My First Corset
Monday, April 16th, 2012Hi Everyone!
On Easter weekend, as some of you may know, I attended a corset making class with The Dreamstress. Now I’ve been reading Leimomi’s blog for a couple of years now but it wasn’t through that that I found out about this course. Surprisingly, my boyfriend sent me the link via Thread Den’s website and suggested I go. I moaned about not having enough money, since getting paid monthly means you need to plan such purchases in advance…But he insisted - “Just do it”, he said. Not being the type to need much encouragement, I signed up. 
And so on Good Friday I was stitching away with other eager seamstresses! Leimomi is a great teacher and we powered through making our corsets. There was one small holdup when we were all having difficulty attaching our eyelets. Pushing a tiny awl through 4 layers of fabric just wasn’t working out. Thankfully, one of our classmates piped up, saying she had a contraption that could stamp through the fabric. I have no idea what it was called – just a small metal tool that you bash with a hammer (I could Google this) and it punches out a small round of fabric to fit your eyelet through. It saved so much time! We were sewing away to the sound of multiple hammers bashing on timber as we all punched 24 holes in our corsets.
We ran a little overtime but by the end of the day we were all up to the final steps. I’d finished everything but the binding, which I spent my Saturday finalising. It was awesome to learn that corsets aren’t as difficult to make as they seem. The pattern pieces are small and the fitting is simple and can be done with just a few pins here and there. I learnt some great techniques like ‘sandwich’ seams, which I couldn’t even begin to explain but I could show you – and they are ingenious indeed. The trickiest part was figuring out which way the busk needs to go 
I also found out that the simple cable tie (found at Bunnings!) is the best alternative to whalebone, used in corsets from the 1600′s onwards!
My fabric choice was inspired by an Electra Designs colour scheme of cream and navy. I struggled with finding the exact fabrics I had in mind, and actually bought some things I didn’t end up using in the end. My stash proved helpful and I found my lining fabric there. My idea was a simple cream outer with navy binding, and a finely detailed navy & cream floral lining. Success! The binding was a last minute purchase of amazing silk satin from Clegs. The colour can’t be accurately reproduced here as it’s so dark.
All in all, the corset doesn’t look like much from the outside, but I love the lining. It fits excellently too It doesn’t reduce my waist dramatically, more so it reshapes it. As Leimomi explained, corsets don’t always reduce the actual circumference of your waist, but instead reshape it so that it becomes more cylindrical (as opposed to the flat oval it is naturally). This gives the visual effect of narrowing when looked at from front on. I like the shape it gives, and is more comfortable to wear than my cincher. That said, my cincher reduces a lot using only heavy elastic, so it’s doing heaps of work.
So Friday was a really fun day – I met some cool people who share the same passion, and we all made cool corsets. I loved seeing everyone’s fabric choices! There were some amazing ones like bright red brocade with golden embroidered birds, lustrous purple satin, black with white pinstripes (so steampunk!), subtle white patterned cream cotton, crazy geometric prints, and polka dots & florals.
My photos are a bit different than normal. I didn’t know how to capture this without looking too….boudoir… I don’t own any simple dresses to wear it over like Leimomi did with her demonstration corset…so a slip it is, and heavily cropped
My current projects and things coming up: I finished my amazing green dress with cream polka dots. Its my favourite so far and I just love it. Everything about this dress is perfect and I want to make it again and again and again. It’s a 40′s pattern and naturally requires a fabric with a lot of drape, as most patterns from that era do. I’m thinking a long sleeve version in wool crepe for next time. But pictures of that soon!
I’ve also ordered some insane moss green cashmere coating for my ambitious coat project. It will be underlined with bottle green silk organza….I don’t know about the lining yet. Ideas?
Also bought some muslin for that since it will need to fitted and tailored properly.
Yesterday (Sunday) I made my first project for someone else. My best friend needed some mending work done and I went to help her out. In the process I scored some of her clothes! Win!! In return, I offered to make her some clothes First up was a little 50′s shirt in a cool geometric stripe/plaid/whatevs cotton. It only took 3 hours and was so simple to put together. It looks super cute on my dress form so here’s hoping it fits her! Pic is on my Facebook if you want to take a look!
Other items – I have a princess cut Burda pencil skirt planned, and a bias cut slip.
AND – guess what!??? I’ll be drawing again very soon!! Next week! I’ve signed up to do an 8 week course at the Drawing Salon with the sensational Patsy Fox – I’m so looking forward to combining my love of fashion and art. I’ve long admired her illustrations – the expressiveness of her line-work and stunning use of colour is really inspiring. Watch this space, because Kitty’s Drawings will actually have some drawings!!
On that note, it’s time to hit the hay!
Til the weekend, when I will have polka dots and 40′s for you!
Ciao!
Meg's Makeup
