Make an Early Victorian Corset
See how I made an early Victorian corset from start to finish, from an 1857 Godey’s Lady’s Magazine pattern.
If you’ve been following The Cozy Cuttlefish in the past few months, you know I’ve been making mockups for an 1850s style gored corset to wear for living history.
I have never made a corset before, so it has been a long process of trial and (a lot of) error. I spent a lot of time researching shapes, construction, and materials to come up with something that I could actually achieve, and will give the proper support and period silohuette.
If you want to see all the sources I’ve used for your own research, be sure to take a look at the first part of this project, where I go over my research journey in a lot of detail.
To be ready to sew the final corset I made a really rough mock up. Then I made a slightly better mockup. Now, I’ve thrown caution to the wind and made my own Victorian corset.
So follow along with the final leg of this journey and see how you can make a corset of your own, even if you’ve never made one before!
Skip Ahead
Final Pattern Adjustments
Before cutting out my fabric, I had to adjust my pattern a little.
This is a very simple corset pattern. There is a front piece, a back piece, a front hip gore, a back hip gore, and a bust gore that gets used twice on each front.
My second mockup was too big, so I took some width out of the front and back panels. This was easy to do, just trimming away each pattern piece a little.
Then I needed to adjust some of the gores. The front hip gore was too wide. Using the marks I made while wearing my second mockup, I trimmed this down to size as well.
The bust gores were still a little too small, so I made a slightly bigger version.
Now my pattern was ready to trace onto the fabric!
What I used to make a Victorian corset
Materials
Fabric
I found a sturdy white cotton twill fabric that was a reasonable price. It should work well for this corset since I won’t be wearing it daily. This Victorian corset used about a yard of 60 inch width fabric.
Thread
Believe it or not, thread was the last thing I acquired for my corset. I actually had forgotten to get any and had to run to the craft store at the last minute to get some.
I just use a simple white cotton thread, which perfectly matched the fabric of my corset.
Split Busk
To make a corset that is easy to take on and off, you need a split busk. The busk is the rigid part in the middle front of a corset with hooks on one side and posts on the other.
You’ll need to know what length busk you need before you get one. I used a 12 inch busk.
Grommets
To make the lacing holes in the back, you need enough grommets to place evenly along each back edge. I used 18 size 00 grommets.
If you are having trouble finding corsetry supplies, I found a great selection at CorsetMaking.com.
Boning
There are a lot of boning options for corsetry. Flat steel, spiral steel, synthetic whalebone are all great choices. You can even use some heavy duty zip ties from the hardware store!
I used a combination of 1/4 inch flat steel bones and synthetic whale bone. Like my busk, I used 12 inch steel bones. The synthetic whale bone I had was in a large coil, so I cut each individual bone down to size, as needed.
Twill Tape
Twill tape was very useful for this project. I used 1/4”, 3/4”, and 1” widths of white cotton twill tape.
The 1/4” tape become the top drawstring. I used the 3/4” width as a waist stay tape. The 1” tape made it easy to put boning channels wherever I needed them.
Cotton Cord
Cotton yarn can be very useful in adding a little extra structure to a corset. I used this while making a mockup, and in the bust of the final corset.
Lacing Cord
You’ll need a long cord to lace the back of the corset closed. I used a white 8 foot cord that is basically an extra long shoelace. You could get away with a shorter lacing cord, but I wanted this corset to be as easy to get in and out of as possible.
Embroidery Floss
For a gored corset, like this one, you will have a few raw edges at the apex of each gore. Looking at extant corsets, these spots have a bit of embroidery or overcast stitches to keep the fabric from fraying.
I used a bit of embroidery floss and stitched these places by hands. For a bit of interest, I picked a light blue floss to give a touch of color against the white of the corset.
You can also use embroidery floss to add stitches around the ends of the bones of the corset to add some visual interest and add reenforcement to the ends of the bones. There are so many fun designs for corset flossing!
Tools
Sewing Machine and/or Needle and Thread
I used a combination of machine sewing and hand sewing to make my corset. It is completely possible to make a corset using only one or the other. How you want to sew your corset depends on what you have available and what you are comfortable using.
Water Soluble Marker
I like using a water soluble marker, especially on white fabric. It makes nice clear lines that disappear like magic later.
Straight Edge and/or Ruler
Just about any sewing project will require some measuring. For corsetry, you will really want a nice straight edge to help you place all the boning channels.
A Lot of Straight Pins
I used so many pins while I was making this corset. As things come together, it gets more and more difficult to work with. Pins are your best friend.
Quilting Clips
You don’t need to have quilting clips, but if you have them, they were very useful for holding things in place while sewing in each half of the busk.
