My husband is pretty helpful. He knows he's clueless and just does what I ask. "Take this pen and draw where the wrinkles are." "Pin out the excess material here" "cut here until it stops pulling and pin on this scrap behind it." "Lace this to 2" gap in the back". I do all the thinky bits and he supplies arms that are not pulling in the garment and eyes where I can't see.
One thing about sergers: sometimes people will GIVE you one. A colleague's friend 's mother died. The friend GAVE me her mother's nice serger. She didn't know me and gave it to me without me asking.
What I can't understand is why you're not getting more views? The YT gods cursed you? Your videos are so much fun and certainly worth watching. They're well made and you're in a niche that most Victorian fans don't enter. Hm. Weird. But I've noticed that many are hit and miss. Some get hit hard and others work for it, and some just don't get noticed enough. Keep at it, though, I think you're going to be in the work for it, category. It would be nice to see some more group videos, maybe costumes through the ages and you can be that 17th Century Gal. :D I APPRECIATE you! I know how hard you've worked these last years. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, lots of useful info. I would like to see that first corset. Maybe make a video where you compare your very first corset with your latest corset? 🙂 It would be a useful education for new corset makers, I think. 😊
"Dolly Parton if she was a hobbit" is a pretty good descriptor for my body too. 😂 I've got a big bust and hips, but also only 2" between my underbust and waist. Without bust support, my bust and waist are basically in the same place.
*laughs in having used coutil on my first pair of stays that don't fit anymore and are completely crap* 😭🤣 but I love them anyway bc they were the first sewing project I ever did
I know this is controversial, but I used expensive fabric for my first pair of stays. No regrets!!! But, I had done approximately 5,000 mockups in cheapo fabric first. It is not as good as the stays I will make in the future, but the pretty fabric did make up for a lot of the clumsiness if the stays. EDITED TO ADD: And, I love this. There were a lot of things I wondered about, like rings for eyelets, when I made that thing. I wish this had been published then!
Then, TECHNICALLY, it was your 5,001st corset, and totally legit 😂😂😂 I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I, too, wish I had known a lot of this stuff when I was first starting out 😔
I have found one of my more used sewing/crafting must have's is a white board, but not just any white board, sort of. I laminated a blank piece of paper and use it for project notes. Double sided, portable, easy to stash under a mat, .... Phone notes are fine, but on this I can draw out an idea or just doodle while pondering the current understanding of the universe. Bonus - it makes for a great score board for tabletop games. I have a few of these around the house with bother wet and dry erase markers (who doesn't like markers). Wet erase clean better and don't usually wipe off with a portable option, and are less mess. I do have a laminator, and a large pack of pouches. Machine was like $30, and pouches vary. It has turned out to be surprisingly handy to have. All that said, any whiteboard is really handy for organizing a project - get one "when you have the moola," because a scratch pad or napkin work fine until then. One on my must have right now is a magnetic parts bowl. They sometimes have a free coupon at Harbor Freight for these, but they are less than $5. Sure they hold the pins and needles, but they also can be used to find the pins and needle that fall on the floor. Magnets are too handy not to have one around, and this one has a bowl for the things.
Whiteboards are great! I have one...I try to use it...😂 But I am 100% here for magnets. They're great for when you knock shit on the floor in a rage I mean...for picking up pins and needles...
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming That's what is great about the laminated paper. Sits right there on the desk, jot down a measurement, stick it to the table leg with the magnetic bowl. LOL
Grommet cutter saves a lot of time on mock-ups that you don't expect to last. You can even skip the gromets themselves if it's expected to wear once and revise.
For EU, Asian and African corsetry folks, Vena Cava Design has a much better price on synthetic whalebone than Corset Making Supplies. And honestly? I used synthetic whalebone for my lacing strips and zip ties for the body of my mockup- if you can afford the synthetic whalebone, it's definitely worth the cash. It's very comfortable.
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Vena Cava sells 50 meter rolls of boning for anywhere from £33.70 for the 4mm you'd use for fully boned stays or bodies to £47.40 for the 7mm that's the default for most corsetry to £132 for 15×2mm, which. That's a big honking piece of boning. Wowza. (Corsetmaking sells a 25yd roll of 7mm boning for $50, which given that VCD's roll is over double the length and only $12 more... I'm impressed.)
Easy seam allowance tool you already have: your tape measure is 1/2"-5/8" wide! If you can find GOOD ticking or cotton twill it's held up pretty well and we used it quit a lot for corsets/underlining costumes (also a HA layer in some corsets/stays). Walmart sells a plain and some stripes for a very reasonable $5-6 a yard. I was told Jo-anns has gone down in quality. I rarely use canvas and duck and now use cotton twills over a plain weave since it's closest thing you can get to a cotil. But if a duck or canvas was in the shop or a friend is destashing and gives me some I will definitely use it!
Making my third corset as I watch you've just saved my project !!! I've always used grommet tape before but decided to do it myself for my third rodeo and I had no idea eyelets were different to grommets. Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge (and always making me laugh a lot)
I’ve been going back and forth about buying a grommet press (and if I should invest in a more expensive one), so this is great timing!!! I would add regarding the boning cutters, that a good and relatively inexpensive tool to cut zip tie and plastic boning is (surprisingly enough) a set of dog nail clippers! I learned about the effectiveness of dog nail clippers through an older American Duchess stays video, and from my own experience I really recommend using them on plastic boning! They cut through the plastic like butter. Way easier than using scissors and cheaper than getting dedicated boning clippers!
I recently rented a grommet press! I made a skirt (and made it again a few weeks later because I got commissioned) that included about 200 grommets. I was looking for some other notions for that and saw the pretty-much-only place that had what I needed had the grommet press for rent. The price was reasonable (about a sixth of the 'buy it instead!' for the same press at the same place) and they set me up with all the dies I needed for their standard period of a week. I got the smallest one they had and wished I'd gotten a bigger one for better leverage - I think the grommets I used were size 0 and setting them in with pure body weight was not the most fun. Better than hammering on my apartment floor still - I'm willing to take a corset outside to hammer, but 200 grommets is too damn many inside or outside. Rent before you buy is what I'm going for. I'm personally not going to be renting the press for a third time - when the next thing comes up, I'll fork over the cash because then that's proven to be a tool I use often enough.
The way I got SO EXCITED when you said you were left handed and gave scissor recommendations. The struggle is real sometimes being left handed and trying to find a good pair of scissors
Oh my goodness... I really needed to hear what you said about "your first pair". I was trying to salvage my first stays today and getting so frustrated. I had kinda already decided to start over, but hearing this has reminded me it's ok to start over. I don't know if you meant for this to be a pep talk, but it was for me. THANK YOU!
I use soap bar scraps (like those bits that are skinny and sharp and you could just stick onto another bar) to mark my black and dark fabrics, just check if you/ the person you're sewing for isn't sensitive to soap. If you're not washing the sewing project, you may need to 'spot clean' if you have visible soap marks or lines
I did test that theory once and put something I heat erased in the freezer, and the marks never came back. So I wonder how cold it actually has to get for that to happen 🤔
I live in the Nordics and I've had mixed results in the -30 Celcius winters. Black has never returned, red has only returned on viscose. Haven't used blue or the other colours.
