Category: What I'm up to

1. Another variation of the petal corset

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 11th Feb 2020

   I wasn't sure how commercial the petal corset would be in terms of a commercial pattern so I've spent the last week making it up again but with a rounded/smoothed out  top-line;

   

   It's always good to make it in a slighlty different way I find - my patterns have huge amounts of notes and information and I want the maker to be able to make it up in the esiest way possible, so a lot of testing goes into it. I think this is probably going to be the longest I have spent on a design in fact - it's coming up to 2 months....

   With this version I partially bagged out the heart front to achieve a decent point at the CF - this section comprises 2 panels and 2 darts. The 3 diagonal side panels are also bagged out - so each side is sewn to it's facing and then flipped to the right side - the seam allowance on the CF side is turned under and then top-stitched to the front section. The third section comprises the bottom section of the CF, a lower mid panel and the centre back containing the eyelets. This was also topstitched to the other two sections. Little gaps in the top-stitching allowed for the bones to be inserted once double channels had sewn the outer and inner layers together.  Seams were pressed to the back on the outer layer and the front on the inner layer to reduce bulk at the seams. The centre back panel was mirrored at the CB so self-faced, and a short liner was hand sewn to the non-lined bottom section. The seam allowance at the top of the centre back was folded under as was the entire bottom seam of the corset, so no binding!

   Happy valentines day!

   

2. Foundations Revealed competition 2020

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 10th Jan 2020

   Renewal, regeneration...these sorts of themes are currently being explored by everyone wanting to enter this year's competition. I haven't delved into the theme in any abstract way but I am thinking of using it to push me into a design that has been swimming around in my head for a while.

   I am a bit obsessed by swirling panel shapes (especially after all the work I did on my crescent corset) and would love to create a flower bud with opening petals. Renewal is everywhere in nature and unfurling petals is just the beginning in the cycle of bloom and bust that begets everything. 

   I've made a start and it's going OK - I have dyed fabric in different shades to get some sort of differentiation between the petals and make them stand out. Here is the initial toile of the front section;

   

   I'll keep this blog updated with more progress pics along the way.

3. Edwardian corsetry - December's design

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 10th Dec 2019

   

   I haven't much ventured into Edwardian corsetry before. This is my first S-bend pattern inspired by the Sanakor that I saw at the Symington study day in Nottingham in May (without the suspenders of course);

   

   A corset of this era (early 1900's) was intended to create a straight line at the front and fall smoothly and evenly over the hips whilst gently forcing a forward stance - hip padding was not a feature; It was the layers of chemise and petticoats that created the hip 'bulk'. 
   An Edwardian corset will support and lift the bust upwards from below - the top-line is no higher than the bust apex and higher than the under-bust line. Centre front ribbon ties will pull the bust together slightly although I haven't added mine yet as you can see in the following pic. A 'uni-bust', aided with padding, was the fashionable silhouette. 

    

   

   I purposefully didn't look at Nikki Swift's pattern (who has actually taken the pattern from the original)  in her excellent Foundations Revealed article on the Sanakor as I wanted to put my own spin on it and use the photos/ measurements I took on the day to create more of an 'inspired-by' design than an actual copy. The first of Nikki's 3-part article is free and gives some great background to this lovely design;
   https://foundationsrevealed.com/articles/corset-patterns/1900s-corset-patterns/521-the-sanakor-plunge-corset-1-part-1
   I'm thinking that this might be my December Patreon pattern due for posting in a couple of weeks. I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience with S-bend corsets - do you find them comfortable? I'm not so sure it's a comfortable shape for me to be honest, but maybe it's just because it's very different to what I am used to....most the of the waist suppression is towards the back and I can really feel the squeeze on my ribs! I'm definitely an hour-glass rather than conical kind of girl.