Iron and Ironing Board
Ironing is pretty standard for any sewing project. You could theoretically make a corset without it, but it will be a lot more difficult and won’t look as nice in the end.
Grommet Setter and Mallet
If you are using grommets, you’ll need a way to place them. There are fancy grommet presses, but I just used a cheap mallet and the setting die that came with the grommets.
Awl
An awl is a pointy tool used to poke hole in fabric. This was very useful to add the busk to the corset.
Garden Shears and Sandpaper
If you are cutting down synthetic whalebone or zip ties, you’ll want something heavy duty to cut the length you want, and shape the tips. I used a pair of small garden shears, and that worked great.
I also recommend having a bit of sandpaper so you can take off any sharp edges on your bones.
Seam Ripper
Things will go wrong. You will need to take apart things you just sewed together. It’s just how sewing is.
Sewing a Victorian Corset Together
Cutting Out Fabric
The first thing I did was trace out two of each of my pattern pieces (four of the bust gores) onto the back of my fabric. I made sure I had mirror images of each piece and enough room around each piece for about 1/2” of seam allowance. I don’t worry a lot about precise seam allowance as long as I have a clear stitch line to follow.
On the back lacing edge I left 2” of seam allowance so I could fold it over and make boning channels around the lacing holes. This also doubles up the fabric at the grommets, which will make it stronger.
I also cut out two 2” wide strips that were as long as the front of the corset. These will get sewn to the front edge of the corset so that the busk can be added.
This is all I cut out at first. I ended up needing another set of four bust gores so I could add cording to the bust. I also needed four 1 1/2” strips the length of the top and bottom edges of the corset for binding.
Adding Gores
I started by sewing in the gores. They can be a bit fiddly to manipulate, so it was easier to sew them in first, before I had the rest of the corset to contend with.
The cut edges on the front and back panels where the gores fit got ironed to the back side with as little seam allowance as I could get away with.
Then each gore was placed in its spot and top stitched it.
I found it much easier to sew these in while looking at the right side of the corset so you can see exactly where the edge is.
Covering Raw Edges
Because of how the fabric is cut to make room for the gores, there is a bit of a raw edge at each gore. I went over these places with 3 strands of embroidery floss to prevent fraying.
This is commonly seen on historic corsets. Sometimes there are even designs embroidered as well.
Joining the Sides
With the gores complete, I sewed up each side seam to create a left and right half of the corset.
Adding the Busk
The next step was to sew in the busk. I was a bit intimidated by this part of the project since I had never done it before, but it ended up going smoothly.
Starting with the hook side of the busk, trace the edge of the busk so you can see where each hook is, leaving room for seam allowance. Then pin one of the 2” strips of fabric to the front edge, right sides together.
Note: Make sure your seam allowance isn’t wider than your busk.
All you have to do then is sew along the seam allowance, skipping each hook space. When you flip the fabric around so the right side is showing, the hooks will slide neatly into the gaps left along the seam.
If you have them, this is a great time to use quilting clips to hold everything together.
Before sewing down the busk, I added a 3/4” cotton twill tape to the waist line for a waist stay tape. This isn’t required, but helps add strength and stability to the waistline, which will be under the most pressure when the corset it worn.
To secure the busk and the end of the stay tape, sew as close as you can to the busk. I sewed my busk in by hand, but if you have a zipper foot, you can easily secure this with a sewing machine.
To add the post side of the busk, sew the other 2” rectangle to the other front edge, right sides together. Then flip the fabric around so the right sides are showing. Line up this front edge with the edge of the side with the hooks. Use the hooks you’ve already placed as a template for where to place the posts.
Once these spots are marked, you can poke holes through the top layer of fabric at each spot.
Then slip the post side of the bust between the layers of fabric and poke each post through the holes you just made.
Add your stay tape, and sew down the other side of the busk to secure it.
Sewing Back Boning Channels and Adding Grommets
With the front edge done, I turned my attention to the back edge. I folded back the seam allowance, tucked in the other end of the stay tape so that it laid flat across the waist, and sewed two 1/4” boning channels with a 1/2” space between to place the grommets.
Making sure to leave enough room at the top and bottom for the binding, I placed grommets evenly along each side. I ended up using 9 grommets on each side with 1 1/2” spacing between.
After placing the grommets, I added 1/4” flat steel bones to either side of each set of lacing holes. I used for steel bones in total.
Placing Bust and Side Boning Channels
After the busk and grommets were placed I moved on to the bust boning.
Using strips of 1″ twill tape, I lined them up between the bust gores and down to the bottom of the corset.
