20th Century, Sewing
Published on February 3, 2011

A ribbon corset

written by The Dreamstress

I took a break from serious sewing and whipped up a ribbon corset.  And I do mean whipped up – despite the very lackluster pattern and directions, and ribbon that wasn’t the same width as the original, it was super easy to do.

The corset was based on a pattern from Jill Salen’s ‘Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques’.  It dates to 1900.  The original is in the Fashion Museum, Bath.

The ribbon is a 3″ wide vintage ribbon from Nana’s stash.

Without any planning or forethought, I managed to match the pattern perfectly across the centre front.  Whoohoo for coincidental wins!

The pattern is a little busy and overwhelming, but I rather like the OTTness of it.

The inside of the corset is not quite as beautiful as my corsets usually are, but it’s still pretty.

I have a confession to make though.  I finished the backsides of the ribbon with iron-on interfacing, and just trimmed off the edges.  I know.  Naughty, naughty me!  Next time I’ll be good and use real fabric and sew it on.

At least my white on white stitching is as beautiful as usual – even smaller than the machine stitching!

Tomorrow I’ll review the pattern and tell how I made it, to make it easier to make your own.

11 Comments

  1. Rae says

    Gorgeous! Looking forward to tomorrow. I’m still on the fence about buying the book after your review of it, and getting a chance to flip through a copy once. So many good books out there, so little money…

  2. MrsC says

    Yum yum yum. And it really is even more vibrantly pretty in person! I wonder if I will get to see the original…

  6. Steph says

    So pretty, always a pleasure to see your hand-stitching. I’m playing with the idea of making myself a light corset of breathable fabric to wear under my clothes…. Hmmm… .

    • The Dreamstress says

      I already do! Contact me via the ‘contact me’ button and I do commissions! My etsy store should launch in March too though 😀

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