Construction Tips

So I just finished my first corset that I plan to sell at Anime Central 2011 (if I can get a space in the Dealer's Room, everyone wish me luck). As I was making it I thought about tips about construction that would've been really useful to me when I started out. Here are a couple of things that I've thought of, and if you can think of more or if you have more questions feel free to leave a comment:

1: The Type of Bones You Should Use
As I said in my previous post "Finding Your Muse" the best resource you can find for how to construct a corset is someone who manufactures them professionally. They tend to tell you what kind of bones they use, how many layers they put in, etc...Personally, I use a combination of spring steel bones and just plain steel bones. The spring steel bones are nice if you want some flexibility in the garment but still desire to have structure. However, I think it is absolutely essential to use steel bones (not spring steel bones) in a couple of places: the front panel (especially if you're like me and don't like using busks) and the very back panel by the grommets. You want to use steel bones in those two places because that's where you want the corset to be flat and straight.


2: How Many Layers the Corset Should Be
I know when I first started out, I thought you wanted to use three layers for your corset: fashion fabric, interlining, and lining. That's what I had read in a couple of places and that's what I thought you were supposed to use. All of my corsets, however, would come out really bulky and not looking the way I wanted them to look. That's when I spoke to Ms. Linda Sparks who told me, in her infinite corset making wisdom, that you want at most two layers: the fashion fabric and the coutil. If you can swing it, you really only want one layer, which you might want to do if you decide to use the bone casings as an accent on the outside of the corset.  The point is, you want to use as few layers of material as possible to make sure that the corset isn't bulky and will fit nicely to the wearer's body. Remember, corsets are supposed to be very fitted garments, and they won't conform nicely to the body of the wearer if there's a lot of fabric.

3: The Coutil Question
For the longest time I didn't use coutil when I  made corsets, because the material is expensive. When I finally broke down and used coutil as my strengthening layer, it made all the difference. It's not too stiff (actually it's surprisingly flexible) and the material doesn't wrinkle much. However, if you don't want to spend the money on coutil (which I highly recommend you do) make sure  that, for the layer you put the bones on, that you use a fabric that has some structure to it (not a lot but some), doesn't wrinkle too much (because otherwise when the person wears it it will wrinkle all over the place), and that the weave is straight, not diagonal (which you can figure out by looking at the material).

4: Make Sure to Reinforce Your Stiches 
I know this sounds silly, but make sure that you reinforce your stitches when sewing together your corset. The way to do this is by using two different lengthed stitches. I don't think it matters what size stitch you use first, so long as you use two different stitches. Then I would press the seam flat (fold the edges over, don't split them up) and do a topstitch over the seam. What you have is a nice, reinforced seam that won't bust when tugged. Remember the corset is going to be cynched up so the seams need to be able to withstand a lot of punishment.

5: The Thread Question
I generally use whatever thread I can get, but because I reinforce my stitches it hasn't been a problem. Just make sure that the thread matches the color scheme you want to use. It couldn't hurt to use more heavy duty thread, but I have gotten great results using regular $2 thread from Vogue Fabrics.


That's all for today! If you have any tips of your own or if you have questions, please feel free to leave a comment :) Also leave a comment if there is something in particular that you want me to talk about in my next post.