> I've a question for all corset makers here: which kind of > boning (steel or plastic) would you use for a Victorian - > style corset (if not a real whalebone)? And generally, what > experiences do you have when using steel or plastic boning? > Do you mix them as well? > I'd really like to hear some experiences:-))
Here's my 2 cents on this subject: There are 6 options that I've heard of to replicate whale boning - I've only tried 4, and I've never bothered to mix plastic with metal as my initial experiences with plastic weren't positive. 1) spiral steel boning - this is what I most frequently use for mid-late Victorian. It's the most expensive option (apart from artificial whale bone), and a bit heavy, but it curves wonderfully well. If you're used to Tudor/Elizabethan corsets, this will be a revelation. My favorite corset supply on-line order place is Farthingales (mostly because I'm in northern Ohio, and they're just over the border in Canada so the shipping is very very quick): you can see their spiral boning at http://www.farthingales.on.ca/spiral_bones.php 2) Flat steel boning - I've used this alone for Elizabethan corsets, and mixed in judiciously with spiral steel boning to reduce the cost of Victorian corsets. Also, it allows for no torque, so if you find the spiral bone is twisting in the bone case, I've found that replacing the spiral with flat steel boning helps. You'll want the 1/4 inch for Victorian. Nothing wider. See farthingales for an example of flat steel boning: http://www.farthingales.on.ca/spring_steel_bones.php 3) Cording - this is most appropriate for early Victorian, and is very comfortable, though the most time consuming option to do, and can be hard on fingers/wrists if you have carpel tunnel problems. I have a corset made from the 1870s pattern in Waugh which mixes cording and some spiral and flat boning, and you'd never guess from how ridged it is how little metal is in the corset. Also, the affect of the stuffed cords (even when not decorative in design) is beautiful! 4) plastic strapping, generally used to tie boxes and stuff together at places like Home Depot. I've never tried this, though friends swear by it for Tudor/Elizabethan. I can't guess how well it would work for a curvy Victorian, but it can't be worse then the plastic boning you can buy at Jo-Anns, and it's hard to beat the price. 5) reed boning - I'd only suggest this if you were doing really early Victorian. It doesn't do curvy too well. I made a reasonably comfortable 18th cent. Corset out of it (it breathes very well) but isn't quite strong enough to keep me from trying to bend from the waist. Which cracked the boning. It's still functional as a corset, it just looks a little funny when it's off me, and the sound when I tried to bend was rather startling. I bought my reed from silly sisters: http://www.sillysisters.com/otheritems.htm 6) Fake Whale boning - it's a special type of plastic that's supposed to mimic whale bone. I've never used it. It's somewhat expensive. You can get it from farthingales (http://www.farthingales.on.ca/plastic_bones.php) Now that I've caught up on the further discussion that happened before I got back to writing this e-mail I don't know if this will be helpful... But it can't hurt :-) -sunny _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
