How to Floss a Corset

Overbust corsets are non-conical, non-bra overbust corsets popular for modern wear. Historic periods of use range throughout the Victorian and Edwardian, and include all manner of piecing styles involving panels and gores.

This is a bespoke 1800′s style Victorian sweetheart overbust corset.  It has cream dupioni silk cover material, blue flossing, blue lace edging, lacing panel, and metal busk.

1880's Blue and Cream Silk Sweetheart

Core: Two layers of corset coutil
Cover: Cream dupioni silk
Flossing: Blue thread and blue floss
Edging: Cream dupioni silk bias tape
Lace: Blue box pleated sheer and lace
Boning: 1/4" flat spring steel and spiral bones
Piecing: 8 panels per side
Busk: 14" metal straight double busk

After completion, it was necessary to add two gores along each hip.

This tutorial illustrates some of the basic embroidery patterns I have used for flossing, gives tips relating specifically to corset flossing, and assumes you have a basic working knowledge of embroidery.  My flossing workshop is for all levels of skill or knowledge, including no prior experience with embroidery.

I strongly recommend creating your own flossing sampler to try the patterns shown or your own variations or creations, or at least trying a few of them on a dummy boned piece of fabric to familiarize yourself with how to do flossing.  To make a sampler, just bone a rectangle of fabric and floss it.  Before the end of November I will be creating my own flossing sampler to help illustrate this tutorial and my workshops, and over time I will add more flossing patterns to the tutorial.

How to Floss a… By Sidney Eileen Book Preview

The information contained in this tutorial is also available print-on-demand as a booklet, providing the portability and convenience of always having the instructions and diagrams next to you while you work.

Corset flossing is applied embroidery.  If you know how to embroider, you know how to floss.  All you do is embroider some pattern around the tip of a bone, running the thread through the fabric right at the edge of the bone to secure it in place within the boning channel.  This does not need to be done at any particular time, and can be added to a corset even years after its creation.

The study of embroidery is very well documented in a wide array of books, so I don’t feel the need to go into detail here.  If you don’t know how to embroider, I recommend buying at least one text describing how to embroider and trying your hand at it before flossing.  Be sure the book in question describes freehand embroidery, and not just cross-stitch.  Cross-stitching can have decorative applications for corsets, but is all but useless for flossing.

Some examples of helpful books and e-books on embroidery are:

100 (One-hundred) Embroidery Stitches (my personal favorite)
Coats & Clark’s Learn How to Embroider, Book No. 144
The Embroiderer’s Handbook
Embroidery: Techniques & Patterns
Handbook of Embroidery (Illustrated)

The Basics

Shown below are the tools I usually use for flossing.  I always have a package of assorted needles, a thimble, small snips, beeswax, and the thread or floss I will use for the particular corset.

You can use just about any kind of embroidery floss or thread, upholstery thread, buttonhole thread, or even all-purpose thread.  Sturdier thread will hold up better and longer, but flossing can easily be re-done if you use a lighter thread and it snaps with wear.  The three threads pictured are normal embroidery floss, buttonhole thread, and upholstery thread.  I like using heavy-duty threads when I want the channel stitches to match the flossing, so I can use it for both.  I have used all-purpose thread for the same reason, but it takes a lot more flossing stitches to create a bold design.  When the flossing does not need to be the same thread as the stitching, I usually use some variety of embroidery thread because it is easier to use without tangling, knotting, or fraying.

Embroidery floss comes in many different colors and fiber contents (polyester, rayon, linen, cotton, silk), but it almost always comes in a six-strand length.  If the floss is lightweight (like the one shown above), you’ll probably want to use 2 or 3 strands.  If the floss is heavy weight, you may only need 1 or 2 strands.  The more strands you use, the bolder the stitches will be, but be careful not to load too many strands onto your needle.  Corsets are usually made from very tightly woven fabric, so if your floss is too thick it will fray as you pull it through.  The design will also have a tendency to looky clumpy or clumsy.  Inexpensive polyester or rayon embroidery floss works fine, but more expensive flosses (like hand-dyed silk floss) will provide a much smoother and more luxurious appearance.  Linen looks crisp and clean.  Cotton usually has a softer appearance.

The needle I use depends upon the weight of the thread I am using.  I try to pick a needle that is about the same diameter as the floss, with a hole that is just barely large enough for to thread.  You don’t need to buy a mega-pack of needles like the one shown.  A small set of embroidery sharps will work fine in most situations.

If you will be decoratively embroidering over the top of the boning (like the Wheat Chaff design), you may want to consider purchasing curved millinery needles.  They are not necessary, but with practice can make it easier to stitch along the rigid bones.

The beeswax is there in case the thread tries to knot up, tangle, or otherwise misbehave while stitching.  Most of the time I don’t use it, but it can be invaluable to keep the thread smooth and clean while working.  Some people use beeswax every time they embroider.  Use it or not according to what works best for you.

The small snips and the thimble are necessities.  There will be times when you need to get in close to the fabric with the snips.  Without the thimble it is impossible to accurately control the needle.

I don’t normally use knots because they can create a tiny friction point on the garment.  Instead, under the edging of the corset I will stitch three or four times over the same exact spot, and then run the thread between the layers of the corset out to the area to be flossed.  When the working thread is getting short, I run it back to the edge of the corset and again stitch over a single location three or four times to secure the thread.  I then run the loose end of the thread between the layers of the corset for about 1/2″, and snip it next to the fabric so the tail is hidden inside the body of the corset.

I normally work with lengths of thread no longer than two feet, sometimes less.  The eye of the needle can fray the thread as it is pulled through the fabric and abrades the tip of the boning, so shorter lengths are easier to apply without damaging the thread.  Also, long lengths of thread can have a tendency to tangle and knot up.

