Please help me fit my corset!

[theladyrebecca]

I finished the corset mockup today, and tried it on. It's definitely too big - it closes all the way at the bottom, just about all the way at the top, and there's only a small gap at the waist. So it needs to be significantly smaller. I think I want to take about .75-1" out at the CF, because the bust seems rather spread, but maybe that's how it should be? I'm struggling with where to take the rest out (I think I want at least 3" taken out total), because, though it's closing all the way at the bottom, the hip gusset shapes feel pretty right, and I like the curve they give. I'm thinking I can maybe take back out the .5" that I added in the middle of the back piece, which I had continued through the gusset piece as well. And maybe the other .5" should come out of the side back piece at the side seam?

I'm also thinking I need a little more length in the bust area. I made it with seam allowances (including at the top and bottom), and while I think the bottom will still look fine .5" shorter, the top dips down quite a bit, and seems to me to need at least the seam allowance added, if not .5" more. I may even decide to add additional seam allowance to the bottom, too. What do you all think?

The other most noticeable issues are that it gaps a bit under the arm, and should probably taper in up to 1" starting about 3" to the top on the side seam. The most center front bust gussets are also way too big. I tried pinning out some of the excess, and it's looking like I will need to take as much as 1" out of the top of those gussets.

I'm hoping with the plethora of pictures, you all can help me with fit issues! I only have one flat steel at the CF, and one at each lacing edge in the CB, the rest is just one layer of somewhat lightweight canvas, unboned. (Do I need to bone corset mockups?) I curved the CB bone around the tummy, to get the natural form look. I do have the area in the back at the waist and side where it kind of wants to crunch in at the waist. Is this normal without boning, or is this a fit issue?

And yes, I realized that I should have used an unpatterned fabric. This is really hard to see!



I'm wondering if the curve around the side at the bottom hem shouldn't go up quite as far. Also, I think the weird wrinkle in the top of the back was because I was wearing my bra in these pics. I forgot to take a pic of the back once I took it off, so I'm hoping it went away! The corset felt a little loose in that area, though, too.



Closeups of the hip gusset shapes, and that wrinkle at the waist:


I realized part-way through my photos that I was wearing it with my bra on, so these are without, which actually made the corset top even gappier.


You can see just how gappy the bust was at the top here. I think in the second photo, I had pinned it smaller. There was a definite curve under the bust, which you can see in the second photo - not sure if that's a shape issue, or if it's just a lack of boning. Any ideas?


I would love any and all suggestions!

Comments

[hiraimi.livejournal.com]

You are having exactly the same issues I am, lol! I'm going to follow this post like crazy. I pondered starting the hip curve a little bit higher to try to take care of some of the horizontal waist wrinkle - in essence raising the waist a bit.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Had you added any length to the waist prior to that? I added 3" because it was so short!

[hiraimi.livejournal.com]

I hadn't - I just took the 1880s pattern out of C+C and scaled it up, and added to the pieces to make it fit my measurements (I added too much, as it turns out!). But it seems I'm a tad short-waisted, so I often have to take out at the waist anyway.

When I was making my 1830s corset I added to the waist because my previous set of long stays was way too short - and I added maybe an inch too much, so it buckles horribly! Waist-length is my nemesis, clearly.