This is a back-dated post for my archive project, where I am copying over every piece of art I have ever submitted to DeviantArt, with the original submission date or watermarked year stamp, so a complete archive of my work can be found on this website. Originally posted between November 5, 2008, and December 10, 2008, I am consolidating a series of related images to a single blog post.

This is the post that derailed my archive project for a while. On DeviantArt each image was posted separately, with descriptive content, but not particularly well organized. This project is also posted to my now long abandoned LiveJournal account, where at the time I was very active in a corsetmaking community there. It was one of those beautiful intersections of time and interest and communication where a number of very creative and resourceful people were all trying to figure out how corsetmaking works, and sharing their attempts, tips, tricks, successes, and failures with each other. As a result I have much more detailed information about my sewing projects at the time posted on LiveJournal. However, I was just barely starting to figure out how to convey what I was doing, so it’s even more disorganized, and frankly a nightmare to sort out and repost.

I don’t want to jump around in what I’m archiving, so I stalled out on the archive project for about a year while I figured out if I wanted to tackle that LiveJournal monstrosity of overabundant photos of very amateur level work and scattered text. At the moment, I really don’t want to, so if you want to go see what is there, you can visit my very dead LiveJournal account and dig through my posts. I can’t promise they are complete. It looks like for some reason a huge chunk of my uploaded images have disappeared off the site, possibly to never be found again. I might revisit this idea and backdate copy some of those LiveJournal posts to this blog, but I doubt it. I definitely won’t be logging into that account again. The things I wrote there that I felt were of lasting value I have long since turned into formal tutorials that are already posted to this site.

Victorian Overbust Corset

Originally posted: December 10, 2008

I finished the Victorian overbust corset I was making for myself, and took some photos so I could show the finished product. I designed and created the entire corset, from drafting through to the final details, and posted detailed progression photos in my scrapbook on LJ, including a serious after-completion modification to the bustline.

It was drafted to imitate the very late Victorian, just pre-Edwardian corsets, with a straight-front busk. I used six panel pieces per side, as seems standard for most modern corsets. The final lines have some minor issues, so I don’t plan to use this exact pattern again, but instead plan to play with entirely different styles of piecing. It’s also still just a bit tight around the top of the torso, and a bit odd under the armpit.

The cover material is a rough brown silk, the edging is red-brown ribbon, and the decorations are hand-embroidered double-satin ribbon. The decorations on the bust are hiding a post-completion modification to the bustline, which was far too large and had to be taken in before the corset would fit properly.

Victorian Corset – Pattern

Originally posted: November 9, 2008

The pattern diagram sheet for my overbust corset. At the top are my measurements, and some derived lengths that are useful for pattern drafting. Below that is the initial pattern I used to make the mockup. At the bottom is the revised pattern, including modifications derived from the fit of the mockup.

The main things I altered in the pattern:
– I took in the bust slightly
– I lowered the waist slightly
– I altered the locations of some of the breaks between pieces to keep them vertical
– I took in the hip slightly
– I let out the ribs, particularly near the waist
– I added a little more curve at the spine

Victorian Corset – Mockup Pattern

Originally posted: November 12, 2008

These are the pattern pieces for a second mockup of my Victorian overbust corset, drawn from the piecing diagram.

Download to view it large enough to read all my writing and marks. I only used the tools shown in the photo, translating the grid of the graph paper into actual inches (one line on the grid paper = 1 inch). The inner lines are copies of the piecing diagram (the part of the fabric that will be visible as part of the garment. I then added 1/2″ seam allowance on all sides unless the piece is to be placed on a fold.

The mockup pattern is distinctly different from the final pattern in regards to the added seam allowances. This is one of many reasons why I draft the pattern on graph paper with NO seam allowance.

The only tailoring marks on the pattern are at the waistline. The tabs should be matched piece to piece, and the dots are to help ensure that each piece is sewn to the correct piece. The foundation fabric for a sturdy corset has no give, so there is no “easing” of the curves into each other. Sewing starts at the waistline, and proceeds to the edge of the fabric. There is usually a little trim on each piece.

I will be posting photos of creating the mockup, to illustrate.

Victorian Corset – Mockup

Originally posted: November 8, 2008

The first mockup of my new Victorian overbust corset, the one I wore at the convention. It’s made with two layers of cotton duck fabric and springsteel boning. There are two 1/2″ bones in the center front, to imitate the busk closure that will be in the final corset. I edged the top and bottom with bias tape solely so it would last for the weekend without dropping threads everywhere. For mockups I normally just roll the top and bottom edges.

This mockup fit decently enough to wear for the weekend (especially since it was cotton duck and would stretch), but it was a little too tight in the ribs, not quite tight enough in the waist, a little loose over the hips, and not quite curved enough in the back for my spine.

Sewing-ID

Originally posted: November 5, 2008

A snapshot of me sewing stuff for the steampunk con, while wearing my corset mockup to make sure it fit well enough to wear for the weekend.

Vict. Corset – Pattern Final

Originally posted: November 12, 2008

The final corset pattern for my new Victorian overbust corset. The full sequence of images so far can be found on my LJ account.

These pieces include all the modifications noted on the second mock-up. To make these pieces, I did not draft them from scratch. I took the pattern pieces for the mock-up and trimmed off the seam allowance. I then traced each piece and modified the outline before re-adding the seam allowance.

There is a 1/2″ seam allowance on the front and back side of each piece (unless it is to be placed on a fold), but no seam allowance on the top or bottom.

Each piece has tailor marks at the waist, including a notch for piece matching, and dots to help ensure the correct pieces are seamed to each other. The top of each piece is marked with a triangle.

There are two pattern pieces for Panel#1. This is because of the busk, which can be placed in a fold on one side, but requires a seam on the other. Thus, one of the pieces is marked for the fold, and the other includes a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Each panel is marked with the number of pieces that need to be cut for each layer of the corset.