Regency Corset

I have been very lazy with my blogging lately. But here is something I finished a little while ago, and have only just got around to photographing it. It is a regency corset from Jean Hunnisett's 'Period Costume for Stage and Screen'. This is my second attempt at this corset, the first try was ghastly. Mainly because I didn't scale the pattern up enough, so it was too small, and I used stiff coutil instead of soft cotton drill, so the silhouette was very Victorian with a nipped in waist. It was truly awful, so I am never posting pictures. But more about that later.

Here is the corset flat. I used two layers of soft cream cotton drill. This is strong enough, while still not being too rigid. There are four white steel bones at the front instead of a busk, on the other side of the bust gussets and at the back lacing. The rest are spiral steel.

Look at that lovely shelf!

Now let me share with you some things I have learnt about making Regency Corsets.

-Do not make your corset/stays out of stiff coutil, as I made the mistake of doing with my first one. Regency is all about willowy lines, not a Victorian hourglass.

-Do not use a plastic ruler as your busk! This might seem obvious, but I did this in the horrible first attempt, because I read on another blog that someone used this and it worked for them. Not me. I was afraid of snapping it when I bent over, and they are just not made to be put in tight garments. I used four white steel bones, which are comfortably springy while keeping the bust separated.

-Use cording. Please. It makes a huge difference under the bust, even if you don't use it anywhere else. I found that in my first corset, without cording, there was a definite desire for even my small bosom to creep away. Cording has become my new favourite sewing technique, because although it seems hard (or it did to me), I found that it is actually amazingly fun. I used this cording tutorial which is fantastic and easy: - http://www.jennylafleur.com/study/runners.htm

-I used spiral steel boning throughout the corset, except in the boning channel beside the busk. I would have used plastic cable ties instead of spirals, like Romantic History's lovely example, but when I tried the corset on, the plastic ties twisted because the channels have a decided curve. So I went with the spiral steel for flexibility.
In the channel beside the bust gussets, I used stiff white steel boning. This keeps the bosom from creeping sideways, which it was doing with the spiral steel and lighter weight steel boning.

Finally, my findings are this: I think if you are using cording under the bust and stiff white steel bones on either side, it doesn't matter what you do with the rest of the corset, the front will do it's job of creating the proper regency silhouette.
Another thing I changed with this pattern, which is drafted to fit a modern size 10, was that I shortened the bust gussets by about an inch. Leaving them at the level of the pattern made them no higher than a normal bra.

Also, do not be tempted to make the bust gussets small and tight, thinking that is will push up the bosom. I made this mistake again on my first corset, and it was unsightly. Not to mention uncomfortable. This corset I made the gussets slightly bigger than I thought I would need. When the corset it laced, it fits perfectly. And if you have added cording and straight steels to keep them in place, the bust will be cupped nicely.

The only thing I would change about this corset is the lacing. It is annoying to get in and out of, since there is no Victorian separating busk, so I will one day buy some fan lacing slides when I have enough money for more corsetry!