Boned Girl’s Corset

Boned Girl Corset Tutorial ~

• Take 2 rectangular pieces of firm calico. Make it long enough to go around the child’s body with about 3″ (8cm) overlapping, and wide measuring from the child’s armpit to hip.
• Use 1 rectangle and wrap it around the child. Pin closed at the back.
• Make 2 vertical darts in the front  to shape the waist.
• Make 2 shorter darts at the back to shape the corset to fit the small of the back.  Mark with washable dressmaking pen.

• Measure these marks to make sure that the front darts are the same and equally placed. Mark the 2nd rectangle piece of material to match your pinned rectangle.  These 2 pieces will be identical and the one will form the lining.
• Sew all the darts.
• Press the dart to the sides.
• Repeat this with the lining.

Plastic “bone”

How to make the corset “bones” ~

• I used a used ice-cream box lid for plastic “bones”.
• Cut 2 strips about half an inch (1cm wide) and about 6″ (15cm) long. These are flexible and yet give the sense of corset bones.
• Sew the “bones’ on to the front 2 darts of the corset lining.  If the darts are wide enough you can slide the “bone” into the dart.  My sewing machine managed this with ease because the plastic was not too thick.

Sewing the “bone” into the dart

Attaching the lining and corset front ~

• Pin the right sides of the corset front and the lining together and sew along the top and bottom and 1 side.
• Turn right sides out.
• Press the seams flat.
• Turn the remaining open side edges in and top stitch this seam closed.
• Now your corset is nearly complete.

Making the ribbon closing at the back ~

• To make the ribbon closure at the back, sew about 3m of ribbon folded closed in half.
• Measure and mark the loop placements about 3″ ( 7cm) in from the side edges.
• Mark equal spaces about 1″ ( 2cm) apart all the way down the placement lines.
• Both sides must have the same number of loops.

Mark, pin and sew ribbon loops

• Using the folded and sewn ribbon, pin the loops, twisting the ribbon over for each new loop.
• Sew the ribbon securely.  I double stitched each loop down.
• Repeat on the other side.
• Use the remaining ribbon for tying the corset closed.

Ribbon loops and ribbon to tie

Finishing the corset ~

• Sew lace and ribbon along the top of the corset.
• Decorate the front with some scrap lace or sequins and beads.

And there you are ~ about 1 hour to make and a few years of enjoyment!

The girls love to dress up and play imaginative games. These corsets are not  just underwear. They form part of the tops of “Olden Days” outfits and the girls wear their corsets over other blouses or dresses.  If they dress up as Edwardian or Victorian women, then they wear the corset under their dresses.

(We encourage modesty.)