Understanding the Diagrams

Each diagram is illustrating from the outside (viewed) side of the corset.  The stitches are numbered in the order they should be made.  Odd stitches are emerging to the front of the corset, and even numbers are traveling through to the back of the corset.  The stiffness of the boning makes it impossible to run the needle through two stitches at the same time, so make each stitch individually even if the illustration shows the needle as if it was making two stitches at the same time.  Each stitch must be taken singly, and if it is at the tip of the bone it needs to be as close as possible to the bone.  It does take practice to keep the tension between the stitches even, and get the cleanest possible curves while maintaining pressure on the tip of the boning.  At the sides, I recommend counting the stitches of the boning channel so you can duplicate the pattern on different bones.  Increasing or decreasing the number of machine stitches between flossing stitches can dramatically change the appearance of the flossing.

Most of the patterns are basic examples of a stitch type.  Different numbers of adjacent stitches and variations in over-under weaves are simple changes that can be made to most of the flossing stitches shown.

I don’t know the formal names for the majority of the stitches, if they have formal names at all.  The names given are ones that I thought made sense.  If you know of formal names for any of the stitches, please let me know. :)

Securing Stitches

Triangle Tip

It’s important that the first stitch emerges at the center of the boning channel, so it will hold the bone in the correct location while you stitch the rest of the flossing.  Starting there gives you a solid anchor point.  The shape of the triangle is determined by the location you choose for stitch 2.  The closer stitch 2 is to the bone tip, the stouter the triangle will be.  The further away it is, the more pointed the triangle will be.  I recommend placing stitch 2 down the channel at least as far as the channel is wide, to avoid crowding on the shorter stitches.

Some simple variations:

• Place stitch 2 further away from the bone tip.
• Place more distance between each of the even numbered stitches (the ones on the side of the boning channel), or stagger them in groups (for example, make the distances short, short, long, short, short, etc.)
• At the bone tip make stitches only at the center of the channel (rather than an arch from channel edge to channel edge), creating a wedge shape instead of a triangle.

Basic Crossed Flossing

This is what I consider to be the most basic kind of flossing, and variations of it are very common among flossed corsets.  The design is simple, effective, and beautiful, with a minimal number of stitches.

All variations of the pattern start with the first stitch just to the side of center at the tip of the bone, with stitch 2 traveling across the bone.  The distance between the bone tip and stitch 2 is entirely personal preference for the aesthetic of the flossing.  The diagram shows two pairs of stitches, alternating right to left, but the stitches can be made in any number of stitches as long as the stitches are balanced.

Some simple variations:

• Fewer or more stitches.
• Multiple threads of different colors.
• Starting stitch 2 closer to or further away from the bone tip.
• Greater or shorter distances between the stitches on the sides.
• Fewer or more individual stitches in each woven group of stitches.

Multiple Crossed Flossing

This is a variation of the basic crossed flossing.  It starts the same way, with crossed flossing stitches at the tip of the bone.  Then there is a gap at the bone tip to another set of crossed flossing stitches, creating an open pattern.

Some simple variations:

• More of fewer stitches in each woven group.
• Multiple threads of different colors.
• Greater or shorter distances between the bone tip and stitches.
• Greater or shorter distances between the groups of stitches, either at the tip or on the sides of the boning channel.

Decorative Flossing Stitches

These stitches are completely decorative, and in no way secure the boning.  However, if the boning can shift side to side in the channel the decorative stitching can be used to pad out the boning channel and help eliminate wiggle-room.

Double-Channel Star

This pattern requires two threads.  One is labeled by letter, and the other is labeled by number.

Take the letter thread and create a loose loop in the center of the boning channels.

Take your number thread, emerge at Stitch 1, loop through the letter thread, and descend at Stitch 2.  Adjust the tension so it will be taught when the A-B loop is tightened, but DO NOT tighten the A-B loop.

Repeat with Stitch 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8.

If you wish to vary the pattern by adding stitches, repeat with those as well, but always work sequentially around the star pattern or it will be even more difficult to adjust the tension.

After half the star has been stitched, tighten Loop A-B and adjust the tension on the number thread.

Repeat, mirroring for the other half of the star.

Some simple variations:

• Greater or shorter distance from the star center to the outer rays.
• Greater or shorter distances between the  individual stitches or pairs of stitches.
• More or less stitches.
• More threads of differing colors.
• Offset stars that overlap.
• Quarter or half stars, instead of full stars.

Wheat Chaff Design

This design is created decoratively over the boning, and can be made as an extension of any flossing that secures the boning.  The stitches are made with the boning in the channel, with the needle making two stitches at onces exactly as shown in the diagram.  Due to the stiffness of boning, it can be difficult to precisely place the stitches, but with practice it can be done.  If you learn to use them properly, curved millinery needles can make this process easier, but millinery needles are inherently more difficult to use than normal embroidery needles and will require practice on their own.

Start at the tip of the bone, or underneath the securing flossing stitches where the initial emerging stitch will be hidden from view.

Stitch under where you want the wheat pattern to start, and emerge at the height of the pattern segment.

Return to the same location and stitch under again, emerging to the side of the boning channel.

Return to the same location and stitch under again, emerging to the other side of the boning channel.

Return to the same location again, emerging two segments way along the center of the boning channel.

Repeat the entire pattern as many times as desired.

Some simple variations:

• Dual or triple stitches at any or all locations, instead of single stitches.
• Greater or shorter lengths on the segments.
• Greater or shorter lengths on the arms.
• Steeper or shorter angles on the arms.
• Different characteristics for different segments.

The information contained in this tutorial is also available print-on-demand as a booklet, providing the portability and convenience of always having the instructions and diagrams next to you while you work.

How to Floss a…

By Sidney Eileen

Book Preview