I also started drafting my own bra patterns. I have by now made a few of them following Beverly Johnson's books. I gotta say, I was really impressed with how my first one turned out. Definitely wearable and nothing like the bras I drafted before.
The method is simple and easy to follow (some parts I even find that she's overexplaining which ends up confusing me 😅).
But that's not what I wanna show you today, today I wanna show you the first corset I've ever made!
I have to say, if you thing that lingerie and bra making is expensive... Corsets are even more expensive...! It also took me a long time to make, I did enjoy every minute of it though.
It all started during one of my sewing lessons, the teacher asked me if I've ever made a corset before and if I'd like to make one. I hadn't but it was something that I wanted to try some day so I went for it. I drafted my basic bodice pattern, drew my style lines and that was my pattern.
At that point I knew pretty much nothing about corsets (and by corset I mean the historical garment, with boning channels, steel boning e.t.c...). So i started doing some...research. I've been a member of a facebook group that focuses on corset making for a long time,months or even a year. It's amazing what people can make when they know what they're doing! I've just been looking around and admiring their creations, now it was time to have another look at the group posts and focus more on what everyone was saying, not only looking at the pretty pictures!
Youtube must certainly have some videos about corsets, right? Of course it does!
First I found Lucy. If you're into corsets then you know who Lucy is, she has so much information, videos and reviews on her channel💓. If you're curious about corsets, that's the place to look! She doesn't make them but if you have a question about corsets, she probably has a video on it! She talks, among other things, about what happens to your body when you wear a corset and what does not, what to look for when buying a corset, e.t.c.
At this point, since I've been looking at the corset facebook group from another perspective, I stated noticing Ms Aranea Black's posts about a corset bunnysuit (?), dafaq is that I thought, it was a link to this youtube video about how she made one. And I started watching... In 12 episodes she basically shows how to construct a corset 🙀. Exactly what I needed since I got no f💥ckin clue what I'm doin!
I took my pattern and made a mock up which ended up being too big. I pinned the excess,transfer my changes to the pattern and cut my corset out of some random fabrics I had laying around. I fused my top layer with cotton interfacing for extra strength since I got no clue what this fabric that I'm using is. The second layer is also made out of some questionable quality fabric,it seemed strong enough though.
Since my budget was low for a most likely failed project, I decided to use zip ties instead of boning, like Katarina did on her bunnysuit. Took a bit of searching for a store that had em but I managed to find 8mm wide zip ties. Got some cheap ass paracord and a package of grommets (they are NOT cheap for a lil piece of metal...!) and tadaa!
It was definitely fun making! The fit: what can I say, ok?😐 I shall demonstrate my amazing creation on this pillow because Roxanne is a bit hard and it doesn't fit on her.
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| Whoever thought of displaying corsets on pillows is a genius! |
Since I used zip ties, I blamed the fit partly on that, I had to try and fix it so I went ahead and searched for a store where I could buy some proper boning and see if that would improve the fit. Well, somewhat better but the style lines that I made where just... wrong... Also, it probably needed more bones... it also needed to be longer at the back so the longer sides could be supported better and not collapse when you tighten the whole thing... I mean, it's not that bad for a first try, right...?
Oh yes, it no longer has any boning in it, I took it out and used it for the next corset I made! Can't keep ordering boning, eh😕.
But yea, the way I drew my 'corset' makes more of a bustier than anything else, especially if you use the thin plastic boning my teacher was talking about. I'm not really interested in making that though, what I wanted to make was a real corset, a waist reducing one even! Just to see how I like it, if I can even stand it and maybe... maybe get some support for my aching lower back.
This didn't really offer me any support and by now I've become very interested and curious about corsets and the right fit. I started watching more and more videos and learning more about corsets before I attempted making another one. Yes, I made another one and one more after that!
To be continued 😉