So glad you did this video. I was about to splash out and buy one of those grommet press machine thingies which I can't actually afford, but the grommet smasher thing I can definitely afford, plus the mallet. Also, handy tip on grommets VS eyelets. TYVM! ❤
Yay engagement, thank you! And I'm glad you're excited 😄 the weather has broken here already, so I might be able to do it with only a ~small~ sheen of sweat 😂😂
I lucked out on Facebook Marketplace and got a Janome serger for $75 from a business owner who was upgrading. My boning strategy for Victorian/Edwardian corsets is flat steel in the front and back (Gold Star Tool has the best price I’ve seen, $30 for 10 yards of 3/8” width) and zip ties everywhere else. It was certainly an interesting time walking around Home Depot awkwardly carrying around zip ties that were taller than me (I got the 60” 3/8” wide ones because they didn’t have anything else longer than 14” ones).
There are a lot of ways to finish raw edges without a serger, but most of them are more time-intensive. I don’t own one, but I do borrow one from a friend when I know I will need to use one a lot.
fitting buddies to help you pin things behind your back may save time, but if you're introverted enough, determined enough, and have the patience, you can take it off, make alterations, put it back on, rinse and repeat until you have it right. I have never had a helper in my life and I still manage to make clothing, including corsets. And if you're plus size, don't even bother with advice from us skinnies unless your skinny in particular has experience fitting bigger bodies, because we don't know SH*T. Many of us will confidently give advice as though we have a clue. We do not, in fact, have a clue.
I invested in a grommet setter. I could not live with out it. I purchssed a rotary tool that can cut spiral steels and round both regular plastic boning and zip ties. However, my favorite purchase was a cloth cutting bit that fits in a drill and cuts holes for the grommets. Yes, i cut my fabric, it has never created an issue for me. I wore waist reducing bodices for 5 years, 12 hours a day, for 16 weeks a year, and mever had a grommet pop. That was in the 90's and the bodices are still holding up.
I use my seam allowance curves a lot--just different habits, I think. I also love my dad's old steel carpenter's square, which is a ginormous L shaped piece of steel marked in 1/64th inches for setting steps (amongst other things). When I set that thing down on the grainline of the slipperiest fabric ever made, it stays in place!
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming I gotta say, my dad always had the best toys. One of his hobbies was woodworking and it is amazing how much overlap there is between tools for carpentry and tools for sewing.
This was fun. I really love your take on things. I had the metal snap version of the pliers eventually they bent!!!! The banging things work much better. If I was still setting a million metal snaps I would have a press cause it’s cool and it could be a gift from everyone for everything if they wanted. Oh I found a button placement according ruler at a thrift shop. I’m sure I could make that work for eyelets. Or you know just wing it. Fitting partners take careful thought. My daughter is good but she is also opinionated and lives 6 hours away. Yes I did my best to raise a strong independent woman so I shouldn’t complain about that. lol. It was a great list. Some times you can find the expensive stuff in thrift shops. Took years but my pressing ham was 2 bucks! Same with the curved rulers
Excellent work and advice as always, my dear fellow sewer and Costumeer. Like you, I often say NOPE. As a right-hand-scissor-using leftie, I have to admit I like the Fiskars soft grip style and I recently got a spring pair. I have no clue where I stashed my awl tho…
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming I tried. My late mother bought me VERY expensive dressmaking scissors that were left-handed but it seems….off. I also predominantly use a spoon in my left hand and if I’m buttering something, I’ll use the knife in my left (but can also use it in my right). I actually sew (even hand sewing) and knit right handed. I can use my left for hand sewing, but I’m predominantly a righty for that. I can also write legibly with my write. I’m deffo ambidextrous lol.
LOL I feel like you over explained why a fitting buddy is unnecessary to the verge of almost making them problematic and then to be trying to correct that perception XD when it was so simply "Only you know how you feel in it" XD LOL "on your third rodeo things were all things I got for my first corset and it turned out great but I did a TON of research and have a lot of transferable skills, so maybe I was just an odd duck. Totally agree with not using expensive fabrics where you're developing skills. I did get the anvil and setter (I believe that's what it's called) and I found it easy to use, the only thing I had a bit of trouble was working out how much force I needed as I was too careful at the start and had to realign it back to finish hammering it. I don't know how anything else than steel works for other people, my experience has always been they bend and start digging into my sides and I had them, I haven't made bodies but that's the only scenario I can imagine finding comfortable.
To add further to the eyelet setting tool discourse... I bought a Prym Eyelet pliers from Vena Cava Design, for about £20, and it works really well. Sometimes brand names are worth the extra cost. I will also add that in the UK we mostly call them all eyelets, and they can come with or without washers, and again buy the Prym ones rather than cheap ones because they are definitely superior.
omg i bought one of those eyelet thingies when i was new to sewing and had the same issueee as youu!! Im glad ur shedding light on this eyelet stapler propaganda!!
i was a knitter before i started my first pair of stays and an awl can be substituted with knitting needles, if you have a wide variety of them, start with a 2mm and work your way up. More time consuming, a bit more strenuous on the hands and might not be worth it with a really tight fabric (my firstpair of stays was made with a woefully inadequate canvas i had lying around) but it works really well in a pinch, is less dangerous if your afraid of pointy stuff and can allow you to go a bit wider than an awl would (but they are more expensive as well, so if you don't have them lying around, get an awl) oh and 2mm needles are at risk of bending under the pressure, but all of my needles are as straight as i am anyway for that first pair of stays, i would melt of the ends on my zip ties with a candle (like a psycho, still remember the smell) after a bit of intoxication i figured it's just as quick to take a nail file and file the sides. My issue with zipties is that they are not impossibly long so they didn't work for the sides of my stays I'm thinking of doing my stays right next time. Any suggestion on wooden busks? I found some straight pieces of wood ruler type thingy at a store (forgot the price)
You can double up the cable ties by having them meet and overlap on the tapered ends. I find you don’t even need to glue them together. The fabric holds them well enough
i found an eyelet setter at an aldi store (generally supplies i buy at an aldi over here tend to be good quality and cheap) i figured i could finally do some accurate victorian corsetry. I did a mock up of an edwardian corset, tried the setter, it came out ugly but suitable enough. Fast forward to one year later, last april. I had to make an 1880s corset for a ball i decided to pick upholstery fabric (the feel looks appropriate for corset, cost me 6-8 € per m where real coutil is 20 bucks - might want buy some at some point to get an idea of what it should feel like) I used two layers of that fabric for the eyelets... after two eyelets my hand was in pain and the eyelets kept looking worse and worse. Once i was done with the corset and i put it on, half of the eyelets scratched the lacing tape i was using and the eyelets at the centre made its way out of the fabric... So i'm gonna try the hammer thing next, bound to be better on my hand, less expensive than the punch thingy and i can warrant the purchase of a pretty hammer
This video is such a godsend! hope it’s not overstepping though to leave a surprisingly inexpensive coutil source! Coscraft in the UK (primarily a cosplay wig seller) also has some really cheap coutil compared to US prices, £11/meter, and weirdly affordable shipping rates… I like to track the exchange rate and order a few meters when it’s really in my favor
Thank you so much for dropping this video! I'm working on my 1st pair of 1830s stays and I was trying to convince myself I needed synthetic whalebone for the best results.😅
are handworked eyelets easier to deal with than grommets ? probably yes. still didn't stop me from making mine soooo accidentally small when i made my first pair of stays that they are essentially unwearable lol. about to make my first 19th century corset and hoping it ends decently enough that i can at least get one wear out of it lol 🙏 great video!!! really enjoyed all of the tips and tricks and fully agree with all of your top rankings! truly where would we be without clear large marked rulers, the king of sewing supplies
Ah, but the nice thing about too-small eyelets? You can always clip the threads and make the holes bigger! Good luck with your corset! Glad you enjoyed the video 😁
If you liked exploding kittens but found it traumatic, I recommend Unstable Unicorns. Also, my Pattern Master ruler/curve thingy has been going strong for years now. It combines the clear gridded ruler with a tailors curve but also include seam allowance guidance too.
