1. Corded Corset Pattern
2. Corset Outline
3. Georgian Corset

Connect from the side waist line to the corset top line. You will now have to eyeball how big your pits are and sketch it in so it looks somewhat like a polearm blade - a halberd, for example - or an old-fashioned can opener (the hook variety). Stop and have a. Corset PNG Icon. Free Download Corset PNG vector file in monocolor and multicolor type for Sketch or Illustrator from Corset Vectors png vector collection. Corset Vectors PNG vector illustration graphic art. The corset has been an indispensable supportive undergarment for women, and some men, in Europe for several centuries, evolving as fashion trends have changed and being known, depending on era and geography, as bodies, stays and corsets. The appearance of the garment represented a change from people wearing clothes to fit their bodies to changing the shape of their bodies to fit their. Design sketch by Todd Thomas, Photo credit Period corsets ® Photo credit Theo Wargo Getty Images,Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2010 The Country cross-stitch fabric corset was a pattern we developed to include hip gussets of vintage tatted lace and pleated chiffon. Manladi Zipper Waist Trainer Corset For Women Everyday Workout Body Shaper Cincher Sweat Plus Size Shapewear Girdle 4.4 out of 5 stars 321. $19.99 - $23.99 #43. Gotoly Quick Weight Loss, Adjustable Straps Body Shaper Waist Cincher Tank Top 3.9 out of 5 stars 5,348.

Tightlacing (also called corset training) is the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset. It is done to achieve cosmetic modifications to the figure and posture or to experience the sensation of bodily restriction.

History[edit]

Corsets were first worn by members of all genders of Minoans of Crete, but did not become popular again until the sixteenth century. They remained a feature of fashionable dress until the French Revolution,^[1] when corsets for women were designed mainly to turn the torso into a fashionable cylindrical shape, although they narrowed the waist as well. They had shoulder straps, ended at the waist, flattened the bust, and, in so doing, pushed the breasts up. The emphasis of the corset became less on the smallness of the waist than on the contrast between the rigid flatness of the bodice front and the curving tops of the breasts peeking over the top of the corset.^{[citation needed]}

At the end of the eighteenth century, the corset fell into decline. Fashion for women embraced the Empire silhouette: a Graeco-Roman style, with the high-waisted dress that was unique to this style gathered under the breasts. The waist was no longer emphasised, and dresses were sewn from thin muslins rather than the heavy brocades and satins of the aristocratic high fashion style preceding it.

The reign of the Empire waist was short. In the 1830s, shoulders widened (with puffy gigot sleeves or flounces), skirts widened (layers of stiffened petticoats), and the waistline narrowed and migrated toward a natural position. By the 1850s, exaggerated shoulders were out of fashion and waistlines were cinched at the natural waist above a wide skirt. Fashion had achieved what is now known as the Victorian silhouette.

In the 1830s, the artificially inflated shoulders and skirts made the intervening waist look narrow, even with the corset laced only moderately. When the exaggerated shoulders disappeared, the style dictated that the waist had to be cinched tightly in order to achieve the same effect. It is in the 1840s and 1850s that the term 'tightlacing' is first recorded. It was ordinary fashion taken to an extreme^{[citation needed]}.

Young and fashionable women were most likely to tightlace, especially for balls, fashionable gatherings, and other occasions for display. Older, poorer, and primmer women would have laced moderately – just enough 'to be decent'^{[citation needed]}.

The Victorian and Edwardian corset differed from earlier corsets in numerous ways. The corset no longer ended at the waist, but flared out and ended several inches below the waist. The corset was exaggeratedly curvaceous rather than cylindrical. It became much sturdier in construction, thanks to improvements in technology. Spiral steel stays curved with the figure rather than dictating a cylindrical silhouette. While many corsets were still sewn by hand to the wearer's measurements, there was also a thriving market in cheaper mass-produced corsets.

In the late years of the Victorian era, medical reports and rumors claimed that tightlacing was fatally detrimental to health (see Victorian dress reform).^{[citation needed]} Women who suffered to achieve small waists were also condemned for their vanity and excoriated from the pulpit as slaves to fashion. It was frequently claimed that too small a waist was ugly rather than beautiful.^{[citation needed]} Dress reformers exhorted women to abandon the tyranny of stays and free their waists for work and healthy exercise.

Despite the efforts of dress reformers to eliminate the corset, and despite medical and clerical warnings, women persisted in tightlacing. In the early 1900s, the small corseted waist began to fall out of fashion. The feminist and dress reform movements had made practical clothing acceptable for work or exercise. The rise of the Artistic Dress movement made loose clothing and the natural waist fashionable even for evening wear. Couturiers such as Fortuny and Poiret designed exotic, alluring costumes in pleated or draped silks, calculated to reveal slim, youthful bodies. If one didn't have such a body, new undergarments, the brassiere and the girdle, promised to give the illusion of one.

