Re: [h-cost] (Straight front) corset - fitting
I've got another probably stupid question: How do you do the fitting??? I mean the corset is - at leat at the waist - much smaller than your real figure, so how can you actually try it on when not yet finished? It must be tight laced and there must be bones in it, else I cannot imagine a fitting. If there are no bones, there will always be wrinkles. And what about the stitching? It must be quite strong to not tear when laced up... The mock-up is made out of heavy non-stretchy fabric -- cotton drill, canvas, jean, and you have to use regular stitching, not basting length stitches. I use a sew on set of eyelets (as Jen Thompson describes using for fitting her 1515 Italian dress - I'd give the web link, but the site appears to be down so I can't be sure of the url). I first fit using that shell. Bones are actually not required to get the initial fit - certain seams may require them, but mostly they just smooth out wrinkle-spots. After the initial mostly unboned fitting, I mark where I think the bones will go, and use twill-tape casings to put them in. Then fit the mock-up again, smoothing out wrinkles and undesired bulges :-) (which are usually dealt with by minute adjustments of the width of a seam. Sometimes I skip the mock-up and just do all the alterations and bone-placement stuff on the actual corset. This works best if the corset is unlined, which I only do if I'm using coutil as the corset fabric. I only skip the mock up step if I'm starting from a commercial pattern, and am therefore pretty assured that the initial corset is close to my size or bigger. Hope that makes sense! -sunny ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] (Straight front) corset - fitting
I've got another probably stupid question: How do you do the fitting??? I mean the corset is - at leat at the waist - much smaller than your real figure, so how can you actually try it on when not yet finished? It must be tight laced and there must be bones in it, else I cannot imagine a fitting. If there are no bones, there will always be wrinkles. And what about the stitching? It must be quite strong to not tear when laced up... Zuzana - Do you Yahoo!? Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] (Straight front) corset - fitting
Make up a fitting corset out of inexpensive but heavy non-stretch fabric. (You may want to mine the $1/yd table at walmart, or your local equivalent.) For fitting purposes, you only need one bone per side at the front, side, and back; front-side and back-side bones can be added to combat wrinkles on larger figures. Since the fit of the busk pocket at front and the lacing strips in the rear won't change, go ahead and make those with your real corset fabric, and baste them to the fitting corset. Then, each element of the fitting corset will be useful for the real corset: the fitting corset itself will become the pattern, and the busk and laces sections will go into the real corset. If you make corsets often, you may want to make and save a re-useable busk and laces set. Sew the fitting corset by machine; use a long stitch length, and a tension loose enough that it will be relatively easy to pick out the stitches, but use a strong thread (such as hand quilting thread). To simulate the fit of a garment with finished seams, clip all seam allowances at the curves, then push the seam allowances to one side and topstitch. This sort of construction won't be up to long term use, but it will definitely be enough for the fitting process. While you have the fitting corset on, you might want to take the opportunity to mark where the bones should go. (Only do this after you are satisfied with the fit of the corset!) Even with the few bones you've put into the fitting corset, you'll probably find that they're not in quite the right spot; you can tell this if it feels like the bones twist slightly, rather than laying flat along your body. This is especially problematic with the side-front bones of a straight-front! To mark where the bones should go, get a roll of tape about 3/4 to 1 wide. The wideness of the tape helps avoid errors; if you can get something that wide to lay flat, then the much narrower bone channels certainly will. Cut a piece of tape long enough for a bone channel, and while wearing the corset, lay it where you think the bone channel should be. I find it helps to affix the tape first at the waist, then smooth it up and down; it gives you the best control of where the channel will wind up. -E House ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] (Straight front) corset - fitting