Lol I've never heard of that one, but if it doesn't involve instant losing by drawing a single card and/or other players Noping your moves, I'll check it out. That sounds like a nifty tool!
Maybe because I draw but I've never found tailor's curves to be useful. I drew my own patterns before I bought them and just eyeballed the curves and then got curves and now I still just eyeball them. It takes about the same amount of time to draw with a curve vs manually and it looks just as good either way.
I’ve had some luck using the heat erasable highlighters on darker fabric. It’s not super visible but it’s noticeable enough for what I’ve needed it for
don't buy your scissors, ask your grandma first. Free Ginghers! then I found a pair of Wisse sheers at a yard sale for stupid cheap. yard sales are your friend!
Instead of a dremel I use a an electric nail drill. Not as expensive and if you happen to be into nails you could also use it for its intended purpose 😂
Thank you so much for this video! I have just printed out the pattern for my first corset/stays, but I haven’t bought any materials other than the pattern yet, so this is perfect! ❤ I am taking notes on your advice before I jump into shopping!
Hope it’s a good idea to make my first stays from denim? My husband had some unfortunate early accidents with 3 jeans in the first few weeks so I saved those (stains like from bleach and tears from having caught on a nail and such) and it seems like they would work so well as (non-essential Historical accurate) stays to wear at home over my natural fibre clothing so I can finally stop reacting badly to those elastics used in bras and such. For my mock-up it certainly doesn’t matter that the colors don’t match. Fabric is both 100% cotton and seems the same weight and structure but I don’t have a microscope so I realize there might still be a slight difference. Just hope it’s not painstakingly significant in differences. Guess I’ll find out 😅 My body hates synthetics and I’m allergic to natural rubber/latex so I figured stays might be the way to go. My only experience in sewing garments though is a self drafted bath robe made from secondhand towels and a potato sack dress made from double gauze baby blankets or just altering ready-made or secondhand clothing. Have unbleached cotton canvas cloth (and textile paints lol) and lots of denim. Was gonna make something out of those but that need was gone before I could make it and now all that fabric is still unused and seems like they would work well for stays and such? I’d like anyone’s thoughts on the matter. Don’t want any other support or smoothing out except for my non-inflatable balloons to be supported against gravity, not in other places or compressed, just not sagging downwards. All the other regular woven and knitted cottons and other fabrics that would be breathable that I have all seem too light and thus prone to tearing or stretching or too soft to give support Love this video, gives a nice look into what to expect from another point of view instead of the regular tutorials or vlog-style type of “making stays or corset” (or other garments)
Denim is great for corsetry, as long as it has no spandex in it. You want stuff that has zero stretch, or the fabric will warp and you'll have a very difficult time of it.
Thank you this is so helpful as a beginner! I somehow inherited a quilting ruler and fabric scissors. I’ll just skip good markers, who needs to see what they’re doing 😂 My tendency is to wing stuff and fix it later so the sooner I learn to fix mistakes the better lmao. Seems like I’ll only need to buy a busk, some sturdy cable ties and an awl to get started!!!! And maybe some new thread
I've used synthetic whalebone and I don't like it. I much prefer the industrial zipties from Home Depot. They're super easy to buy and way cheaper...and easy to file the ends smooth with a nail file or sandpaper!
Another informative video! You always create content I actually want to WATCH! Take that RUclips!! 😠Got to say that I really like the bodice/stays you are wearing. Did you use the custom drafted renaissance pattern to create them? Or are they from another source? 🧡💙
I'm so glad you feel that way! 😊 They are the Autumn Stays pattern from Etsy, I did them as a sew along with Ourshieldmaiden a few years back. I'll link to the pattern in a separate comment, sometimes YT doesn't like that, but you can find them easy if it eats the comment. I will say, the pattern only comes in 3 sizes and requires some skill to adjust.
Here's the link, maybe: www.etsy.com/listing/1179272469/autumn-stays-sewing-pattern-straight?click_key=d7e8b4f7c16c22511506f9869b74fb48ed160810%3A1179272469&click_sum=e3d2c6de&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=autumn+stays&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&sts=1&dd=1&content_source=c8be6acca2e1945c1f1d32babca647bf0b561f2e%253A1179272469
I've been working in kirtles and pairs of bodies, and one of the things I'm seriously trying to learn is fitting other people; I've learned on my c-cup/straight size/ short waist/ pear figure, and fitting both my petite-apple-with-scoliosis and my short-plus-size-uses-a-walker friends has been an adventure (as was fitting 6ft something Bear who had to be persuaded that tight =/= too small). Luckily 16th c supportive kirtles are more forgiving, but getting the shoulders and shape change right is still a learning curve. Thoughts on saying fuck it and using regular ink (accepting visible lines at the end)? Reed boning for that full Elizabethan vibe?
Kirtles are definitely easier to fit! But adapting for things like scoliosis I bet is a challenge! I'm not big myself on using regular ink where it might be visible in the final make, though I am a fan of using it to draw seam lines on the interlining. Reed interests me as a lighter, more breathable option, but what has kept me from using it is the breakability issue. I've heard a lot of people say they've had to replace snapped canes--and that doesn't appeal to me at all!!
I believe that there are extant examples of ink and pencil lines still visible on finished garments, so while I do tend to use tailors chalk or frixon pens, sometimes my pencil is in my hand and I can't be bothered to swap and I think that's OK!
Ok so I totally thought I just lacked the skill to put eyelets in, but it turns out those are just hot garbage. At least I didn't have to buy them (it's the only thing stores here seem to carry) cause my mum had a set I could borrow
Nup. It was not you. It was them 😂 I think part of why I kept buying the things is because that's all the box stores had! Internet has helped that immensely 😄
Do zip-ties come in different lengths for each width? Our store only had 7.5 mm in 370 mm (and the thinner ones are even shorter). So I've had to use synthetic wale bones in some places even though it's just my second pair of mock-ups.
