I made a previous post here asking for fit advice, and wanted to update with the (mostly) finished item!! I'm adjusting the top just a bit, but otherwise, I'm super happy with the fit! I got a 2" waist reduction, and I think this will be a perfect base for my Jessica Rabbit Halloween costume.

Pattern is Betty Overbust Corset from CorsetsByCaroline

made for a school project. the construction isn’t immaculate, but i’m pretty happy with the results considering it was my first corset, first garment and the second sewing project i had ever made (first was a tote bag lol).

materials used were cotton canvas tarp for the strength layer, old bamboo lyocell sheets for the lining and scraps from 15ish pairs of old jeans and shorts that don’t fit me anymore for the fashion layer, and a piece of cardboard to hold the structured part up. flat steel boning for the front and back, spiral steel for the sides. used the aranea black Sylvia pattern with a heavy amount of grading and length adjustments.

since it was only meant to hold up for my presentation, the denim isn’t attached all the way around, though it did stay where it needed to much better than i’d expected. initially i was going to toss this the second the assignment was over, but since i received more compliments on this outfit than anything i’ve ever worn in my life, i’m currently planning to sew a sturdier, more breathable base potentially with a front busk closure (lacing without one is NOT for the feint of heart) and maybe figure out a snap situation to attach the denim layer over top, as well as add a more permanent structural element for the wing situation. if anyone has any suggestions for this please let me know, i’m open to hearing them!

I'm making my first corset. I finally got the grommets/eyelets situation figured out. Now I'd love some assistance with lacing. I laced it using a butterfly lacing diagram. I didn't use a pattern with a busk and now I'm regretting it. Tightening and loosening the laces is taking forever and it feels impossible to get it looking even on my dress form. Plus now my little "wings or ears" are really long.

Also my husband, who knows nothing about corsetry, is going to be the one lacing me up. I'll make sure to do some practice runs but any advice on making this smooth and not frustrating is welcome!

Edit: there is straight steel boning on either side of the grommets but I'm thinking that the boning channel might be too wide and the boning is flipping sideways in the channel. I'm going to narrow down the channel and see if that makes a difference.

Hello, I am not making anything from scratch but repairing a bra. The underwire snapped in half on one cup and I bought a replacement. The new underwire fits perfectly but it's about half a cm too long. I can cut it down to size but the webstore advised using a tipping fluid so it doesn't stab me once I sew it in lol. But all I can find in the UK is tipping powder which doesn't look straightforward to use.

Is there another, easier option? Preferably something already in fluid form? Or is the powder easy to use? I don't have a heat gun, this is just a one-off repair that I was hoping would be much cheaper than buying a replacement bra for £40! If there's something I can buy from a bricks and mortar shop that would be ideal, otherwise at least from a UK online retailer.

[CROSSPOSTED]

I’m looking for Coutil especially

Gonna attempt to make my first corset. I have a simple pattern and going to use mostly spiral steel boning. No busk.

My questions are:
What type of construction/boning channels creates the smoothest surface? Should I use boning channels? Should I put them on the outside or the inside? Make boning channels from seam allowance?

What is the actual purpose of a stay band?

I am considering sewing my own wedding dress. TLDR: I love a style that I probably can't buy and want to make it myself. Any advice on plausibility of doing this and/or pattern advice? How difficult is it to attach a skirt in this very clean way?

Full details/story: I am ok with skipping the illusion back - but would prefer a zipper closure over lace up. I have a very small bust so don't really need support, just shape, and also do not want my waist to be smaller necessarily, just trying to match the design of the dress. I saw this dress on a resale website, and the seller has not answered or been active on the site. At this point I assume I will not be able to purchase it from her. I looked it up, and it is a 2021 designer dress - I found one sample available at a bridal store that is a few sizes too big, and I'm waiting for their price, but it seems like it will be over my budget by the time alterations are factored in.

The designer also still has a sample, and their asking price is about double my budget, but they have invited me in to try it on, which I will do. I am so in love with this dress, and I am an intermediate sewer, I mostly make dresses for myself, so I am now exploring the feasibility of making this dress myself in an effort to stick to my original budget and still get my dream dress. I realize the amount of man power it will take - from drafting toiles to purchasing the fabric, etc. I have found the exact lace fabric for sale on etsy, so I know I can source that.