Corsets were no longer fashionable, but they entered the underworld of the fetish, along with items such as bondage gear and vinyl catsuits. From the 1960s to the 1990s, fetish wear became a fashion trend and corsets made something of a resurgence. They are often worn as top garments rather than underwear. Most corset wearers own a few bustiers or fashionable authentic corsets for evening wear, but they do not tightlace. Historical reenactors often wear corsets, but few tightlace.

Effects[edit]

Tightlacing was believed to have been a contributing factor in the death of female impersonator Joseph Hennella in 1912.^[2]

Notable adherents[edit]

• Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi); 19.5 inches (49-50 cm)
• Polaire; about 1914; 13–14 inches (33–36 cm)
• Cathie Jung; 2006; 15 inches (38 cm)
• Dita Von Teese; 16.5 inches (42 cm)

See also[edit]

Tightlacing-related

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tightlacing.

1. ^Varrin, Claudia (2003). Erotic Surrender: The Sensual Joys of Female Submission. Citadel Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN0-8065-2400-6.
2. ^'Tight lacing is believed to have killed an actor'. St Louis Post-Dispatch. 4 November 1912. p. 1.

Further reading[edit]

• Tight Lacing, Peter Farrer. ISBN0-9512385-8-2
• The Corset and the Crinoline. A Book of Modes and Costumes from remote periods to the present time. Lord William Barry. (1869)
• Valerie Steele, The Corset: A Cultural History. Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN0-300-09953-3.
• David Kunzle, 'Fashion and fetishism: a social history of the corset, tight-lacing, and other forms of body-sculpture in the West', Rowman and Littlefield, 1982, ISBN0-8476-6276-4
• Bound To Please: A History of the Victorian Corset, Leigh Summers, Berg Publishers, 2001. ISBN1-85973-510-X

The Effigy Corset Reconstruction

Based on The Effigy Corset article
by Gwynne (J3kasper@aol.com)

When the Westminster Abbey effigies were recently removed and cleaned, the Elizabethan corset was examined by Janet Arnold. Mistress Drea of the MidRealm let me in on this secret, and let me see her own recreation of it. Caveat emptor I have tried to simplify the engineering of this corset into some geometry and basic math based on one photo of the garment and one fondling session with Mistress Drea’s recreation! While it worked for me, you may need to tweak it a bit.

To see photos & diagrams of this corset, check out Drea's article The Effigy Corset: A New Look at Elizabethan Corsetry.

STEP ONE -- Measurements

A popular TV home show says to measure twice and cut once. I generally measure twice, cut twice, fix it and cut again, but that's the nature of making a sloper and fitted pattern! You will need to have a good friend (or an evil one, depending on how honest you want to be) get the following measurements for you:

• Bust (at the widest point) minus two inches for standard busts, four for large (this is the ‘squish' factor and is variable)
• Waist (ditto, or the narrowest point, depending on how you are built) but do not subtract anything here or you will be uncomfortable and risk breaking the lower ribs
• Back length (the whole thing from base of the neck to the waist)
• Strap length (from spine/waist intersection in back up over the shoulder to pit area in front where the strap will join the front of your corset. Add two inches for lacing)
• Bust point -- how far up from the spine/waist intersection the widest point of your bust lives at. Depending on your body, it could be at the pit level or slightly above or below it.
• Front length -- from your belly button up to about how high you want the front of the corset. French corsets are low-cut; English corsets tend to be higher.

STEP TWO -- Patterning the back

You can start with the front, if you'd rather; I just did the back because it has more straight lines. Keep in mind that you can make a ‘half pattern' (cut one on fold) rather than a ‘whole pattern' (cut one). If you are fairly symmetrical, the half pattern works best.

1. Start at the bottom of your sloper (paper or fabric, it's up to you). This is where the spine and the waist are going to intersect (center back/waist). Make a dot so you know where you are, and remember to start about four inches from the bottom of the sloper for tabs!
2. Take the WAIST measurement and divide by four. This is the entire width of the lower back, so you only need half of that number to get you from the dot to the edge of the back pattern. Mark this point on the sloper (you can draw a line if you want).
3. From the original point and at right angles to the waist line you just drew, measure up the back and mark the BACK LENGTH. Draw a straight line (for the fold).
4. On the line you just drew, measure up from the original point and mark where the BUST POINT goes. Make a dot or an x or something to mark the spot.
5. Take the BUST measurement (remember you took something off for ‘squish') and divide by four.
6. At right angles to the center back, draw a line from the BUST POINT marker across to the edge of your BUST.
7. Draw a fairly straight line to connect the BUST you just finished with the WAIST you finished in step 2.
8. THIS IS THE TRICKY PART. The strap needs to go at about a 45 degree angle from the bust point/center back marking to the end of the strap. I use the grid on my cutting board to draw a line along this 45 degree angle.
9. From the spine/waist intersection (yes, way down there) measure the STRAP LENGTH up and out. You should intersect with the 45 degree line where the end of your strap length is. This is the point you want to mark; it is the tip of the strap, which will lace into the front/pit of your corset.
10. Do the dot-to-dot. I start at the center back/neckline and draw a shallow curve up to about the shoulder, then angle quickly up to the strap end, then back down along the edge to the bust point. From the bust point to the waist is a fairly straight line, and should eventually be about the same angle as you get for the edge of the front!
11. Cut it out, leaving the extra four inches of fabric at the bottom for the tabs which will be helping to hold out your skirts in the back.