You do not have to tight lace to get the correct silhouette for any period. You can make a corset your size, or an inch smaller, without tight lacing. Support and a period silhouette are one thing, extreme body modification (temporary or permanent) is another. As various people have said, a period silhoutte does not depend entirely on the corset. Depending on the period, a period silhouette also depends on padding, hoopskirts, bustles, petticoats, ruffles, optical illusions in the dress style, and conscious posture and movement that is not actually forced by any understructure. However, one thing you can do is make two lacing strips. These are strips of strong fabric with eyelets in them like a corset, more or less the length of a corset. You baste them to each side of every corset muslin you make, so you can lace it up like a corset to try on. Also, the person fitting you does not have to be skilled at fitting or sewing. (My husband fits my corsets.) What you need is someone able to follow directions, and a two-mirror system. You can get cheap full-length mirrors, meant for bathroom doors and so on, at hardware stores and building supply places. Set up one in front of you and one behind you, so you can look at your back while the person fits your garment and tell them what to do. Fran Lavolta Press Books on Historic Costuming http://www.lavoltapress.com Zuzana Kraemerova wrote: I've got another probably stupid question: How do you do the fitting??? I mean the corset is - at leat at the waist - much smaller than your real figure, so how can you actually try it on when not yet finished? It must be tight laced and there must be bones in it, else I cannot imagine a fitting. If there are no bones, there will always be wrinkles. And what about the stitching? It must be quite strong to not tear when laced up... Zuzana - Do you Yahoo!? Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta. ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] (Straight front) corset - fitting
At 21:46 08/08/2006, you wrote: Make up a fitting corset out of inexpensive but heavy non-stretch fabric. (You may want to mine the $1/yd table at walmart, or your local equivalent.) For fitting purposes, you only need one bone per side at the front, side, and back; front-side and back-side bones can be added to combat wrinkles on larger figures. Since the fit of the busk pocket at front and the lacing strips in the rear won't change, go ahead and make those with your real corset fabric, and baste them to the fitting corset. Then, each element of the fitting corset will be useful for the real corset: the fitting corset itself will become the pattern, and the busk and laces sections will go into the real corset. If you make corsets often, you may want to make and save a re-useable busk and laces set. Sew the fitting corset by machine; use a long stitch length, and a tension loose enough that it will be relatively easy to pick out the stitches, but use a strong thread (such as hand quilting thread). To simulate the fit of a garment with finished seams, clip all seam allowances at the curves, then push the seam allowances to one side and topstitch. This sort of construction won't be up to long term use, but it will definitely be enough for the fitting process. While you have the fitting corset on, you might want to take the opportunity to mark where the bones should go. (Only do this after you are satisfied with the fit of the corset!) Even with the few bones you've put into the fitting corset, you'll probably find that they're not in quite the right spot; you can tell this if it feels like the bones twist slightly, rather than laying flat along your body. This is especially problematic with the side-front bones of a straight-front! To mark where the bones should go, get a roll of tape about 3/4 to 1 wide. The wideness of the tape helps avoid errors; if you can get something that wide to lay flat, then the much narrower bone channels certainly will. Cut a piece of tape long enough for a bone channel, and while wearing the corset, lay it where you think the bone channel should be. I find it helps to affix the tape first at the waist, then smooth it up and down; it gives you the best control of where the channel will wind up. Good Lord, how complicated!! I make up a corset, in the fabric I intend to use, from a customer's measurements, seam the centre front instead of using a busk, but eyelet the back in the normal way. I fit with the seams on the outside, with plenty of seam allowance. But then I have been doing it for 25 years. Suzi ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] (Straight front) corset - fitting
- Original Message - From: Suzi Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED] Good Lord, how complicated!! I make up a corset, in the fabric I intend to use, from a customer's measurements, seam the centre front instead of using a busk, but eyelet the back in the normal way. I fit with the seams on the outside, with plenty of seam allowance. But then I have been doing it for 25 years. It sounds more complicated than it is, and is only necessary for the fiddly corsets, like straightfronts. With the extremely narrow pieces involved in the straight front, and the importance of having the exact right curve in those narrow pieces, you'll definitely need to test it out first. Otherwise, you'll find yourself needing seam allowances several times wider than the pattern piece itself! Picture a curved piece that's about an inch wide, and the same piece with a slightly sharper curve. Lay one on top of the other, and the ends don't match up at ALL. Granted, I've only been making straight fronts for about a decade, but believe me, it's enough time to learn this lesson. =} For corsets with less complicated seaming, such as the Elizabethans or the Victorians, a fitting corset is rarely necessary. -E House ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