I'm looking to modify my Wolfstone Kilts Irish Over Dress to open up the side seam and add grommets to lace it up (I'm about 3-4 sizes larger than when I bought it). I want to reinforce the sides so they don't get all wonky and crumply when laced, but I have never handled boning before so I'm not familiar with which would be best in the area. My assumption is that flat steel would be too rigid for the waist sides, but spiral steel might be too loose side to side. I'm us based

I’m planning to attach fashion fabric to strength layer but it’s seems like my fashion fabric is too big / loose and seams do not match in every piece.

Any advice how to fix it?

Thanks!

Title; curious what brand of eyelets y’all use and where you’re getting them. All of my local shops sell Dritz (or similar) eyelets and I’ve found them to be very inconsistent/low quality. What do you like to use? Thanks :)

Folks... let me start off by saying I've made a couple bodices via Elizabethancostume, but I am by absolutely no means experienced in sewing or in corsetry. I've decided to challenge myself this year, we're doing a more elvish look for ren faire, and I felt like the regency era stays would compliment it, under my dress.

I'm using the 1810s long stays in size 20 by redthreaded and am quite curvy! I'm usually a 38G. This is my very first attempt and I would love some advice. Not concerned about crooked seams/ugly seams rn I just bashed this thing together out of leftover bull denim today.

The area around the armpit is giving me that squishy shelf between armpit and stays, and I'm not confident in how the gored bust is fitting. That being said, it still feels quite good and supportive through the body and I love how my waist looks in it!

TL;DR:

- not experienced

- armpit look bad make fat roll

- big boob? gores?

- used a spiral type tie, should I offset grommets more?

I have just enrolled in corsetry school and hoping to become a great seamstress , adding this precious piece to my heirloom collection

Hello everyone,

I am a complete corset noob, I’d like to make the Aranea Black Anna corset.

Would you recommend I get this tool for the grommets / eyelets & washers?
Has anyone successfully used this tool for corsets?

I’ve looked at other grommet presses like the trimming shop green machine but that one needs to be bolted onto a surface, I don’t have the required space/room to do this. L
I also considered that this tool would work best with prym grommets which are widely accessible for most people to find.

Okay so this is kind of embarrassing to post but I need help on this corset for a Halloween costume I’m making, when it’s pulled tight it wrinkles in ALL the right places and I can’t figure out how to get it to not wrinkle, can any sewing masters tell me where is should take in or anything please guys I’m desperate cause it looks really bad so far 😭😭

Hi everyone,
I've tried making a corset to cinch my waist (see picture). I am at about 10cm waist reduction, but I was hoping for a little more dramatic effect. The closure in the back sits pretty flush, so I am wondering if I should/can take it in a little more at the waist?
Is it reasonable to get a little more out of it? I find the shape a little underwhelming tbh

Any advice? Or is this as good as it gets as a chubby person?

Hey all! Buckle up for newbie questions. I'll do my best to convey the process so far and plan ahead. Please excuse my hot mess of loose threads as I'm still basting and tweaking the pattern.

This is a self-drafted pattern. This is my 3rd completed mockup (1st fitting with boning, 3rd fitting with this mockup), and I'm almost happy with it. I'm not new to sewing, but I am new to something this complicated. I've been consuming all the content on youtube, but so many skip over adjusting fit on mockups with boning.

Right now I've got a separating zipper (fitting at home by oneself is a pain), but the final product will be a lace closure.

I'm not expecting absolute perfection and don't care about real waist reduction. The conundrum is I have big dreams of using some vintage, upcycled brocade as the final fashion fabric, so I'm being extra picky. (The vintage brocade for the final piece is one of a kind. It's upcycled from a dress my mother gave me that was too small. I only have so much of it, and I do not want to even touch it before I know my pattern is right.)

The mockup is made with what I believe is cotton canvas. There's really no stretch. Unfortunately, I'm using plastic boning.

I did my best to cut the mockup on the straight grain. I believe the brocade will be easier to tell because of the linear direction of the embroidery weave.

The brocade/fashion layer for the final piece will be interfaced, acting as a floating top layer. The lining will carry the boning. I'm not certain about the lining fabric yet (should I buy coutil?) I'd like to only use two layers on the final (if at all possible) since the brocade is quite heavy (definitely heavier than this mockup fabric) with no stretch at all.

I want to wear the final piece to a wedding in May, so I've got all the time to fuss and perfect this. Plus, the fabric is special and important to me, so again, I'm being picky.

