How to Make a Sport Mesh Corset – Part 2

This is part two of a tutorial demonstrating in detail how to make an underbust or waist cincher Victorian corset using a synthetic sport mesh. Mesh corsets were made in the late Victorian, but they were constructed using strong, natural-fiber mesh, like linen canvas for embroidery. Heavy-duty sport mesh is a much more economical choice and works very well.

Return to Part 1
Where Part 1 of the tutorial left off, all mesh panels had been sewn into the corset, and all re-enforcing ribbon was in place.

I’m sorry this image is so hard to see. Between the poor lighting, my dieing camera, and the black fabric, it’s almost impossible to see what is going on here.

At this point I ironed the seam allowance and the fold-over for the grommet panels, the busk panels, and the second coutil layer for each vertical boning panel. The vertical coutil panels were each ironed to 7/8″ visible width, enough room for two 1/4″ or one 1/2″ wide spring steel flat.

Back at the sewing machine, I secured the re-enforcing twill tape for the grommet area. It’s tacked in at the top and bottom edges, near the ironed-in fold that will be the edge of the grommet panel.

Then I folded over the grommet panel and stitched down the open edge.

Then I sewed the boning channels that will support the grommets. In this photo you can also see one vertical panel with its top layer stitched down.

To attach the top coutil layer (the bone casing), I centered the ironed coutil on the coutil corset foundation and stitched down the center. I kept it as even as I could, turned the corset around, and lock-stitched down the same seam. After that, I stitched boning-channel width seams to either side, again lock-stitching.

This image shows all the vertical coutil pieces stitched down. All that’s left is the busk.

This photo shows the hook side of the busk inserted and the panel stitched down. I wish I had made the panel wide enough for an adjacent 1/4″ flat, but I did not. I don’t think anything horrible will happen as a result, but it would make for a sturdier garment. Next time I will make this panel wider.

Next I attached the double-busk because I didn’t leave myself much room for attachment. I made this decision despite the potential problems with edging after.

This shows an alternate method of attaching the double-busk when compared to my tutorial on the subject. Ideally, I strongly recommend attaching a double-busk as a final detail using the instructions in that dedicated tutorial, because the bulk can interfere with sewing other seams. However, in some special circumstances, this method may be helpful.

I did not want the extra edge of fabric from the backing bone to show through the corset, so I made the pouch only 3/4″ wide and sewed it to the back of the busk panel before inserting the peg side of the busk.

Once the double-busk was in place, I attached the peg side of the busk like normal.

After inserting the boning, I edge stitched ribbon to the mesh along the top and bottom of the corset. On the first pass I missed the mesh in some sections, so I stitched again a little lower and matched the stitch line on the other half. The stitch lines served as my guide for trimming the edges later.

After edge stitching, I secured the boning in place.

This image shows the top edge trimmed.

To attach the edging ribbon, I sewed it first to the front side 1/4″ from the edge.

Attaching the support and edging ribbon to the top and bottom was the most difficult part of making this corset, because the mesh was difficult to keep evenly stretched.

To finish off the edging, I folded it over to the back and stitched again from the front. Below is how it looks from the outside and the inside.

This is one half, after edging has been stitched onto the top and bottom edges.

And after grommeting, this is how it looked.

More views of this corset may be found on its portfolio page, Tightlacing Mesh Underbust.

I’ve been researching different mesh materials that would be strong enough to use for corsetry. Ideally, they will be natural fiber, possibly cotton but preferably linen or hemp because they are stronger. Trouble is, for most uses mesh has gone over to less expensive synthetic fibers. The only market where I can find cotton and linen meshes is grounds for needlepoint and embroidery, and even in that market the materials best suited to corsetry (linen interlock canvas for one) appear to no longer be available.

Zweigart, a manufacturer based out of Germany, appears to be one of the main suppliers of high-quality embroidery canvas. I have found a number of resellers in the US and Britain, but they sell it in sizes appropriate to embroidery projects, meaning that enough material for a single mesh corset will easily cost twice as much as coutil for an equivalent two-layer corset.

Another potential source of linen mesh is linen sheer fabric intended for home decorating, sheer curtains. It can be difficult to find, but will also work extremely well.

Regardless of the expense, I do intend to make a mesh corset using natural fiber material. Both kinds of mesh corset are also available for sale, custom by commission.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful or interesting.