Thursday, June 27, 2013

Corset-a-long: The Mock Up


To properly fit a corset you need to make a mock-up.  I like to make my mock-ups out of cotton duck, which is sturdy yet not too expensive (especially when compared to coutil).  To make a mock-up cut out all of the pieces, being careful to keep the waistline on the grain.  I like to leave an excess of about 1" on top and bottom, but that's my preference.  Mark the waistline clearly with an indelible mark (I like sharpie).  Then sew all the pieces together.  Instead of inserting a busk sew the center front together.  Either sew your lacing strips to the back panels, or sew in the eye side of hook-and-eye tape, or add extensions so you can pin the back closed (there should be a 2" gap in back, so add 1" to each side plus enough seam allowance for you to pin).  Then try on the corset and make sure it fits all the way around.  After the first fitting and all circumference adjustments are made then bone each seam (I like to use cheap satin ribbon and zip ties.  They don't even need to be cut to length, they can stick out the top and bottom.  You can re-use the bones in your final corset, though, you won't be making the boning permanent) and fit it again boned.  Tomorrow we'll go over how to do that!

1 comment:

  1. I haven't thougt about using cheap ribbon to put the bones on the mock-up, but it is a great solution and less messy than using adhesive tape.
    I'll be able to sew the mock-up and do the first fitting tomorrow (work tends to get in the way of sewing!). I'm going to use a cotton bedsheet I inherited from my gran, it's made from a sturdy cotton fabric and doesn't stretch, so it'll have to do :)

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