Toile Construction

My 18th Century toile was very easy to construct and it only has 4 panels and the seams are pretty much straight . Sewing the bone channels are timely but no problems have arised yet.

My 19th Century Arts Ed corset also smooth sailing on Toile construction side, the seam have all matched and the curves have started to shape the fabric as it should.

My 20th Century S-Bend corset is a little harder. The seam lines are dramatically curved and if not matched properly will ruin the whole look. The gussets where fiddly to insert but have i managed to sort them out.

I’ve gone from a 4 panel corset to a 10 panel corset to a 12 panel corset and so far construction has not been to stressful. The task will come when its time to enclose seams and make sure they all match up.

Arts Ed Fittings

As all the actresses where available we ponced on an opportunity to go do a first fittings. I had one corset fitting before with Graham which had gone very well so I felt confident going in to fitting and being able to conduct my self in a professional manner. There was a worry of it begin out of my comfort zone and there would be no tutor support but I had to trust in my own making and altering skills.







I was very pleased with the fit of the corset. All the panels and side seams where place correctly and panels seemed to be in portion to the historical pattern. The actress felt comfortable in the corset and it had room to go tighter once the actress got used to it.

The alterations needed -

- bring in on Bottom of the CF 1cm each side to get rid of excess
- Follow the chalked bottom design line for better finishing off shape.

Once the fitting was over we clarified some questions with Ase-

- The pattern we were working from indicating using a Spoon busk. Researching into them they are expensive and wanted to noe wat the client (Ase) would prefer. Ase suggested looking for a spoon busk in a Soho haberdashery but they can be hard to find and expensive so a straight front will do also. We shall collect information and email her choices.

- As Ase is suppling the materials we suggested to email bone sizes needed or we could buy them and email recepts and reimbursements. Ase prefered if we email her sizes and she send them to us.
.

- We asked if she has any decoration preferences for the corsets. Ase gave us free reign on that and suggested some lace and if time permit flossing. If I do run out of time up to hand in, I intend to add the flossing before I hand over to Arts Ed.

Overall very pleased with today and am feeling impressed with my pattern drafting skills. As I’ve already said this is a weakness for me and not many fitting happened with out so little adjustment. The next step is to recut the corset in the pre-washed drill and add top fabric.

S- Bend Fitting

My last Fitting to do is my straight Fronted Corset. Unfortunately my model for personal reasons could not make the scheduled fitting in the coming week. As I was very conscious that time was moving on I decided to conduct the fitting by myself before she flew home. I was worried by this as the S- bend corset is on the hardest out of my three. Even thought I was worried I believe that I have enough knowledge now to rectify any mistakes. The Pattern doesn’t have all the bones drawn on it as the other two became the boning channels go through seams. I believe that the easiest solution is to get the corset on my model then draw on the bone placement.

The fast task is to make sure that all the seam lines and gussets on the hips are sitting in the right place.

Considering this pattern was quite complex to draft I was glad that overall the fit was correct but need some alterations to get the correct shaping.







Alternation’s needed -

- The hip gussets need to be lifted about 1cm for comfort for the model. I cut off the gusset snipped upwards to make the hole bigger then repinned the new size and shape of the gusset.

- The new size of the gusset had affected the front seam lines so I will take a could of millimetres off each panel piece to achieve the desired shaping.

- The to design line needs to lowered to new chalked line.

The next step was to chalk in where the bone channels needed to be placed. Obviously the bone channels are very important for the structure so placement of this is crucial. Hopefully my model will be able to return soon so I can fit her with the bone channels in place.


Considering this pattern is most complex I have tackled I feel I should be proud of the challenge. It wasn’t as well fitted as the last two fitting but it distorts the figure in a entirely different way. The other two corset make the torso sit behind and synched in waist . Where as the S-Bend corset moves the torso forward. Also this my first attempt to work with gussets . I love the shape it brings to the corset but they are trick to draft perfect first time. I shall make up in the drill with the new adjustments and hope my model can return soon.

Blog tutorials

Had a tutorial today with Graham about blogs and using them as a tool for reflections this are the points I need to focus on -

- more self reflection
- more posts about construction
- A label for 'Working with a Client'
- A 'Tutorial Label'
- Fitting Notes

Choosing Top Fabric

Over the Easter I did a weeks work experience at the West End Les Miserable and while I was there I was taken around various haberdasheries and fabrics stores in the area . A particular one that took my fancy was The Cloth House http://www.clothhouse.com/. This is wear I found my top fabrics for my corsets.

For the 18th century I found this one . The brocade and colour matches the style of the time and the cost was low. I am not on a budget like I would be on a production but still need to bear in mind costs.


For my S-Bend corset I have two choice which I couldn’t decid on . The striped on caught my as I toyed with the idea of have a Sweeney Todd-esq look to it. The teal also caught my eye for an alternative. I brought them both because I would love the challenge of the stripped with all the seams but will make an informed decision after fittings.

oh baby baby ....baby BABY

This scary looking contraption is a maternity corset. These corsets were common during this 19th century period of time to minimize and disguise the look of the pregnant body. Most had two rows of laces up front, side and back this allowed the corset to be adjustable as the ‘bump’ gets bigger. Sometimes this corset is necessary as women who have worn corsets since childhood had weak abdominal muscles and needed the support.