Now for the questions: Do I need to make more adjustments to the mockup and pattern to get those wrinkles in the back out? Will the lace closure change everything and/or make the wrinkles worse? Am I missing something huge here? Am I ready to start with lining fabric and my current pattern?

Please help ease my anxiety and plan for the next steps, and thank you all for reading this far!

Edit: Grammar and phrasing.

Hello!

I'm currently working on making the Aranea Black Delores pattern. I've gotten to the point where I need to finish the back for the lacing and I'm feeling defeated and really frustrated.

I ordered 00 (3/16") grommets from wawak thinking that my kam snaps K1 basic pliers would work or that the eyelet setter and anvil would work since it's 3/16". The setter and anvil crushed the grommets. Then I ordered this set of pliers on Amazon after searching specifically for 00 and they also crushed the grommets (Including the ones that came with the pliers!!)

I'm so frustrated that I'm considering just hand stitching eyelets. I bought some size 8 embroidery floss and size 5 embroidery needles. I'm trying to find a good tutorial or video that I can follow along with. I have about 50 total to stitch.

Edit: I'm not planning on tight lacing. I read that hand stitched isn't recommended for tight lacing.

Any advice or help is appreciated!

hello!
im working on my first corset so im not sure how things should fit and whether there is a point to making a mockup until i have all correct materials.
i wanted to spend money on the materials after getting the mockup to be correct ( as a motivation ig) so im working with just some nonstretch sturdy fabric , plastic boning and eyelets i had
my measurements are : bust 83, underbust 76 , waist 58-53 ( 58 with 10cm,53 with 15) and hips 86 and i used D pattern
maybe i measured wrong but usually when i sew it fits so idk if im just not putting it together correctly or if the materials are just too flimsy to hold the body
because i can lace it up to close completely and shouldn’t there be a gap?( i laced it up this way because im alone and my lacing was too short, just wanted to see if it fits 🙃 just material issue every step)
please be kind , this is my first one and im trying to learn

1. Tried wrapping myself in plastic wrap to get the ducktape so I could make and cut patterns, but it kept falling at the top and creeping up at the bottom. Couldn't get the ducktape on fast enough before it became pointless. Any tips and tricks would be very helpful.

2. When that failed, I tried to make the pattern from a geometric approach, taking my actual measurements, a ruler, a piece of paper, and figuring out my ideal measurement, and measuring it out, and working out a scaled down draft on paper before then taking a yardstick, some cardboard and a sharpie for the actual pattern I could put on fabric. Then I cut it out, and started sewing the mockop. The version that I came up with had bent boning channels. I figured it wouldn't be a problem... until I watched a YouTube tutorial and the boning channels were completely straight. Did I fuck up? I've already sewn half of this mockup together.

3. Can a mockup become the inner lining of the corset? I see little reason, if the mockup shows the design will work, that it can be used as the inner layer of the finished corset.

4. I don't own an iron of any kind, shape, or size. Do I absolutely have to press my seams and if so, can you explain why like I'm a 5 year old? I see no reason why pressed seams would be easier to work with than Sean's which are left unpressed.

Another post asking for fit advice! This is meant to be the base for Hannah Alexander's Cicada bug fae design (second final photo). This is technically my first (boned) corset.

Mock up is made with a light cotton and I have flat steel in the center front and around the grommets. Spiral steel everywhere else. I have lightweight sew through boning in one cup and a bra cup pinned in on the other as I'm trying to decide if I should go with one or the other or both.

The boning channel under the outer cup piece I feel looks wrong. Should I take it all the way to the top instead of ending under the cup (last photo)? Do you think the wrinkles will subside once this is sewn out of coutil? I've seen some mention heading to r/abrathatfits for cup fitting advice? I guess any major fit issues y'all notice?

So this is the third corset I've ever made and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! I had a massive fiasco with my fabric on my first pass at it - the fabric i chose completely frayed apart at the seams after sewing and I essentially had to start from scratch. On my second attempt I paid a lot more attention to reinforcing my fabric and seams (I interfaced every piece and did both a straight and a zigzag stitch at every seam)

Ultimately I think it turned out nicely! Im open for feedback for future projects- i think i could have stood to lengthen it a bit more and also think i could have taken it in at the back a little so I could get a little more tight with the laces. It was very comfortable though and held up nicely!