Take time out for a Pepsi, Coke, iced tea, hot tea, or vodka and lemonade. You deserve it!

STEP THREE -- Patterning the front

1. When patterning the back, you took your waist measurement divided by four. You will now take this number and multiply it by 1.5 (one and a half). Trust me -- you end up with ¾ of the pattern in the two front pieces and ¼ of the pattern in the back, which makes your seams run down the shoulder blades in a very nice, period manner.
2. Starting at the waist/center front point and leaving about a foot to the bottom of your sloper (for the extended waist point of the corset), make a spot about where your belly button is. This is the center front point.
3. From this point, measure out to the side and mark where the waist ends. (This is the waist divided by four times one and a half figure from #1 above.) Draw a line so you don't forget what you have going here.
4. From the center front (belly button) point, measure up the FRONT LENGTH and mark where the top of your corset is going.
5. Take your bust measurement divided by four times one and a half (just like the waist, only use the bust). Measure out from the center front and mark this at right angles. This should be the top of your corset (give or take a little). Draw a line.
6. Connect from the side waist line to the corset top line. You will now have to eyeball how big your pits are and sketch it in so it looks somewhat like a polearm blade -- a halberd, for example -- or an old-fashioned can opener (the hook variety).
7. Stop and have a look at the side front and side back patterns. These should be at about the same angle, as the pieces will overlap when you put them together. A little give and take is OK!
8. Sketch in the bottom of the front. You need to measure down from your belly button to determine how long you want the front point to be. Depending on the time period, it could be flat (Tudor) to about three inches (early Elizabethan) to about 8-10 inches (very late period). Keep in mind what type of gown you will probably be wearing this under, and don't give yourself a huge point if you are to wear Tudor.
9. If you want tabs sticking out on the front, remember to sketch them in. I leave a gap right over my hip bones so I don't end up with things digging me in the boniest part of my hips. If your gown is to be flat across the front, don't put tabs in!
10. Cut it out. Cut it out again (you have two fronts, you know).

Have another drink (or two). Take a good gander at the three pieces you now have before you. Your life depends on these!

STEP FOUR -- Basting and Fitting

This is standard sewing; the tough part is done! Just baste the sides of the fronts to the sides of the backs. In fact, you can use duct tape to hold it together to make sure your pieces are engineered correctly! You want the fronts to meet without overlapping, and the straps to run along the bias to the edge of your armpit. Make any necessary adjustments to the sloper, remove it, repattern as needed, and then move on.

STEP FIVE -- The real thing

Corded Corset Pattern

Now you cut the fronts (2 of each) and back (2) out of your fabric. If you are using something which is not as heavy as a 100% duck or twill, you will need to make 8 fronts and 4 backs, and put the boning in the center of the layers.

Corset Outline

The following is a good process to follow, but you will undoubtedly find other ones which work as well!

1. Baste the two left fronts together along the edges. Ditto the right fronts, and the back. Leave the bottom edge open for the boning to go into.
2. Quilt the fronts, using the straight center front as a guide. If you use the presser foot edge as a quilting guide, you will end up with channels which will easily hold two 3mm reeds (bents).
3. Ditto the backs, running the first line of stitching down the straight center back.
4. Sew a holding line about an inch down from the top edge. This stops the bents from going all the way to the upper edge, and gives the line so often found in Elizabethan portraits.
5. Use extra wide double fold seam binding (or make your own, or use leather if you are ambitious) and bind all the open edges except the bottom. (I machine stitch unless I am going to enter in a competition!)
6. Put in eyelets along the center fronts. I put them about 1 -- 1 ½ inches apart so that they don't gap easily. If you are bone flat, you won't need to put them that close together, but if you are extremely busty (or move around a lot) you may want them closer. Don't go too close -- you can end up tearing the fabric.
7. Bone it. You can stuff in as many bents as you can get into one channel, but make sure you leave the first channel open in the front for eyelets!
8. Stitch it together. This is done by overlapping the front sides and the back sides, then whipstitching (or whatever stitch turns you on) to get the one firmly attached to the other. Yes I know it looks funny and doesn't seem right, but Mistress Drea tells me this is how it works and if you are careful, it is fairly sturdy!
9. Try it on. Yes, at last! If you have boned too much (ie: it took up too much space), take some of the bents out. I remove one from every other channel (doing the back first, as I don't need extra support there) until it fits more smoothly.
10. When you have the bents increased or reduced so it fits just the way you want, finish the bottom edge by binding it.

You are now done! Add eyelet holes at the pit area and the end of the straps, make sure you tied all the threads off and cut them flush with the fabric, and take it out for a test spin under your favorite late-period gown! Get ready for breathless compliments and awe-stricken looks.

Georgian Corset

If you have questions or comments on this article, you can contact me at J3kasper@aol.com