80 bucks for roll? That so cheap in whale terms Ps. Your comment about fully steel bodice being heavier than chainmail makes me want to make armour corset
I make metal armour and we use metal eyelets a lot there, they're for keeping your ties that hold your armour on from shredding on a drilled hole. That said, those eyelet setters ARE garbage, use the shaped percussive setter that comes in the package and a hammer, on a soft wood so you don't deform the pretty side. The ones we get for metal have stright bottoms unlike the last ones I bought at a fabric store which have rough bottoms so they theoretically mushroom more easily but in reality they make sharp bits on te insides of your clothes!! Do not recommend! That said, I will use the little eyelets sometimes where I expect to need to take the laces all the way out because I sometimes find shoelace aglets catch badly on my hand-stitched eyelets. I own some Frixion pens but they don't draw nicely on all fabrics and I wind up needing to iron things before I'm done with the marks a lot of the time so I just use chalk or watercolour pencils. I cut the seam allowances off every pattern I make for accuracy reasons (I need my stitch lines) so I just fudge it with the seam allowances and that hasn't failed me yet. Also because I know where my stitch lines ARE, I can get just a bit more out of my fabric by skimping on corners I was just going to cut off anyways. I often don't even draw them on, I just eyeball when I cut. My fitting buddy lives in a different city and we only see each other a few times a year, thankfully she actually KNOWS what she's talking about for fit (though perhaps not corsets) because weird body club, but they're still going to help me more than my "um, what?" experience. We've done a few fittings through video chat. "How should this feel" is a question I ask her often. And when me reaching to a place distorts the whole garmnt I'm trying to make, I've borrowed unskilled hands to good effect. I did multiple lacing holes on projects starting with a darning needle, working up to a nail, then a chopstick, then a bigger nail, then a pencil. I bought an awl and its slope is too steep at the larger size I need so it gets me up to the chopstick part in one go. If I don't go bigger than that, by the time I stitch my eyelets they've closed in enough that I have issues getting the lacing through. LEFT POWER!! My very first pair of Fiskars lefty scissors WERE HINGED RIGHTY and I had no idea until I hit a pin with them and dulled them during lockdowns when I couldn't get them sharpened and my friend (also my fitting buddy) ordered me a new pair that are hinged correctly for lefty use and suddenly I don't have to look over my scissors to the outside to see my cut line!!! (another reason why I mostly quit drawing in seam allowances). We had a great pair of steel cutters in the shop made by Knipex, dunno how much they cost (googled it, a lot, more than your $80 trap) but holy gods they'll darn near go through a combination lock if you have enough leverage and will happily snip rivets and bolts like butter. However, if you weren't literally cutting through a bolt or a rivet, the $15 Stanley end cutters I used when I was making chain mail links were fine for wire cutting. Well, until I broke them, but that was a lot of cutting (probably fifty pounds of steel wire in 14 and 16 ga in galvanized and stainless) and apparently I have a pretty strong grip strength, I didn't blame the tool, I think I replaced it with an identical one that I'm still using, though my wrists have decreed that I shall take on no more chain mail commissions. Around here a bolt cutter style cutter from Home Despot will still be about thirty bucks, but that's Canadian and our prices are weird.
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming well, you know, they're ok for like a cuff or neck lacing where you're not going to have any kind of tension... but yeah, protecting lacing from metal is the best use I've found for the silly things.
Burnley and Trowbridge, usually, though it's $15 or $16 a yard. Sometimes they have it in stock, sometimes they don't. I only ever buy some when I'm getting other things from them, and since they usually ship flat rate, I then save some $$ on postage.
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming thanks. One of these days I should look through their entire store, just to see what all they carry that I might not know about.
Hi, as a fellow zipties user, I've got a question for you, what do you think about metal zipties? Can they be used as a steelboning dupe or are they the spawn of satan? I am looking for an advice before I put them in.
I've never used metal zipties, I didn't even know they existed! You could try it... although you likely will also need to purchase pliers and tipping if you don't already have it.
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Yeah, my fashion fabric never lines up with my lining. One is always larger than the other and wrinkles when I'm trying to stitch the layers together. And I'm still learning to read a tape measure, when doing a pattern I will start with my bust measurements but it always ends up being way too big. I am at a loss. Not ready to throw in the towel but dang! :/ When cutting out your fabric and lining, do you layer them or cut separately? Thanks for the reply :)
What do y'all do with your "first try" versions that aren't worth wearing? Do they go in the circular file? Take them apart and reuse the pieces? Try to remake them into something else?
Yes? 😂😂 I think it depends on the version and what the mistakes were. For example, my first one is buried in my closet...it's not worth picking apart and reusing because I used all the wrong materials. My second one got a lot of use and I'm looking to rehome since it was too long-waisted. The third got altered!
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Hypothetically, if you didn't want it taking space up in your closet, would the next stop be... the trash? (She asks, cringing bc she hates to throw anything away LOL)
I needed this video. Corsets are my winter projects. Gotta learn sometime. Thank you for saving me money and frustration later (I know I will a little frustrated, thats what learning a new skill is all about)
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"A fitting buddy can be more of a hindrance than a help"
*side-eyed my husband who just gets in the way*
Yup. Checks out.
LOL!!!! 💯 😂
My husband is pretty helpful. He knows he's clueless and just does what I ask. "Take this pen and draw where the wrinkles are." "Pin out the excess material here" "cut here until it stops pulling and pin on this scrap behind it." "Lace this to 2" gap in the back". I do all the thinky bits and he supplies arms that are not pulling in the garment and eyes where I can't see.
One thing about sergers: sometimes people will GIVE you one. A colleague's friend 's mother died. The friend GAVE me her mother's nice serger. She didn't know me and gave it to me without me asking.
It feels weird saying this given the context, but...that's awesome!!
Yep! I was given mine for Christmas.
What I can't understand is why you're not getting more views? The YT gods cursed you? Your videos are so much fun and certainly worth watching. They're well made and you're in a niche that most Victorian fans don't enter. Hm. Weird. But I've noticed that many are hit and miss. Some get hit hard and others work for it, and some just don't get noticed enough. Keep at it, though, I think you're going to be in the work for it, category. It would be nice to see some more group videos, maybe costumes through the ages and you can be that 17th Century Gal. :D I APPRECIATE you! I know how hard you've worked these last years. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoy my videos! ☺️
People have to like and watch the whole video. I make sure I watch till the end and like videos. It does help. I enjoy these videos too!!
Thanks, lots of useful info. I would like to see that first corset. Maybe make a video where you compare your very first corset with your latest corset? 🙂 It would be a useful education for new corset makers, I think. 😊
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the feedback, I'll keep it in mind!
"Dolly Parton if she was a hobbit" is a pretty good descriptor for my body too. 😂 I've got a big bust and hips, but also only 2" between my underbust and waist. Without bust support, my bust and waist are basically in the same place.
Yes! 😂😂 I feel ya!
Shhhhh but I may be planning a Hobbit Dolly Parton cosplay don'ttellanyone 🤐
*laughs in having used coutil on my first pair of stays that don't fit anymore and are completely crap* 😭🤣 but I love them anyway bc they were the first sewing project I ever did
There is definitely some strong nostalgia for those first makes!!
I know this is controversial, but I used expensive fabric for my first pair of stays. No regrets!!! But, I had done approximately 5,000 mockups in cheapo fabric first. It is not as good as the stays I will make in the future, but the pretty fabric did make up for a lot of the clumsiness if the stays. EDITED TO ADD: And, I love this. There were a lot of things I wondered about, like rings for eyelets, when I made that thing. I wish this had been published then!
Then, TECHNICALLY, it was your 5,001st corset, and totally legit 😂😂😂
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I, too, wish I had known a lot of this stuff when I was first starting out 😔
I have found one of my more used sewing/crafting must have's is a white board, but not just any white board, sort of. I laminated a blank piece of paper and use it for project notes. Double sided, portable, easy to stash under a mat, .... Phone notes are fine, but on this I can draw out an idea or just doodle while pondering the current understanding of the universe. Bonus - it makes for a great score board for tabletop games. I have a few of these around the house with bother wet and dry erase markers (who doesn't like markers). Wet erase clean better and don't usually wipe off with a portable option, and are less mess.
I do have a laminator, and a large pack of pouches. Machine was like $30, and pouches vary. It has turned out to be surprisingly handy to have. All that said, any whiteboard is really handy for organizing a project - get one "when you have the moola," because a scratch pad or napkin work fine until then.
