Three cheers to Truly Victorian patterns!

Truly Victorian 1903 Edwardian Corset.

As someone who has made corsets for years, making a corset with only one layer seemed like it wouldn’t be strong enough. So, I used two layers of cotton canvas together as one.  Turns out- unless you are planning to tight lace- one was fine. 

The pattern is easy to use and put together- but it does not show where to put in the boning.  Most examples show vertical pieces.

For mine, I used synthetic whalebone and put row after row of it between the two layers. So many pieces. So. Many. More than 50.

Padding.

So let’s talk about padding- and lots of it.  In order to achieve the s-bend corset shape, even my curvy full figure needs padding in the bust and hips.

First- with this corset, the bust curve outward is only about an inch above the waist. The flare in the front is to give the soft bust line shape known as the pigeon breast. The reality is that the fullness of the bust is at the top of the corset and padding is required to fill in the empty space at the under bust area. It is frankly uncomfortable without padding.  Big bonus? The finished bust line is at a natural place and very comfortable.

Hip padding- at the back. Yup, the shape needs booty in the back- notably not in the sides really.  There was a big visual difference when I made the back pad in the pattern and wore it under the corset. Those history people, they know things.