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Edwardian Corset and Corset Cover

    Please allow me to take you back to last year. Well, actually, that might not be the best plan. Let’s leave 2020 in the past. Anyway. In 2020, I had a project which I called “Unmentionables Through The Decades”. As a whole, this project was very successful. I managed to complete a good number of my planned sewing projects that year. There were a few projects that I didn’t blog, a few that I might do later, and a few that I don’t plan to make after all. Today, I thought I’d get back to my Edwardian undergarments set. This is by far my favorite set in this series. I blogged about the drawers, the chemise, and the “bustle”  last year.  This week, I’ll write about the corset and the corset cover, and finish up the 1900s series next week with the petticoats.


    Corsets are always my least favorite projects, but I am incredibly pleased with this one. They are usually a lot of work, for a garment that isn’t even seen. This is the “Edwardian Straight Front Corset” from Black Snail Patterns on Etsy. I was happy with this pattern, and I can recommend it. It comes together easily (for a corset). Construction took maybe two weeks, on and off. The fabric is some type of polyester brocade or something similar. It’s woven with roses in it, and it’s simply beautiful. Again, I have no idea where it came from. I took half of the fabric and used it here. The other half I dyed purple and will use for another project. I used the brocade for the fashion layer and coutil for the strength layer. All the notions (busk, boning, boning casing, lacing, etc.) are from corsetmaking.com. I really like the support that spiral steel boning provides, but I must say I don’t enjoy working with it. Attaching the tips is fiddly and annoying.  I think the fit is fairly decent, even though I made no alterations to the pattern.


    

    The corset cover is from Truly Victorian’s “Edwardian Underwear” view A. I found some white embroidered cotton in my stash. The multiple ruffles on front are lace trim. This pattern is very good, but some parts of the instructions might be a bit complicated. An example; The neckline edge facing is sewn to the inside of the piece, then flipped to the outside and topstitched down. Not impossible or anything, but might be confusing for beginners. There are 5 buttons down the front. Again, found in my stash. They are similar to those pearl buttons or snaps on cowboy shirts. Thankfully, the buttonhole function on my machine decided to cooperate this time. I think it’s lovely. And of course, I love the silhouette it gives me. 



    The Edwardian look really is capturing my heart recently. It’s so feminine and lovely. My Constance Hatchaway wig really completes the look, in my opinion. It’s just too fabulous. 



    Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust


    Sarah
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