One on my must have right now is a magnetic parts bowl. They sometimes have a free coupon at Harbor Freight for these, but they are less than $5. Sure they hold the pins and needles, but they also can be used to find the pins and needle that fall on the floor. Magnets are too handy not to have one around, and this one has a bowl for the things.
Whiteboards are great! I have one...I try to use it...😂 But I am 100% here for magnets. They're great for when you knock shit on the floor in a rage I mean...for picking up pins and needles...
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming That's what is great about the laminated paper. Sits right there on the desk, jot down a measurement, stick it to the table leg with the magnetic bowl. LOL
Grommet cutter saves a lot of time on mock-ups that you don't expect to last. You can even skip the gromets themselves if it's expected to wear once and revise.
Or you can use lacing strips!
I have a cork backed metal ruler meant for engineers that has graduated sized holes as well as a series of holes.
For EU, Asian and African corsetry folks, Vena Cava Design has a much better price on synthetic whalebone than Corset Making Supplies. And honestly? I used synthetic whalebone for my lacing strips and zip ties for the body of my mockup- if you can afford the synthetic whalebone, it's definitely worth the cash. It's very comfortable.
I think MOST places are cheaper than corsetmaking 😂 But great tip!
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Vena Cava sells 50 meter rolls of boning for anywhere from £33.70 for the 4mm you'd use for fully boned stays or bodies to £47.40 for the 7mm that's the default for most corsetry to £132 for 15×2mm, which. That's a big honking piece of boning. Wowza. (Corsetmaking sells a 25yd roll of 7mm boning for $50, which given that VCD's roll is over double the length and only $12 more... I'm impressed.)
I buy from NZ Corsetry... So damn cheap for boning, especially by the metre. I'm saving up for the coutil 🤣
Or cover your size 0 grommets with buttonhole stitches.
Thank you for explaining the difference between metal eyelets and grommets! I had no idea.
I'm so glad that I started consuming costuming RUclips when the zip tie thing was pretty well talked about!
You're lucky!!!
Easy seam allowance tool you already have: your tape measure is 1/2"-5/8" wide!
If you can find GOOD ticking or cotton twill it's held up pretty well and we used it quit a lot for corsets/underlining costumes (also a HA layer in some corsets/stays). Walmart sells a plain and some stripes for a very reasonable $5-6 a yard. I was told Jo-anns has gone down in quality.
I rarely use canvas and duck and now use cotton twills over a plain weave since it's closest thing you can get to a cotil. But if a duck or canvas was in the shop or a friend is destashing and gives me some I will definitely use it!
Good tip on the tape measure thing! Never thought about that 🤔
I’ve realised that my index finger is exactly 5/8
I like the bendy rulers you can bend into shapes.
I have one of those!
For sergers, the cheap basic Singers can be a bit hit and miss, but if they work they really work.
Hah! Serger roulette!!
For cheap coutil-adjacent fabric, I like thrifted curtains.
Great video, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!
Making my third corset as I watch you've just saved my project !!! I've always used grommet tape before but decided to do it myself for my third rodeo and I had no idea eyelets were different to grommets. Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge (and always making me laugh a lot)
Ah, so glad this was helpful!! Thanks for watching! 😄
I’ve been going back and forth about buying a grommet press (and if I should invest in a more expensive one), so this is great timing!!!
I would add regarding the boning cutters, that a good and relatively inexpensive tool to cut zip tie and plastic boning is (surprisingly enough) a set of dog nail clippers!
I learned about the effectiveness of dog nail clippers through an older American Duchess stays video, and from my own experience I really recommend using them on plastic boning! They cut through the plastic like butter. Way easier than using scissors and cheaper than getting dedicated boning clippers!
Great tip! Thanks for watching!
I recently rented a grommet press! I made a skirt (and made it again a few weeks later because I got commissioned) that included about 200 grommets. I was looking for some other notions for that and saw the pretty-much-only place that had what I needed had the grommet press for rent. The price was reasonable (about a sixth of the 'buy it instead!' for the same press at the same place) and they set me up with all the dies I needed for their standard period of a week. I got the smallest one they had and wished I'd gotten a bigger one for better leverage - I think the grommets I used were size 0 and setting them in with pure body weight was not the most fun. Better than hammering on my apartment floor still - I'm willing to take a corset outside to hammer, but 200 grommets is too damn many inside or outside.
Rent before you buy is what I'm going for. I'm personally not going to be renting the press for a third time - when the next thing comes up, I'll fork over the cash because then that's proven to be a tool I use often enough.
I bought the cheapest pair of side cutters I could find in the hardware.
The grommet cutter is useful for leather and bonded synthetic fabrics because an awl won't make nice holes in them
The way I got SO EXCITED when you said you were left handed and gave scissor recommendations. The struggle is real sometimes being left handed and trying to find a good pair of scissors
Oh my goodness... I really needed to hear what you said about "your first pair". I was trying to salvage my first stays today and getting so frustrated. I had kinda already decided to start over, but hearing this has reminded me it's ok to start over. I don't know if you meant for this to be a pep talk, but it was for me. THANK YOU!
I did mean it to be a pep talk! In my very direct, INTJ way 😂 So glad that it helped you! It IS ok to start over 🧡
I use soap bar scraps (like those bits that are skinny and sharp and you could just stick onto another bar) to mark my black and dark fabrics, just check if you/ the person you're sewing for isn't sensitive to soap. If you're not washing the sewing project, you may need to 'spot clean' if you have visible soap marks or lines
Frixion pen marks come back with the cold, like in winter. So if you live somewhere with cold winters, maybe reconsider.
I did test that theory once and put something I heat erased in the freezer, and the marks never came back.
So I wonder how cold it actually has to get for that to happen 🤔
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming I did the same test and it came back.
I live in the Nordics and I've had mixed results in the -30 Celcius winters. Black has never returned, red has only returned on viscose. Haven't used blue or the other colours.
So glad you did this video. I was about to splash out and buy one of those grommet press machine thingies which I can't actually afford, but the grommet smasher thing I can definitely afford, plus the mallet. Also, handy tip on grommets VS eyelets. TYVM! ❤
A fellow south-paw sewist!? Excellent!
Engagement! Always entertained by your editing and I'm excited for costume reveal.
Yay engagement, thank you! And I'm glad you're excited 😄 the weather has broken here already, so I might be able to do it with only a ~small~ sheen of sweat 😂😂
I lucked out on Facebook Marketplace and got a Janome serger for $75 from a business owner who was upgrading. My boning strategy for Victorian/Edwardian corsets is flat steel in the front and back (Gold Star Tool has the best price I’ve seen, $30 for 10 yards of 3/8” width) and zip ties everywhere else. It was certainly an interesting time walking around Home Depot awkwardly carrying around zip ties that were taller than me (I got the 60” 3/8” wide ones because they didn’t have anything else longer than 14” ones).
WOW!! That's a great deal on a serger!!
You know...it never would have occured to me to look at Home Depot for zip ties 😂
There are a lot of ways to finish raw edges without a serger, but most of them are more time-intensive. I don’t own one, but I do borrow one from a friend when I know I will need to use one a lot.
fitting buddies to help you pin things behind your back may save time, but if you're introverted enough, determined enough, and have the patience, you can take it off, make alterations, put it back on, rinse and repeat until you have it right. I have never had a helper in my life and I still manage to make clothing, including corsets. And if you're plus size, don't even bother with advice from us skinnies unless your skinny in particular has experience fitting bigger bodies, because we don't know SH*T. Many of us will confidently give advice as though we have a clue. We do not, in fact, have a clue.
