CONTOURED GARMENTS

FINISHING OF

-CORSET
85/91/TFB
V.INIHSRAHDAYIRP
,YB DETTIMBUS
INTRODUCTION
The corset is a garment with a long and
controversial history. A rigid bodice, usually
incorporating vertical and diagonal boning, and
laced together, the corset was designed to shape
the female torso to the fashionable silhouette of
the period. Corsets have been worn by women in
the Western world from the sixteenth century
through the early twentieth century, at which point
girdles and brassieres replaced them. Men,
especially dandies and military officers, have also
sometimes worn corsets. The primary significance
of the corset, however, is its role as an essential
element of women's fashionable dress for a
period of about 400 years.
ORIGINS OF THE CORSET
The word "corset" derives from the French corse, which simply
designated a bodice. Early corsets were known as corps à la
baleine (or in English, whalebone bodies), because strips of
whalebone, or, more accurately, whale baleen, were inserted
into the fabric (usually linen or canvas) to stiffen the cloth
bodice. As whalebone became more expensive in the
nineteenth century, lengths of steel increasingly replaced it.
Traditionally, down the center front of the corset was
inserted a busk, which, in shape and size, was not unlike a
ruler. Busks were variously made of wood, horn, and
whalebone; they were often elaborately carved and given
as lovers' gifts. By 1850 the traditional, inflexible one-piece
busk had been replaced by a steel, front-opening style,
which made it much easier for women to put on and take off
their corsets. Prior to this, women had usually relied on
assistance to lace and unlace their corsets.

COMPONENTS
OF A CORSET

BONES
BUSKS
ELASTIC
ZIPPER AND ZIPPER
GUARDS
SHOELACE
TRIMS & CCESSORIES
 Today, many corsets use nylon or Rigilene boning, although
steel is still favoured for high-quality corsets. Plastic bones do
BONES not have the strength required for tightlacing and are known
to warp and bend, often in unflattering ways. Many modern
bodices, strapless gowns and lingerie use a variety of plastic
In corsetry, a bone is one of boning because it is much cheaper.
the rigid parts of a corset that
forms its frame and gives it
rigidity. The purpose of the
boning in a corset varies
slightly from era to era.
Generally, the
cinching/shaping properties
of corsetry puts strain onto the
fabric from which the corset is
made. The boning supports the
desired shape and prevents
wrinkling of the corset fabric.
 BUSKS
A busk is a rigid element of a
corset at the centre front of the
garment. Two types exist, one- and
two-part busks. Single-piece busks
were used in "stays" and bodices
from the 16th to early 19th centuries
and were intended to keep the
front of the corset or bodice In the middle of the 19th century, a new form of
straight and upright. They were busk appeared. It was made of two long pieces
typically made of wood, ivory, or of steel, one with loops and the other with posts,
bone slipped into a pocket and that functioned in the same way as hook and
tied in place with a lace called the eye fastenings or buttons on a garment. This
busk point. These busks were often made corsets considerably easier to put on and
carved and decorated, or take off, as the laces did not have to be
inscribed with messages, and were loosened as much as when the corset had to go
popular gifts from men to women over the wearer's head and shoulders. The
during courtship. second half of the 19th century also saw the
invention of the spoon busk.
ELASTIC
Elastic is a notion which is sold in narrow strips and
generally serves to increase the ability of garment
to stretch, either to accommodate movement or to
make the garment suitable for wearers of many
different physical sizes. Elastic comes in four forms
of construction, each with costs and benefits. The
component which performs the actual stretching is
made of either rubber or a synthetic material such
as spandex; this stretching component is then
covered with polyester, cotton, nylon, or a
combination of these or other fibers which allow it
to be attached to clothing. High-quality elastic is
able to be stretched to twice its original length
and then return to its unflexed state without
showing appreciable wear.
 Usually metal zippers-or heavy
ZIPPERS duty molded plastic are used and
not the lightweight nylon or dainty
Corsets with zippers, while not invisible zips as they are easily
traditional, are becoming an damageable or warpable
attractive option these days for the
ubiquity of the zips (they are easier
to source for many corsetieres) and
their familiar use compared to the
brief learning curve required of
busk use. The zip will also typically
be placed on a seam that doesn’t
have much curve (like the center
front) and not on a side seam, so
that there is no unequal strain on
the zip that might cause it to fail.
 GROMMETS
A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted
into a hole through thin material, typically a
sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or
composite of carbon fiber, wood or
honeycomb. Grommets are generally flared
or collared on each side to keep them in
place, and are often made of metal, plastic,
or rubber. They may be used to prevent
tearing or abrasion of the pierced material
or protection from abrasion of the insulation
on the wire, cable, line being routed through
the penetration, and to cover sharp edges
of the piercing, or all of the above.
SHOELACES
AND CORDS
These are ubiquitous – they’re easy to
source, they’re often cheaper than
ribbon, and they’re a “workhorse”
lacing that will last you a long time.
You will find flat shoelace most often in
corsets (both OTR and custom waist
training corsets). Because they’re White cotton laces are more eco-friendly and can also
flatter they will hold knots and bows be dyed to match the rest of your cotton corset perfectly.
well, and they’re “middle of the road” The cotton flat laces are softer and fuzzier to the touch –
in terms of bulkiness so it’s possible to but for a more definitive test, burn a small sample of the
hide these laces under clothing. laces (outside) – cotton will create an ash, whereas
They’re quite strong, with minimal polyester will melt. Polyester laces take dye less readily,
spring. but they can still be dyed.
ROUND POLYESTER CORD
Polyester cord tends to have some
“spring” to it, and when you’re dealing with
laces that are often 8 yards (7.3 meters) in
length, this “springiness” can become
annoying or frustrating, especially when a
corset is new, because you just feel like you’re
stretching out the laces as opposed to closing
the corset.
The thinness of the cord helps the bows
and knots to hold well without slipping, but I
personally find that such a thin cord cuts into
my hands when I’m trying to lace up, and
makes my palms sore.
550 Even while using a proper square knot,
the bows are not quite as secure as
PARACORD when a ribbon or flat lace is used , and
the cord is also found to be quite bulky
This cord comes in a multitude and conspicuous especially under
of colors online, and they can clothing. Because the inner cords and
the outer sheath are not attached in any
be purchased in 100-yard
way, the outer part tends to twirl around
lengths in bulk and in any color
the core and twists and bunches up in
you can imagine. This is the weird ways, making my corsets difficult
strongest type of cord used in to lace up
corsetry today; it’s called 550
because it’s able to withstand
up to 550 pounds of tension
before breaking, and it’s called
paracord because it was often
used in parachutes. The cord
has the colored outer coating,
and then 7 smaller cords inside.
SATIN RAT TAIL However, because it
has a satiny coating, if

CORD there are any splits in

your grommets then the
This a hybrid between round cord and laces can catch and
satin laces. It’s called “rat tail” lacing cause scarring or
because it’s so thin. It’s also quite fraying of the laces.
inconspicuous and not bulky under Because the satin cord
clothing because it’s so thin, about 3 mm is more slippery, you do
have to know how to
wide.
tie a proper bow and
It has no springiness to it, and it’s proper knots (not
surprisingly strong, especially for its tiny granny-bows)
width. Rat tail cords are great for small otherwise they can
grommets (#00 or even #X00 size) and easily slip and your
it comes in a multitude of colors. Despite corset can easily
its small width it doesn’t cut into hands as loosen.
much as the bulkier round cords –
perhaps less friction due to the satin
outside.
THANKYOU