Victorian Corsets

Here is some of my sewing history. I think I will get the older, finished projects out of the way, and then work on documenting my newer sewing adventures. Bearing in mind that some of my projects have been sitting around for years waiting to be finished!

These are two Victorian corsets I made a couple of years ago, from the Truly Victorian pattern, which I love. Each one taught me a lesson. Do not make too small. Do not make too big. The black corset is double layer black coutil and the brown corset is single layer coutil, which I dyed. Oh, another lesson I learned; always wash coutil before you cut it out, is you are going to be dying it. I'm glad it only shrunk on the top and bottom.

Ahh, so pretty at the front!

I think the main rule I forgot is that if you pull in the waist, you have to leave extra room above and below. So I dyed lace, inserted ribbon and flossed the bones, which my poor fingers did not enjoy. Then I put it on, expecting to be blown away by my brilliance. I was not. As you can see. In my brilliance, I also put non-rigid  steel bones into the back, which warps into my back when I lace the corset up. I have ordered some rigid bones to fix this, and my current corset boredom, while I wait for them to arrive, gives me time to write this.

What is this ghastly gap? I didn't put that there.