Corset Beginnings
Dec. 28th, 2011 06:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mala_14I'm about to get started on my 1912 corset for the Foundations Revealed Double Period Project. I've already completed the mock-up and have some (not very good) pictures of it.
I've been doing some thinking about how I want to construct this corset. I want it to be fairly historically accurate and to try out some new techniques with it. Instead of coutil (which I had originally planned to use), I'm using a plain weave cotton. This corset from the same period uses plain weave cotton as a strength layer. (Coutil is also period. I just decided to save the coutil for something that needed more strength.) I pulled and tugged on it a lot, and it seems pretty stable. I'm also using the technique of cutting it on the crosswise grain. Many corsets (like Jen Thompson's) were cut this way because the lengthwise grain tends to have less stretch than the crosswise grain. This way of cutting results in the lengthwise grain going around the body. Since it's less stretchy, it should be less likely to stretch out of shape. There isn't as much stress put on the corset going down the body, so it doesn't matter if there is a little bit of stretch in that direction. (I can't remember where I read about that, but it made sense to me.)
Most corsets from this era are white. I wanted a little more colour in mine. Pink or peachy colours seemed next most popular. Many can be seen at the Corsets and Crinolines Timeline. So, I decided to try my hand at dying fabric, which I've never tried before. (I don't think that washing darks and whites together in the laundry counts. :p) I boiled up some red fabrics that hadn't been pre-washed to create a dye bath. It looked a little too purply for my tastes, so I added some yellow onion peels, having read somewhere that they create a yellow dye. It definitely made the dye more orange-y, even though I didn't add very many. It's a very pale blush colour. It's not quite as pink as I wanted, but I still like it. I think it's pretty and it looks similar to some other corsets I've seen online. It's also coloured enough to contrast the white flossing I plan to add later. The result (before/white and after/peachy):
Next step is cutting out. But before I could do this, I had to decide how many layers I want to make it. That's what I've been doing today. I want to make it a single layer corset with the seam allowances on the inside covered by boning casings. The fabric isn't quite as opaque as I'd like it to be with just one layer. (The peach colour doesn't show as well with just one layer of the fabric.) I'm thinking that I'm going to back it with some white cotton. I have some smooth, lightweight cotton that should work and not add much bulk. This means that I'll be trying another new technique when I put it together: roll pinning. But to do that, I have to get the thing cut out. So I'm off to do that!
I've been doing some thinking about how I want to construct this corset. I want it to be fairly historically accurate and to try out some new techniques with it. Instead of coutil (which I had originally planned to use), I'm using a plain weave cotton. This corset from the same period uses plain weave cotton as a strength layer. (Coutil is also period. I just decided to save the coutil for something that needed more strength.) I pulled and tugged on it a lot, and it seems pretty stable. I'm also using the technique of cutting it on the crosswise grain. Many corsets (like Jen Thompson's) were cut this way because the lengthwise grain tends to have less stretch than the crosswise grain. This way of cutting results in the lengthwise grain going around the body. Since it's less stretchy, it should be less likely to stretch out of shape. There isn't as much stress put on the corset going down the body, so it doesn't matter if there is a little bit of stretch in that direction. (I can't remember where I read about that, but it made sense to me.)
Most corsets from this era are white. I wanted a little more colour in mine. Pink or peachy colours seemed next most popular. Many can be seen at the Corsets and Crinolines Timeline. So, I decided to try my hand at dying fabric, which I've never tried before. (I don't think that washing darks and whites together in the laundry counts. :p) I boiled up some red fabrics that hadn't been pre-washed to create a dye bath. It looked a little too purply for my tastes, so I added some yellow onion peels, having read somewhere that they create a yellow dye. It definitely made the dye more orange-y, even though I didn't add very many. It's a very pale blush colour. It's not quite as pink as I wanted, but I still like it. I think it's pretty and it looks similar to some other corsets I've seen online. It's also coloured enough to contrast the white flossing I plan to add later. The result (before/white and after/peachy):
Next step is cutting out. But before I could do this, I had to decide how many layers I want to make it. That's what I've been doing today. I want to make it a single layer corset with the seam allowances on the inside covered by boning casings. The fabric isn't quite as opaque as I'd like it to be with just one layer. (The peach colour doesn't show as well with just one layer of the fabric.) I'm thinking that I'm going to back it with some white cotton. I have some smooth, lightweight cotton that should work and not add much bulk. This means that I'll be trying another new technique when I put it together: roll pinning. But to do that, I have to get the thing cut out. So I'm off to do that!
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Date: 2011-12-30 12:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-30 07:31 pm (UTC)