a Corset from 1917

 

`CORSETS` Jill salen  p. 90

This is a relatively simple corset and not difficult to draw up. I measured all parts in the reference pictures, added up for waist, hip, and under bust measure, and compared with my models measurements. I only had to enlarge the model a little and for ease sake I decided to add 10% to all horizontal measures. I chose to keep the exact length of the original because I wanted see that in real, and I expected it to be simple to add length after fitting if needed.

I learned that for a corset like this it is a waste of time to draw a basic block. I only needed waist, hip and under bust line in the square of a basic block.
I was generally less impressed with this reference as with the 1890 corset. There were details with the length of seams and the placement of the waist band. For no reason the back piece is drawn out of line with the other pieces. Nothing that confuses the understanding of the pattern, it just seems sloppy.
And something I did not understand was the curve in the seam next to CB.

The text describes the bone at CB to be 1.25 cm when they in the diagram are only 1 cm

When sewing the toil I learned that there is a limit to the depth of a curve if it should make up a fell seem, and this corset has bones that are 17,5 mm wide. I only had steel that is 15 mm wide and the SA in this seam could not stretch to make a fell seem without snipping in to it. That makes this particular seem implausible.  ? ?

When first putting it on I placed it too high, so it had to be undone and pulled down but all the pictures show that the corset is still placed about 2 cm too high in this fitting. I don’t think it will matter very much due to the waist in the corset is long and in a way undefined, but I noted at the fitting to make the corset 5 cm longer but I will leave that at 3 cm.

       It is interesting to note that with both this and the first corset I see things in the photos after the fitting that I should have seen doing the fitting! 

 Seeing the bones pointing out makes it clearer why all the bones in the original are rounded so very neatly.

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Comparing with the reference

First Fitting

After seeing the corset on Franciesca I am puzzled about how much wider the original corset is around the ribcage than the waist. I didn’t expect this corset to be very tight lace for the reason that one can`t lace in hips the same way as a waist. But it looks like the original has been laced rather tightly since the ribs are much wider than the waist. My corset was too wide around the ribcage, this could have something to do with the fact that I placed the corset too high.

I pinned away about 9 cm all round. I decided only to take away 7 cm in the pattern. I added two cm in CB, and I believe that when the corset is placed rightly and pulled in to make CB meet, the corset will fit Franciesca well.