LOL! Truer words have never been said 👏 Thanks for watching!
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Thanks for making such a fab' video!
I invested in a grommet setter. I could not live with out it. I purchssed a rotary tool that can cut spiral steels and round both regular plastic boning and zip ties. However, my favorite purchase was a cloth cutting bit that fits in a drill and cuts holes for the grommets. Yes, i cut my fabric, it has never created an issue for me. I wore waist reducing bodices for 5 years, 12 hours a day, for 16 weeks a year, and mever had a grommet pop. That was in the 90's and the bodices are still holding up.
Well, it's good you haven't had issues! That was not the case for me at all.
I use my seam allowance curves a lot--just different habits, I think. I also love my dad's old steel carpenter's square, which is a ginormous L shaped piece of steel marked in 1/64th inches for setting steps (amongst other things). When I set that thing down on the grainline of the slipperiest fabric ever made, it stays in place!
I steal my husband's engineering drawing tools sometimes. 😅
It's always useful if you have someone you can "borrow" tools from!
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming I gotta say, my dad always had the best toys. One of his hobbies was woodworking and it is amazing how much overlap there is between tools for carpentry and tools for sewing.
I get the continuous roll and airplane snips to cut them. I’ve done both metal tips and plastidip.
Grommet setter but I like your term better. I have a tiny anvil for mine.
This was fun. I really love your take on things.
I had the metal snap version of the pliers eventually they bent!!!! The banging things work much better. If I was still setting a million metal snaps I would have a press cause it’s cool and it could be a gift from everyone for everything if they wanted.
Oh I found a button placement according ruler at a thrift shop. I’m sure I could make that work for eyelets. Or you know just wing it.
Fitting partners take careful thought. My daughter is good but she is also opinionated and lives 6 hours away. Yes I did my best to raise a strong independent woman so I shouldn’t complain about that. lol.
It was a great list. Some times you can find the expensive stuff in thrift shops. Took years but my pressing ham was 2 bucks! Same with the curved rulers
Excellent work and advice as always, my dear fellow sewer and Costumeer. Like you, I often say NOPE. As a right-hand-scissor-using leftie, I have to admit I like the Fiskars soft grip style and I recently got a spring pair. I have no clue where I stashed my awl tho…
I flat out refuse to cut right handed. I can. But I won't 😂
Oh my god, I am not alone! I'm a lefty that CANNOT use left handed scissors.
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming I tried. My late mother bought me VERY expensive dressmaking scissors that were left-handed but it seems….off. I also predominantly use a spoon in my left hand and if I’m buttering something, I’ll use the knife in my left (but can also use it in my right). I actually sew (even hand sewing) and knit right handed. I can use my left for hand sewing, but I’m predominantly a righty for that. I can also write legibly with my write. I’m deffo ambidextrous lol.
@@ecummins8650 well I CAN, but it feels weird, so I don’t.
LOL I feel like you over explained why a fitting buddy is unnecessary to the verge of almost making them problematic and then to be trying to correct that perception XD when it was so simply "Only you know how you feel in it" XD LOL "on your third rodeo things were all things I got for my first corset and it turned out great but I did a TON of research and have a lot of transferable skills, so maybe I was just an odd duck. Totally agree with not using expensive fabrics where you're developing skills. I did get the anvil and setter (I believe that's what it's called) and I found it easy to use, the only thing I had a bit of trouble was working out how much force I needed as I was too careful at the start and had to realign it back to finish hammering it. I don't know how anything else than steel works for other people, my experience has always been they bend and start digging into my sides and I had them, I haven't made bodies but that's the only scenario I can imagine finding comfortable.
To add further to the eyelet setting tool discourse... I bought a Prym Eyelet pliers from Vena Cava Design, for about £20, and it works really well. Sometimes brand names are worth the extra cost. I will also add that in the UK we mostly call them all eyelets, and they can come with or without washers, and again buy the Prym ones rather than cheap ones because they are definitely superior.
Interesting. Some of the pliers I bought were quite expensive indeed and still didn't work. 🤷♀️
PULL THE LEVER, KRONK
I am so glad someone got that reference. 🤐
omg i bought one of those eyelet thingies when i was new to sewing and had the same issueee as youu!! Im glad ur shedding light on this eyelet stapler propaganda!!
YES!!!! 😂
i was a knitter before i started my first pair of stays and an awl can be substituted with knitting needles, if you have a wide variety of them, start with a 2mm and work your way up. More time consuming, a bit more strenuous on the hands and might not be worth it with a really tight fabric (my firstpair of stays was made with a woefully inadequate canvas i had lying around) but it works really well in a pinch, is less dangerous if your afraid of pointy stuff and can allow you to go a bit wider than an awl would (but they are more expensive as well, so if you don't have them lying around, get an awl)
oh and 2mm needles are at risk of bending under the pressure, but all of my needles are as straight as i am anyway
for that first pair of stays, i would melt of the ends on my zip ties with a candle (like a psycho, still remember the smell) after a bit of intoxication i figured it's just as quick to take a nail file and file the sides. My issue with zipties is that they are not impossibly long so they didn't work for the sides of my stays
I'm thinking of doing my stays right next time. Any suggestion on wooden busks? I found some straight pieces of wood ruler type thingy at a store (forgot the price)
I've used paint sticks in the past with some success
You can double up the cable ties by having them meet and overlap on the tapered ends.
I find you don’t even need to glue them together. The fabric holds them well enough
Thank you for making this video - it was really helpful! 💖 As always, great creating info with an entertainment cherry on top. 🍧
So glad you enjoyed it! ☺️ Thanks for watching!
Very helpful. Thanks
Glad you found it so, thanks for watching!
i found an eyelet setter at an aldi store (generally supplies i buy at an aldi over here tend to be good quality and cheap) i figured i could finally do some accurate victorian corsetry. I did a mock up of an edwardian corset, tried the setter, it came out ugly but suitable enough. Fast forward to one year later, last april. I had to make an 1880s corset for a ball i decided to pick upholstery fabric (the feel looks appropriate for corset, cost me 6-8 € per m where real coutil is 20 bucks - might want buy some at some point to get an idea of what it should feel like) I used two layers of that fabric for the eyelets... after two eyelets my hand was in pain and the eyelets kept looking worse and worse. Once i was done with the corset and i put it on, half of the eyelets scratched the lacing tape i was using and the eyelets at the centre made its way out of the fabric... So i'm gonna try the hammer thing next, bound to be better on my hand, less expensive than the punch thingy and i can warrant the purchase of a pretty hammer
Yes! Hopefully that works out for you!!
This video is such a godsend!
hope it’s not overstepping though to leave a surprisingly inexpensive coutil source! Coscraft in the UK (primarily a cosplay wig seller) also has some really cheap coutil compared to US prices, £11/meter, and weirdly affordable shipping rates… I like to track the exchange rate and order a few meters when it’s really in my favor
Sure, thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for dropping this video! I'm working on my 1st pair of 1830s stays and I was trying to convince myself I needed synthetic whalebone for the best results.😅
You're very welcome! So glad you found it helpful! And nah, you definitely don't, especially in that particular era!