Then it was just a matter of sewing down 1” cotton twill tape as close to the edge of the tape as possible. Then I added two more lines of stitching to create three boning channels. The 1” tape was just wide enough to make three channels for my 1/4” synthetic whale bone.
I also knew I wanted to have boning channels at the side seams, so I added those next in the same way.
Checking the Fit
After adding the the bust and side boning, it seemed like a good time to try the corset on and see how everything was fitting.
When I laced it on, it was immediately apparent that the corset was still too big. The best place to adjust the fit was to bring in the side seams some more. Of course, I had already added boning channels over the side seams, so I had to remove those before I could adjust the size.
I thought about just cutting around the outside of the boning channels, but I knew I wouldn’t get even results. After about two hours with a seam ripper, I had most of the channels cut away. I also had to cut into the waist stay tape, since it would be too long with the changes.
Once I had the seams removed, I ironed down the fabric and cut away 1/2” on the front panel and 3/4” on the back panel. Then I sewed everything back up and made new boning channels.
The fit was much better after these adjustments.
Adding More Boning
With the basic construction done, the next step was to add all the rest of the boning.
I left a lot of seam allowance on the front and back edges of each side of the corset. This let me turn over the fabric and create a couple extra boning channels.
Throughout the rest of the corset, I used the 1” tape to create boning channels wherever I needed them.
Each side of the bust has two sets of three bones. One set runs in the middle of the bust, between the gores, and the other on the outer edge of the bust. I also added an extra set of boning along the back. For this set, I only added two bones.
In total, each side has two flat steel bones, and thirteen synthetic whale bones, that I cut down to size.
Note: I made sure to leave 1/2” of space on each end of the bone and where the top of the corset will be. This leaves room for the binding, and helps prevent being poked uncomfortably.
Bust Cording
While I was adding the bones, I felt like the bust still need a bit more support, but I didn’t want to add more bones. I decided to add cording to each bust gore.
To add the cording, I cut out another set of bust gores, then sewed narrow horizontal rows with a running stitch.
Once the channels were sewn, I added cording with a tapestry needle.
If I had thought to add this earlier in construction, I could have sewn these channels on my machine and it would have gone faster. Because I was working on a nearly completed corset it was easier to get into the right spots by hand sewing.
Finishing Edges
As I was sewing in boning channels, I tried to use them to cover as many of the gore’s raw edges as possible. In the end there were still some uncovered raw edges.
I thought about felling down the seam allowance to create neat edges, but that would add visible stitches and bulk to the front of the corset that I didn’t want.
The fabric I used doesn’t fray much, so I just pinked the edges where I could, and left what I couldn’t.
Someday I might make a second, double layer corset, which wouldn’t have any raw edges, but I think this single layer corset will hold up just fine as is.
Binding the Top and Bottom
The last step to sewing the corset was to add a binding to the top and bottom of each half.
I trimmed away the excess fabric on top and bottom, giving a clean cut line to follow.
Using 1 1/2” fabric strips ironed into fourths with the edges tucked into the center, I sewed the right sides together with edges lined up.
After sewing down the front side, it’s easy to flip the binding over the edge and whip stitch the back of the binding down.
To add a drawstring, I sewed down a piece of 1/4” cotton twill tape near the lacing edge. As I whip stitched the back of the binding, I made sure the tape was neatly tucked inside the binding. I left a few inches of tape hanging out of the front edge that can be tied into a drawstring.
Lacing
All that was left to make the corset wearable was to add the lacing.
I like to lace my corset so that there are two loops to pull at the waist, to get a more even result.
And that was it, my corset was done!
A Finished Victorian Corset, Ready to Wear!
The first time I tried my corset on, I was so nervous. I thought for sure there was going to be some weird fit issue, or it wouldn’t give enough support, or it would be the wrong shape.
When I actually laced it up and looked in the mirror I was shocked how well this turned out. It is far from perfect, but I am still so happy with the final result.
Because of all of the structure added to a corset, you don’t really know if it fits until it is done. Even with my mockups, until the bones, and busk, and lacing were added, it’s hard to tell if everything is right. Somehow, I managed to make it work!
I am really glad I decided to add the cording to the bust. It helps create a nicer shape.
I might go back and add some flossing to the bones, but it is completely wearable as-is.
This is the most comfortable one I’ve worn. Having a properly fitted corset is always going to be more comfortable than a mass produced one. The synthetic whale bone lets the corset move and bend more than steel bones, and over time it should conform to my shape.
If you have ever thought about trying to make a corset, I hope this helps inspire you to try!
If you would like to see more sewing adventures, click here.
Have you ever worn or made a corset? Tell me about it in the comments below!