Mid-1860s corsets

[theladyrebecca]

I've been twiddling around a bit with 1860s corsets, trying to find a pattern diagram, and to figure out exactly what I wanted from the corset. I found an 1868 diagram, which is a little late, and an 1863, which is a little early. I blew up the 68 and put it together on paper, but it doesn't have bust gores, and looking at all the corsets I like online, they all have bust gores. The hip is also not quite what I wanted, though it does all make up to a nice shape. Looking at the 63, I think it's a little closer, but the bodice shapes don't seem quite curvy enough,  and the hip gore still isn't perfect.

My favorite two corsets I've seen online for this era are these:


Both of them have an interesting hip gore/peplum piece that both stop at the side seam. There are no back views of the orange one, but I have to figure it's constructed quite similarly to the blue one, which is, two main bodice pieces (front and back), front peplum/gore, back hip gore, and two bust gores. I rather like the flowy top and bottom edges of the orange one (and the color!), though I do wonder if the flat top of the blue would be more practical. I also don't think I want it to be fully boned in front like the blue one - that seems a bit much.

Here's a question, though. The blue corset's boning all stops at the waistline, except for CF and CB. The orange may also have one bone that goes all the way to the hem at the side seam, though I can't tell. But can anyone who has worn a corset with boning like this tell me if it winds up digging in at the waist?

Also, does anyone have a pattern closer to this than the 1863 one I have?



And in other news, my Joanns doesn't carry idye, so I decided to try Dylon. It sucks. Like, even with two packets of dye, my fabric didn't even get that bright before rinsing. I'm going to try Pacific Fabrics tomorrow, but if it doesn't carry idye, I'm just going to forgo the sateen, and go for the kona cotton that already comes in the right color... :(

Comments

[pinkdiamond.livejournal.com]

They kind of do, but kind of don't... I made two that are similar- hip gores. I definitely found getting the curve at the bottom of the waist and at the top of the hip gores really important. I am not phrasing this well...

The waist seam should be an anchor- it should not stretch, but the cure of the bottom of the torso pieces and the top of the hip gores can stretch out as you sew. And the shapes also cause the fabric to flare out fairly dramatically and severely so it can create an insanely dramatic waist-hip difference. So the waist seam will pull in quite firmly anyway so the bones don't dig in quite as much. But you do have to be careful with that seam as it can feel like a cord around the waist.

And I struggled with accepting it as I already have a very dramatic waist to hip! It's seriously annoying as combined with a small bust I feel very hippy- I should be thinking I have a small waist, but with the small bust it just feels like HIPS!!!.

So if you look at the orange one you can see there is a very definite hip flare. Do not be afraid of it. let it flare out.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the hip flare is definitely what I'm going for with this one. I think that's why I like the shape of the orange one so much.

[fairegoddess.livejournal.com]

I think Jen made a version of the orange one...?

[jenthompson.livejournal.com]

I made one like this and found it to be very comfortable. I never noticed any pain from the boning at the waist.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Ooh, please tell me more! Do you remember what pattern you used?

[jenthompson.livejournal.com]

I used the Foy pattern. It worked really great!

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Did you alter it at all, like with bust gussets or anything? I'd love to see pictures if you have them!

[jenthompson.livejournal.com]

I made it pretty true to the pattern, if I remember correctly. I think I might have lengthened the waist a little since I am pretty long-waisted, but that's about it. I don't know where the original pics went (I made this LONG ago and wrote about it on my long-lost website) but I'll be happy to slip it on today and snap a pic for you. I made a new corset when I lost lots of weight, but I'm plump enough now that it should fit again.

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

I made an 1880's corset that has corded hip panels. Most of the bones end at the waist with full length bones at center front, center back, and right on the sides. I haven't had any trouble with bones feeling that they're digging in.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

It seems like that side bone is pretty key. Did you use metal boning, or german plastic?

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

I used flat steel. There are two right next to each other that go right down the side.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I used the 1863 Sebille corset patent last year, adjusting it to have the hip gore in front and a small insert in the back (ie, like the blue corset). It doesn't seem to dig in at the waist, although tbh I haven't worn it since last July, so maybe I'm misremembering. The main issue I had was that the lacing gap ended up really skewed - very wide at the top and nonexistent at the bottom.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Do you have any pictures, by any chance?

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

It's strange that the Dylon didn't work. I used the Bahama blue on some cotton velveteen for my GoT costume and got a very bright blue. Anyways, something more useful, this pattern is later than you wanted but it has the pattern shapes that you're talking about: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/565131453226701799/
I think that style of corset, with the bust gores, curved hip gore, and back hip gore was popular for a long time. In Salen's Corsets book there is a picture of a corset like that dated 1875 and there another one with a pattern dated 1890.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that pattern looks great. I'll have to give that a try. And yeah, I came across a gorgeous deep blue one with this shape, too, which was dated to 1875 or so.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I played around with the Sebille a bit last year, too, and I think it has good potential. It's important to observe the grain lines on the pieces. IMHO it's not too early; corsets that real women were wearing didn't get thrown out every six months for the new shape. Of course, the flip side is that the patent date tends to lag several years behind production. So the '68 one is believable as well.

[theladyrebecca.livejournal.com]

That's good to know about the patent dates - I had no idea. Did you wind up finishing making up the Sebille pattern?

[starlightmasque.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to add, but enjoyed the conversation! I hope it all works out for you!