I want that lacing spacer, but Amped Atelier is all out of stock!
I love your talk about sergers - I'm going to pick up a used one later today!
Oh, that's awesome!!
Spiral steel is my favorite.
This was really insightful! Thank you!
❤ my press. I use it for studs and snaps too.
It's definitely a handy tool!
Instant follow! This channel is amazing - like intimidatingly you're amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom
Aw, thank you so much for deciding to stick around! So happy to have you here!
are handworked eyelets easier to deal with than grommets ? probably yes. still didn't stop me from making mine soooo accidentally small when i made my first pair of stays that they are essentially unwearable lol. about to make my first 19th century corset and hoping it ends decently enough that i can at least get one wear out of it lol 🙏 great video!!! really enjoyed all of the tips and tricks and fully agree with all of your top rankings! truly where would we be without clear large marked rulers, the king of sewing supplies
Ah, but the nice thing about too-small eyelets? You can always clip the threads and make the holes bigger! Good luck with your corset! Glad you enjoyed the video 😁
I love the Fiskers that are flat on the bottom if that makes sense.
I think they’re softgrip easy action.
If you liked exploding kittens but found it traumatic, I recommend Unstable Unicorns.
Also, my Pattern Master ruler/curve thingy has been going strong for years now. It combines the clear gridded ruler with a tailors curve but also include seam allowance guidance too.
Lol I've never heard of that one, but if it doesn't involve instant losing by drawing a single card and/or other players Noping your moves, I'll check it out.
That sounds like a nifty tool!
I have some limitations with my hands and my grommet press gets a workout. Yes i bought on the cheaper side but it works so much better.
That's good! I agree that the usefulness increases if you have limitations like that!
Thank you for sharing, love your shows!
Of course! Thank you so much for watching!!
Maybe because I draw but I've never found tailor's curves to be useful. I drew my own patterns before I bought them and just eyeballed the curves and then got curves and now I still just eyeball them. It takes about the same amount of time to draw with a curve vs manually and it looks just as good either way.
Yeah, honestly, I eyeball as much as I use the curves. But I also have a fine art background, and I know most people don't l! 🤐
I am really enjoying this video. Thank you!
So glad to hear that! Thanks for watching!!
Another hardware store option: electrical tape can be used in place of plasti-dip for metal bones, and it's much cheaper.
How well does it work for a steel bone that wore through its original tipping and escaped its channel?
Make a few corsets out of the fabric on clearance first.
I’ve had some luck using the heat erasable highlighters on darker fabric. It’s not super visible but it’s noticeable enough for what I’ve needed it for
Huh! I've only tried the pens, not the highlighters, I'll have to look into that 🤔
I'm working up the energy to try to make my first corset and this was extremely helpful! Thank you!
Awesome! So glad to hear it! Energy is definitely required--good luck! ☘️
don't buy your scissors, ask your grandma first. Free Ginghers! then I found a pair of Wisse sheers at a yard sale for stupid cheap. yard sales are your friend!
Good tip! If you're a righty 😂
Instead of a dremel I use a an electric nail drill. Not as expensive and if you happen to be into nails you could also use it for its intended purpose 😂
Lolllllllll I feel like that would be a fun way to introduce yourself. "Hi. I'm into nails ." 😂 Great tip!
Thank you so much for this video! I have just printed out the pattern for my first corset/stays, but I haven’t bought any materials other than the pattern yet, so this is perfect! ❤ I am taking notes on your advice before I jump into shopping!
Awesome! What are the odds on that timing 😂😂 Good luck with your first!
Best-video!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!!
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming I-get-the-feeling-you-don't-know-how-awesome-you-really-are.-Always-a-fun-and-educational-moment.-Rock-on-superstar!
Hope it’s a good idea to make my first stays from denim? My husband had some unfortunate early accidents with 3 jeans in the first few weeks so I saved those (stains like from bleach and tears from having caught on a nail and such) and it seems like they would work so well as (non-essential Historical accurate) stays to wear at home over my natural fibre clothing so I can finally stop reacting badly to those elastics used in bras and such. For my mock-up it certainly doesn’t matter that the colors don’t match. Fabric is both 100% cotton and seems the same weight and structure but I don’t have a microscope so I realize there might still be a slight difference. Just hope it’s not painstakingly significant in differences. Guess I’ll find out 😅
My body hates synthetics and I’m allergic to natural rubber/latex so I figured stays might be the way to go. My only experience in sewing garments though is a self drafted bath robe made from secondhand towels and a potato sack dress made from double gauze baby blankets or just altering ready-made or secondhand clothing.
Have unbleached cotton canvas cloth (and textile paints lol) and lots of denim. Was gonna make something out of those but that need was gone before I could make it and now all that fabric is still unused and seems like they would work well for stays and such? I’d like anyone’s thoughts on the matter. Don’t want any other support or smoothing out except for my non-inflatable balloons to be supported against gravity, not in other places or compressed, just not sagging downwards. All the other regular woven and knitted cottons and other fabrics that would be breathable that I have all seem too light and thus prone to tearing or stretching or too soft to give support
Love this video, gives a nice look into what to expect from another point of view instead of the regular tutorials or vlog-style type of “making stays or corset” (or other garments)
Denim is great for corsetry, as long as it has no spandex in it. You want stuff that has zero stretch, or the fabric will warp and you'll have a very difficult time of it.
Thanks thanks thanks
Of course! 😁 Thank you for watching!!
Thank you this is so helpful as a beginner! I somehow inherited a quilting ruler and fabric scissors. I’ll just skip good markers, who needs to see what they’re doing 😂 My tendency is to wing stuff and fix it later so the sooner I learn to fix mistakes the better lmao. Seems like I’ll only need to buy a busk, some sturdy cable ties and an awl to get started!!!! And maybe some new thread
I'm so glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
I've used synthetic whalebone and I don't like it. I much prefer the industrial zipties from Home Depot. They're super easy to buy and way cheaper...and easy to file the ends smooth with a nail file or sandpaper!
Good to know!
Another informative video! You always create content I actually want to WATCH! Take that RUclips!! 😠Got to say that I really like the bodice/stays you are wearing. Did you use the custom drafted renaissance pattern to create them? Or are they from another source? 🧡💙
I'm so glad you feel that way! 😊
They are the Autumn Stays pattern from Etsy, I did them as a sew along with Ourshieldmaiden a few years back. I'll link to the pattern in a separate comment, sometimes YT doesn't like that, but you can find them easy if it eats the comment.
I will say, the pattern only comes in 3 sizes and requires some skill to adjust.
Here's the link, maybe: www.etsy.com/listing/1179272469/autumn-stays-sewing-pattern-straight?click_key=d7e8b4f7c16c22511506f9869b74fb48ed160810%3A1179272469&click_sum=e3d2c6de&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=autumn+stays&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&sts=1&dd=1&content_source=c8be6acca2e1945c1f1d32babca647bf0b561f2e%253A1179272469
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Thank you for going to the trouble to list the link! 🧡😊
No. I agree. I am using cheap fabric. I am not beginner but not expert.
That's awesome!! Save that moolah!!
I've been working in kirtles and pairs of bodies, and one of the things I'm seriously trying to learn is fitting other people; I've learned on my c-cup/straight size/ short waist/ pear figure, and fitting both my petite-apple-with-scoliosis and my short-plus-size-uses-a-walker friends has been an adventure (as was fitting 6ft something Bear who had to be persuaded that tight =/= too small). Luckily 16th c supportive kirtles are more forgiving, but getting the shoulders and shape change right is still a learning curve.
