Corset Time

I've been intending on posting these corset pics for a couple months. They're a bit meh and the photos suck because I'm still using that crap camera I got on eBay. Click on the photos so you can see just how much my camera sucks mega rancid dog's ass.

The two patterns I used--both are Civil War era corsets but the one on the left has gussets at the bust and hip and the one on the right is a basic French-style corset with hourglass-shaped pieces. Easy to follow instructions, but the fit isn't what I'm looking for. They're not intended for anything resembling figure-training and I was a bit too lazy to measure and do any adjusting. Crap. I'll sew the one on the right again, but not without some pretty severe waist shaping.

Simplicity 7215. I used black cotton coutil for the body of the corset and for the gussets I put in some antique embroidered silk from the thrift store that had some dry-rot holes and couldn't be used for anything big. It's a little too orange for my taste, but still nice and dramatic. The shaping could be a bit less cylindrical.

Interior of the above corset. Red lining fabric from an old coat and coutil was used for the boning casings. I kinda like the inside more than the outside. One thing I hate about this style of corset is all the hand sewing to get the gussets in properly and the hand stitching to keep the fabric from splitting, etc. I had done all the hand sewing a couple of months ago and did all the machine sewing one Saturday afternoon and nearly ruined my hands with my grommet setter.

Simplicity 5726. I cut this one out two sizes smaller than the pattern suggested and still had to take in a tuck in the fabric on either side of the back lacings, so it doesn't curve in nicely. This one will definitely be measured and redrawn so the pieces will curve in a couple of inches at the waist. The bust and hip measurements are fine. The skull fabric came from some butt-ugly thrift store skater pants--and I've been wanting to use it for something for ages.

I've worn them both out to the clubs and they're not uncomfortable and I get a lot of people wanting to know what the fabric is, but I really want them to be shaped a bit more hour-glassy. I normally take in about four inches at the waist so putting on a corset that maybe takes in one or two kinda ticks me off. Dammit.

I want my next corset to be PVC. Gots to be PVC, and I've found a couple places online that sell it cheap, not that it really needs to be since a corset only takes maybe a yard of fabric. Shame I haven't got the bucks for a pair of PVC platform boots to match. Crap.