All posts tagged: corsets

Friday Review: Jill Salen’s 1900 Ribbon Corset

This is a review of the fit, comfort, and wearability of the 1900 ribbon corset pattern from Jill Salen’s Corsets: Historical Patterns and Techniques, and of the pattern itself. First, the pattern: The pattern, when you first confront it, looks ridiculously hard and completely incomprehensible. This is true of all ribbon corset patterns in my experience. As soon as you put a prototype together and figure out how it works, the logic of it all comes together in your mind (or at least it did in my mind!) and the whole thing makes perfect sense. There are some very interesting things about this pattern. Because the side, back, and front pieces are perfectly straight, the seams that meet them are very curved, to give the corset its curving and shape. The front and back seams are particularly curved. I’m not used to sewing two very curved seams at the centre front and back, modern seamstresses are generally taught to keep both of these seams perfectly straight, so it did take a little mind-readjustment. Flaws/problems in …

Why I’ve been a bad blogger

Published by The Dreamstress

I’m afraid I’ve been rather off my blogging form this week, and I do apologise. Rather than my usual post-a-day at 5.30ish (no, I don’t actually get up then, I write them the night before and schedule the posts!), I’ve been lucky to get a post every other day, and often they don’t publish until 5.30 in the afternoon. Anyway, over the last two weeks I have: – Made two new corsets – Finished the silver corset – Made 3 pairs of bloomers and two chemises, complete with extravagant amounts of lace and pin-tucks. – Submitted a project proposal to a museum – Submitted a paper abstract to a symposium – Worked on two wedding dress commissions – Given a talk on 1940s and 50s novelty prints to a quilting group. – Given two different talks on corsets to a burlesque expo (plus had all the planning and model fittings for 12 models for the talks). Plus made an attempt at keeping the house tidy, spending time with Mr Dreamy, spending time with my sister, …

1840s stays

Published by The Dreamstress

Hana-Marmota asked to see 1840s corsets (or stays, as they were still called by all but the most genteel), so here are some I have found. It’s not quite the hundreds I mentioned, but that would make for a very long post! 1840s corsets/stays (see this post for more information on the history of the terms and what to call what when) are probably relatively hard to find in museum collections because the 1840s was a period of transition in styles in corsets. Many corsets that were made or worn in the 1840s are probably identified as earlier, if they follow earlier fashions and techniques, or slightly later, if they use just-introduced cuts and materials. The style of corsets that would have been on its way out in the 1840s is based on the so-called ‘longline’ corsets of the 1810s and 20s, with a solid front busk, bust gussets, hip gussets or princess seams (well, what we would come to call princess seams) and shoulder straps. The waist suppression for these corsets is fairly minimal, …