Thoughts on saying fuck it and using regular ink (accepting visible lines at the end)? Reed boning for that full Elizabethan vibe?
Kirtles are definitely easier to fit! But adapting for things like scoliosis I bet is a challenge!
I'm not big myself on using regular ink where it might be visible in the final make, though I am a fan of using it to draw seam lines on the interlining. Reed interests me as a lighter, more breathable option, but what has kept me from using it is the breakability issue. I've heard a lot of people say they've had to replace snapped canes--and that doesn't appeal to me at all!!
I believe that there are extant examples of ink and pencil lines still visible on finished garments, so while I do tend to use tailors chalk or frixon pens, sometimes my pencil is in my hand and I can't be bothered to swap and I think that's OK!
Ok so I totally thought I just lacked the skill to put eyelets in, but it turns out those are just hot garbage. At least I didn't have to buy them (it's the only thing stores here seem to carry) cause my mum had a set I could borrow
Nup. It was not you. It was them 😂
I think part of why I kept buying the things is because that's all the box stores had! Internet has helped that immensely 😄
Do zip-ties come in different lengths for each width? Our store only had 7.5 mm in 370 mm (and the thinner ones are even shorter). So I've had to use synthetic wale bones in some places even though it's just my second pair of mock-ups.
Buy them online and you'll find a myriad of widths and lengths. I usually go for ones that have between 150-200 tensile strength, and are 18-24" long.
80 bucks for roll? That so cheap in whale terms
Ps. Your comment about fully steel bodice being heavier than chainmail makes me want to make armour corset
I mean, an armored corset could be fun. But heavy a.f.
I’ve used several cheaper heat erase white pens from amazon and they worked fine?
The main issue was the nibs not writing as well
Do you have a specific brand?
I make metal armour and we use metal eyelets a lot there, they're for keeping your ties that hold your armour on from shredding on a drilled hole. That said, those eyelet setters ARE garbage, use the shaped percussive setter that comes in the package and a hammer, on a soft wood so you don't deform the pretty side. The ones we get for metal have stright bottoms unlike the last ones I bought at a fabric store which have rough bottoms so they theoretically mushroom more easily but in reality they make sharp bits on te insides of your clothes!! Do not recommend! That said, I will use the little eyelets sometimes where I expect to need to take the laces all the way out because I sometimes find shoelace aglets catch badly on my hand-stitched eyelets.
I own some Frixion pens but they don't draw nicely on all fabrics and I wind up needing to iron things before I'm done with the marks a lot of the time so I just use chalk or watercolour pencils.
I cut the seam allowances off every pattern I make for accuracy reasons (I need my stitch lines) so I just fudge it with the seam allowances and that hasn't failed me yet. Also because I know where my stitch lines ARE, I can get just a bit more out of my fabric by skimping on corners I was just going to cut off anyways. I often don't even draw them on, I just eyeball when I cut.
My fitting buddy lives in a different city and we only see each other a few times a year, thankfully she actually KNOWS what she's talking about for fit (though perhaps not corsets) because weird body club, but they're still going to help me more than my "um, what?" experience. We've done a few fittings through video chat. "How should this feel" is a question I ask her often. And when me reaching to a place distorts the whole garmnt I'm trying to make, I've borrowed unskilled hands to good effect.
I did multiple lacing holes on projects starting with a darning needle, working up to a nail, then a chopstick, then a bigger nail, then a pencil. I bought an awl and its slope is too steep at the larger size I need so it gets me up to the chopstick part in one go. If I don't go bigger than that, by the time I stitch my eyelets they've closed in enough that I have issues getting the lacing through.
LEFT POWER!! My very first pair of Fiskars lefty scissors WERE HINGED RIGHTY and I had no idea until I hit a pin with them and dulled them during lockdowns when I couldn't get them sharpened and my friend (also my fitting buddy) ordered me a new pair that are hinged correctly for lefty use and suddenly I don't have to look over my scissors to the outside to see my cut line!!! (another reason why I mostly quit drawing in seam allowances).
We had a great pair of steel cutters in the shop made by Knipex, dunno how much they cost (googled it, a lot, more than your $80 trap) but holy gods they'll darn near go through a combination lock if you have enough leverage and will happily snip rivets and bolts like butter. However, if you weren't literally cutting through a bolt or a rivet, the $15 Stanley end cutters I used when I was making chain mail links were fine for wire cutting. Well, until I broke them, but that was a lot of cutting (probably fifty pounds of steel wire in 14 and 16 ga in galvanized and stainless) and apparently I have a pretty strong grip strength, I didn't blame the tool, I think I replaced it with an identical one that I'm still using, though my wrists have decreed that I shall take on no more chain mail commissions. Around here a bolt cutter style cutter from Home Despot will still be about thirty bucks, but that's Canadian and our prices are weird.
Oooh THAT'S what they're used for! 😂
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming well, you know, they're ok for like a cuff or neck lacing where you're not going to have any kind of tension... but yeah, protecting lacing from metal is the best use I've found for the silly things.
Where do you get herringbone linen for $10/yard? I can't even find it!
Burnley and Trowbridge, usually, though it's $15 or $16 a yard. Sometimes they have it in stock, sometimes they don't. I only ever buy some when I'm getting other things from them, and since they usually ship flat rate, I then save some $$ on postage.
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming thanks. One of these days I should look through their entire store, just to see what all they carry that I might not know about.
Hi, as a fellow zipties user, I've got a question for you, what do you think about metal zipties? Can they be used as a steelboning dupe or are they the spawn of satan? I am looking for an advice before I put them in.
I've never used metal zipties, I didn't even know they existed! You could try it... although you likely will also need to purchase pliers and tipping if you don't already have it.
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming I didn't think of buying tipping as well. Shoot. Thank you for pointing it out!
I'm on probably my 19th corset, and still struggling SMH IDK what I'm doing wrong :(
Oh no! Is it the same consistent issue each time, or different issues?
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Yeah, my fashion fabric never lines up with my lining. One is always larger than the other and wrinkles when I'm trying to stitch the layers together. And I'm still learning to read a tape measure, when doing a pattern I will start with my bust measurements but it always ends up being way too big. I am at a loss. Not ready to throw in the towel but dang! :/ When cutting out your fabric and lining, do you layer them or cut separately? Thanks for the reply :)
🎗🎗🎗🎗🎗
Thank you! 😁
What do y'all do with your "first try" versions that aren't worth wearing? Do they go in the circular file? Take them apart and reuse the pieces? Try to remake them into something else?
Yes? 😂😂
I think it depends on the version and what the mistakes were. For example, my first one is buried in my closet...it's not worth picking apart and reusing because I used all the wrong materials. My second one got a lot of use and I'm looking to rehome since it was too long-waisted. The third got altered!
@@FantasticalFolliesCostuming Hypothetically, if you didn't want it taking space up in your closet, would the next stop be... the trash? (She asks, cringing bc she hates to throw anything away LOL)
I needed this video. Corsets are my winter projects. Gotta learn sometime. Thank you for saving me money and frustration later (I know I will a little frustrated, thats what learning a new skill is all about)
Corsets are great winter projects! And yes! Frustration is definitely part of it, but good luck and keep at it! ☺️