Chinese Corset

I made this corset for The Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild Annual Open House Raffle a few years ago (that was in San Francisco).  I shopped for the fabric in San Francisco's famous Chinatown.

Though not a thorough "how-to" I'll include some photos below on some basic construction when making a corset.

Putting in the Busk:  Since the brocade I used is fairly delicate I created a cover for each side of the busk which would slip in between the brocade fabric in the front.  I marked the fabric where the eyelets are and then left an opening for each eyelet when sewing the cover so the eyelets can show through. 

Marking the Eyelets:  The busk eyelets needs to show through the fabric in the front so you need to properly mark where they will "pop" through so that when you sew you sew up to the marks, skip over the opening and continue to sew.

Slip the Busk Eyelets Through:  Once you sew down the front piece press the piece and then slip the busk eyelets through the openings.  After its in use a zipper foot, sew close to the busk (be careful not the hit the busk as you sew.

The Other Side of the Busk:  you basically follow the same process for the other side of the busk with the posts--except the you need to use a pick or awl to gently make a hole just large enough for the post pieces to fit though.  Once they are all though you again sew close to the busk using a zipper foot to hold the busk in place.

Sewing the Busk In:  this is a photo of sewing the busk pieces into the fabric using a zipper foot.

Busks Are Ready for the Next Step:  the photo belows show the two finished busk covers ready to slip into the fashion fabric.

Busk Into Fashion Fabric:  now you can slip the busk cover into the fashion fabric.  You have to leave openings for the eyelets and make the holes for the busk points in the fashion fabric as well.  Be sure to sew close to the busks with a zipper foot to secure them.

Boning Channels:  I use seam binding for the spring steel channels and sew them down on the inside. You can also purchase boning casings which are quite a bit sturdier.   You sew the seam binding down leaving enough room to slip the bones into each "channel".  See the next photo for how it looks finished.

The Finished Inside:  this photo shows the finishing inside.

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