Steampunk Corset (Bustier)

My niece wanted a steampunk corset and I was delighted to volunteer. Always looking for a new challenge! One big consideration in the pattern choice is that my niece does not have a lot of experience wearing restrictive garments, such as ren faire bodices, tight-lace hourglass corsets, etc. I decided on a simple bustier type "corset" (in quotes) to get her started.

I chose Simplicity pattern #1819, the steampunk bolero outfit.

It's a solid wraparound piece that laces up the back, so there is no busk.

My first step was to trace the pattern pieces according to her measurements. I used my trusty French curve from the dollar store.

Then the cutting happens. My niece purchased some very nice black coutil, which cuts like a dream...

...and I marked the pieces with chalk to keep myself from going crazy.

For the fashion fabric, she bought this heavy vinyl pleather-type stuff with a felt backing. It's gorgeous but it had some challenges for the pins and the scissors. I ended up tracing on the wrong side with chalk and cutting, instead of trying to jam a pin through the pattern paper.

Getting it through the sewing machine also required some adjustments. I used my trusty office supplies to clip the vinyl pieces together instead of trying to get a pin into it.

A great trick I learned from a Carol Wood corset workshop, I used a cardboard form tube from the hardware store that is usually used as a mold for cement pillars. It approximates the curve of a human body, so I draped the vinyl over the black coutil lining.

I had some fiddling to do with making the 2 different textures mesh together. When I stitched-in-the-ditch to stabilize the seams, the one on the end did not quite synch up. But it only shows on the inside!

There it is laid out before I put in the grommets and the boning channels. I can't wait to visit her and try it on! We'll talk about the embellishments.

Oh, and I made a little top hat to match.

White and Gold Corset

I have been promising and promising my daughter that I'd make her a white and gold corset. I got this fabulous white brocade from a friend taking down her curtains. I've lined the inside with the beige coutil I had leftover from another project.

The mail order busk arrived yesterday, and I put it in the seams last night. It looks really lovely so far.

Now it's ready to try on, and make any last fitting adjustments before I do the boning channels. This is my first attempt at a "nice" corset using the Silverado style in the Laughing Moon pattern -- yeah, the one with the intimidating gore inserts. I've tried it before with plain denim for my friend to wear under her Dickens Fair gown, but never something nice enough to be seen. The pressure is on!!

Grommets... Done!

For a little over $100, there's an industrial strength, table mounted grommet setting tool. If I were making corsets professionally, I might invest in one. But for now, I still do the grommets by hand -- one at a time. This is an enjoyable hobby, a stress releaser, and a way to exercise my brain.

Here is my funky little tool set:  a tack hammer, a grommet setter, my new ergonomic awl, a chopstick, and of course the lovely antique brass 00 size grommets + washers.

I did a few last night and finished the rest early this morning. I'm sorry, neighbors, for the incessant "tink-tink-tink" noise! There's a total of 26 holes in this corset. I timed myself and it took roughly 45 minutes each side. Each hole is tenderly pried open with the awl, expanded with the chopstick, and grommet + washer is gently tapped in.

This is a view of the inside (the coutil) layer. The advantages of the special corset grommets are that they are smaller than the jumbo ones sold at JoAnn's or Hancock Fabrics, yet larger than the hideous eyelets that need to be squeezed with the hand-hurting pliers type tool. Also, they don't split open like a daisy, but fit really nicely into the washers so they are smooth on both sides.

Of course there are mistakes. I won't point them out because they're not so bad. It still looks really good from the outside.

And I am loving the color of the antique brass grommets on this turquoise-brown satin! 

One Grommet At A Time

For fixing the mistake from yesterday, I cut a new center front piece of fancy brocade and prepp'ed it by attaching to the saved piece of coutil. Blank slate, just like before. I marked again where holes should be poked but stopped before going at it. One shouldn't do precision work when one is tired! I'll bring it to the office and do it tomorrow on my lunch hour.

Instead, I worked on my Regency gown a little.... yes, I have a project on the side for myself! It's the old standard Simplicity 4055 that I've always wanted to try. I stopped at where I'll need to make a placket for the back opening of the skirt. I've never made a placket before! And let's not even think about the button holes right now.

Then I decided to whack at things with a hammer. After all these years of Ren Faire bodices, pounding in grommets is something I know how to do. I made a tool for myself of hole punches in pattern graph paper and used it to mark in chalk where grommet holes should go. Boy that coutil is a dense tight weave! I had quite a time coaxing those threads open before I managed to put in just one. One is enough for now.

The "antique brass" color grommets match up with the "antique brass" color busk hooks. They're going to look really nice on the turquoise-and-brown brocade.