They do work well; they just have different properties than other types of boning. Zip/cable ties provide much lighter support and stiffening than steel of the same thickness. They bend more easily, which makes them ideal for the areas of a corset where you want the corset to shape itself to the body rather than the other way around (like the bust of an overbust fashion corset). They're great as a cheap alternative to real or faux whalebone in a fully boned pair of stays--you can stuff the stays full of boning, without adding pounds to the weight. They don't breathe, but then again neither do most of the options. They're incredibly easy to cut to size.
The only real problem I've had with them is that in order to get them longer than about 14", you have to go up to a thicker/wider tie (or order off the interweb). Personally, I can't stand the thicker/wider ones, but that's mostly an aesthetic thing; I like the narrower bone channels and I don't like the way the thicker ones look under clothing. If I want the stiffness of the thicker ones, I just use a steel bone instead. Speaking of which, using both types in the same corset works really well, especially in Victorian corsets; you only need a few key steel bones to get the right shape, and then can use several ties to keep things firm and the fabric unwrinkled. -E House On Sun, Mar 1, 2009 at 8:40 PM, Penny Ladnier <[email protected]> wrote: > There is an interesting topic on the USITT costume designers email list about > using zip ties for stays in corsets. Has anyone tried this? Here is a URL > for an example: > http://s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc94/CaraGreenleaf/Chain%20and%20Dresses/?action=view¤t=Corsetbonesuncut.jpg > > The professors say that it works very well. > > Penny Ladnier > Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites > www.costumegallery.com > 11 websites of fashion, textiles, costume history > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
