Adia Sisson
Adia Sisson
This was my first corset made from a pattern I drafted myself from Cathy Hay's tutorial, "Draft Your Corset Pattern", found on Your Wardrobe Unlock'd. It is an example of a modern corset, as it is shaped to my exact measurements rather than relying on padding and/or tightlacing to fill out an exaggerated shape.
This was my first real foray into corset-making back toward the beginning of COVID, when I was quarantined for seven weeks due to signs of sickness. While bored out of my mind and slightly manic, I decided that I must make anything and everything, starting with a custom corset. I was sure that making a corset pattern from scratch using my exact measurements was the best way to get a good fit. I no longer believe this. Corsets work by redistributing flesh above and below the waistline. For maximum comfort, the bust and waist must be slightly too large so that there is somewhere for the flesh to go, rather than just being stuck where it is and wildly constrained. This is why modern Amazon corsets are so uncomfortable; they are just tube-shaped prisons lined with steel.
Following Cathy Hay's tutorial on Your Wardrobe Unlock'd, I drafted my pattern the old fashioned way: with a good old pencil and giant sheet of paper that was used as padding for a delivery. The tutorial works more or less by multiplying and dividing measurements to find approximate spacing, such as 1/4 back bust or back hip x 0.12. While the calculations seem arbitrary, everything comes together quite nicely.
The corset itself is constructed using a twill cotton upholstery fabric, sewn with outward-facing seams that are then turned and topstitched. The bones are actually repurposed extra large zip ties, which work quite well to create lightweight structure. The corset is then lined with a lightweight cotton, which is sewn in by hand using whip stitches. The edges are finished with 1/2 inch cotton twill tape, which is also used to lace the back.
Fit wise, the hips are much too small, leading to a triangular shaped opening in the back, as the top overlaps, opening wider moving down.
Hay, Cathy. "Draft Your Corset Pattern." Your Wardrobe Unlock'd, Foundations Revealed, 2007, https://mail.yourwardrobeunlockd.com/index-of-articles/costumemaking/paterns/72-corset-drafting2?start=1.