Stay With Me
By TwistieIf you are at all interested in historical costuming, then you know the right shape of corset makes the difference between the correct line and… well, all those costumes that just aren’t ever going to look quite right.
Unfortunately, modern shaping garments just won’t give you the look you need, whether it’s renaissance or roaring twenties. Antique corsets – even if I could in good conscience promote the wearing of actual historical clothing – are often fragile, and not fitted to a more modern body. Custom corsets can cost a packet and may or may not offer you precisely what you need.
But what if you could make your own?
Ah, but now you can! In fact, I can show you where to go to learn how to draft your own pattern for a corset.
Your Wardrobe Unlock’d offers up a freebie set of instructions for drafting your own pattern for your own set of 1870’s stays… and from there you can simply adjust the proportions for a corset from virtually any era. The instructions can be downloaded in pdf format in either a color coded version or in printer-friendly black and white.
Even if you don’t want to make your own corset, I highly recommend a wander through the site. Even if the closest you’ve come to making an historic costume is to drool over an evening gown on Downton Abbey, you’ll find something of interest here. Alas! many of the best bits are only available to those who subscribe, but there are a lot of pretty pictures you can see before you need to pay. And as I said, the corset drafting instructions are free as the proverbial bird.