnerware and cameo jewelry. I squirreled them away in my "One of These Days" fabric vault until now.



( More )

I just read the memories post on pattern matching, but I have a further question. I am pattern matching an asymmetrical pattern that has a lovely swirl on it that almost exactly mimics the line at bust and hip. I would love to match the swirl across the front and side-front panels at top and bottom, but to do so means having the side-front piece 15-20 degrees off grain. I'm leery of doing so, but was wondering what folks here thought.

Does anyone know a source for colored alencon lace, particuarly grey or grey-ish, or a nice silver? I seem to find almost exclusively white, off-white or black, occasionally gold.

I'm just trying to get an idea of what's out there, I'll probably scout out the NYC fabric district this coming weekend. I'm not sure if I want chantilly or alencon, chantilly seems possibly too fine for this but I want the fabric to show through, not sure. Alencon is sturdier but possibly too opaque, so I'm debating.

For reference, the corset I'm making is a silver-y color with purple undertones.

If you're a NYer, suggestions for good fine lace stores? More affordable of course preferred.

Last, when is the lace applied during construction? I want to apply lace to the top of the corset, similar to the style and width you see on the top here:



But then again if I have to use black, I like the sheer look of this lace (Chantilly?), which allows the color to peek through.



(Images from Les Escarpolette)

When you buy fabric, intending to make self-bias strips for binding, how much do you buy?

Note: This is totally fabric and NOT a corset related question, please remove if it is inappropriate.

Last week I acquired a welcome addition to my fabric stash: 9 meters of forest green silk noil straight from Hong Kong (thx bf<3)! I've been planning to make a stunning cocktail dress of it, something along these lines. The sweet crunch of pleated silk and simpleness of the design would play extremely well together!

But - how should I prepare the silk for cutting and sewing? I've heard terrible stories of silk changing colour after even the most careful of washing and shrinking enormously... What should I do?

x-posted to advanced_sewing and corsetmakers

Hey all!

Been through the memories but can't seem to find owt...a client has asked me to make a hot pink PVC underbust for an event next year.

Having not ventured into PVC yet I've got a few questions for you guys...

- Where's the best place in Europe/Uk to get good quality PVC?? Most of the stuff I've seen is a bit flimsey or stretchy.

- How many layers do you usually do since good PVC is usually very thick? I am thinking of just lining in coutil.

- What special stuff is essential? i.e. walking foot etc? I have a non stick one I think.

Any other hints and tips would be wonderful! Thanks guys. :)
xx

Ok, I'm finally going to get some proper coutil for a corset, now that I've experimented enough with cheaper fabrics to be sure I'm not going to waste it.

None of my local shops seem to sell it, however the place I get my boning from online has some.

They have quite a few different varieties however and something called 'Broche', and I'm not sure what would be most suitable.

I want to make a corset with as little stretch as possible to it. I would be interested in making a single layer coutil corset (if you think it would still not stretch with only one layer), and using it as the strength fabric in other corsets which have a fashion outer layer.

The link to their fabric page is here so you can have a look at the different types. There are large close up images if you click on the product then on the product page's own image.

I'm not fussed about the fancy patterned coutil, but I would like to know what you would recommend is best out of these options for a corset with no stretch, to last a long time.

Thank you,

Helly.

A couple weeks ago, I posted about the Laughing Moon 113 pattern with some questions, and after adding up the prices and everything, and also from some things I read that it's not the best corset for waist reduction (which I'm aiming for at least 2" of reduction). So, I'm jumping right in the deep end and have drafted my own pattern! Thanks to an ice storm yesterday that landed a tree on our roof, and cut power to almost everyone except my home, I did not have to work a 6-4 shift (because there is no power at work, hehe) and instead spent the day making a mock-up that came out perfect!

#1 - I used featherlite boning to figure out what lengths of boning I'd need for the corset. Looking up boning online, I've discovered that it only comes in 1/2" increments, and many of the pieces I'd need are in 3/4" increments. Should I just take it up or down whichever way I need to, or should I cut my own boning? If so . . .

#2 - would this work, or should I invest in the Boning Cutter from Corsetmaking.com?

#3 - in which case, I would have to tip all of my bones myself, and considering this corset has to be ready to wear by January 5, is that taking on too much for a beginner at corsets like myself?

#4 - also, I ordered a busk and some lacing from Farthingales LA on Dec 3, and I have not seen hide nor hair of it yet, though I did receive confirmation of the order, but have heard nothing of it being shipped yet. Considering I'm halfway across the country from them, I'm willing to give them a little bit of time, but it still seems like I should have seen or heard some sign of it . . .

#5 - question about layers and interfacing . . how much is really necessary? For the outer layer, I have some ivory butterfly brocade I found at Joann's last summer, and then I was going through my fabric box last night and found some buckram that I forgot I had. Would that work for the strength layers (Should I do 1 or 2? I'm kind of leaning toward 2, because the outer layer isn't that thick), or should I get something a little more thick and little more flexible, like some duck canvas? I don't have the money for coutil right now, so I'm trying to work with as much stuff that I have on hand as possible. Also, what kind of material should I line it with?

Greetings, I am in the process of making my first corset in quite a few years. I really can't remember how long ago is was but I'm ready to try again. I have one week to finish the entire outfit so I really should be sewing not posting, but everyone in the house is asleep except me. I have read through the archives of the last year, and I am blown away by the talent in this community. I hope you all enjoy this rundown of my work in progress. The Phoenix's Ashes Gown is a partial reconstruction of a pseudo Elizabethan. I made this back in the days of lots of enthusiasm, and no research. I have also gained about 60 pounds, and the skirts no longer fit. I have patterned the new corset from scratch, and the skirt and jacket are being re-conned.
Please pardon the blurry photos I don't have a scanner, and some of these pictures were taken about eight-ten years ago.