My 1860’s Corset (With Measurements)

By Elizabeth M.

 Dear Venturers,

I have one literal day to complete a corset. Sounds crazy, right??

I was looking for how to make one. There’s lots of videos and stuff, but no patterns! Unless, of course, you buy one. 

So here is how to make one yourself!

 (for free! ;))

NOTE: this is for one half of a corset! Not for both sides! 

1. Choose your fabric. I would recommend a twin sheet for this one. Maybe 2-4 king-sized pillowcases. I used a white cotton sateen which I will also double-layer.

2. Cut out the main piece. These are the measurements:



3. Next you’ll need a triangular piece to fit in the V-shaped hole for the bust. The larger the V and triangle, the more bust you have. Here’s mine:



4. Add in the hip piece. These are the measurements. This part was very tricky for me! 


5. Cut a few slits in the sides. Do this by cutting a straight line wherever you have extra fabric hanging, and then curve in each side of the slit by just a little bit. Then sew the slit together again. I did this once in the front, and once in the back. 

6. Add in boning channels and boning (and some cording if you want!).

7. In all you’ll need four of these. Two for each side so that it has two layers. 

8. For closure, mine has a busk in the front and has no separation in the back. Here’s a helpful link on how to insert the busk: 

http://sidneyeileen.com/sewing-2/sewing/corset-making-tasks/busk/


NOTE: This is just the basic shapes. Once you’ve cut out the prices and pinned them together, you’ll probably want to make adjustments and such. I brought up the hip a bit, took in the waist some (as I mentioned earlier),  etc. 

I know this might not be THE MOST  historically accurate corset EVER, but it works well enough for me right now. ;) 

As always, I wish you good luck in your ventures, and hope you can make some sense of my ramblings! 


I’ll update this picture as the project progresses…







“I am no bird, and no net ensnares me.”

Comments

Post a Comment

How does this relate to you? What did you think?

Popular Post

My First Post and Portfolio

By Elizabeth M.
Image
  Dear Venturers, Greetings! My name is Elizabeth. I love historical sewing, reading, chickens, and pretty much anything obscure and interesting.  I have named this blog, Venturing in the Prior because I like to think of my sewing endeavors (that's mainly what I intend to write about) as grand adventures, whisking oneself away into another world full of fun mysteries waiting to be discovered. Since, of course, I'll be writing about most of these adventures, I thought it would be amusing to take all you (those who might happen to read this blog) on my adventure with me, making us all venturers into the unknown and intriguing world that is the past so that we all might learn something.  Since you've bravely agreed to accompany me this far at least, I wish you the best of journeys as you set forth reading the reports of my findings. They may not be entirely accurate, nor the quality of work as nice as one might desire (one being me), but, as previously stated, I am still learn
Read more

The Making of a Quill and Ink

By Elizabeth M.
Image
Dear Venturers, Good afternoon! Today I found an old turkey feather (don’t ask why) in the back of my desk. I had the random motivation to stop my search for the paper I needed to do real and productive things, and make a quill pen. Then of course I needed ink. And so... here’s how to do it yourself!  1. Remove the flaky stuff and the fluffy stuff Before you cut the feather, you should consider how much “feather” you want to keep on the feather. I prefer the pretty aesthetic of an intact feather, but it’s up to you!Use your finger nail to peel off the membrane around the feather. 2. Cut the tip off Use scissors to cut off the tip of the feather. 3. Take out the flaky stuff that’s inside There’s a waxy sort of thing (it does have a proper name) inside the feather. I used a bobby pin because why not. 4. Cut diagonally  Use scissors to cut of the side of the feather at a diagonal angle.  5. Cut a small shelf-like thing and clean up the edges I used these small wire cutter things that I wi
Read more