Foundations Revealed 5 Senses Competition - dress diary part 8

Day 2:

Because I like a sweetheart shape at the front, I reinforce the busk with steel boning. This also serves to secure the waist tape neatly, and avoids bulk when I insert the busk; and if the colour doesn’t match the outer, it doesn’t matter as it doesn’t show.

 A bit about boning channels. I have experimented a lot with different materials. Bias binding is too fine, even though it will bend nicely to curves, and I have tried the ones below: a cotton tape, a twill tape, and cotton channel tape. The cotton channels are idea in many ways; strong enough to not let the boning rub, easy to sew in (has neat bonded edges), plenty of room to insert boning, and can be dyed. Except that it is quite stiff, and not easy over curves like bust shaping.

But this is what I chose anyway, and even though I have an aversion to pins, I used several to hold it in place and manipulate it around the bust shape (this corset has a C cup). I like to sew the waist tape over the channels; it could go under with this type of tape, as the tube means boning doesn’t get stuck at the middle, but I like how this looks.

When it was time for the back lacing panel, I sewed the center back and edge stitched, pressed it flat, and sewed a parallel seam for the steel boning. I then sewed it the rest of the corset, securing the waist tape. Before I stitched the last channel down, I inserted a piece of plastic (from a plastic sleeve file) to support the eyelets.

And then I was ready to bind the edges!

Foundations Revealed 5 Senses Competition - dress diary part 7

Ok, I walked away and had a nap, then couldn’t resist! I had to get the busk in, if nothing else that day :)

I felt a fission of excitement sitting at the sewing machine, I don’t know why I get so much more excited sewing corsets than other garments. There is always something to learn with each new project, and I guess I feel I am really only on the cusp of understanding the extent of construction, and have been developing my own style for only a year.

I start with the busk, partly because it is at the front, and seems a logical place to start, but also because I never tire of the process: it seems like magic once it is in. I have found some lovely black steel busks, and I used a 12” one for this corset.

As I have said, I love ‘things’, gadgets or tools that make the process that much more fun. A student gave me one of these pens, which is genius! You can draw on fabric, and it disappears with heat (ironing), and it comes in loads of colours! Joy! I still don’t quite trust it, but it works every time, and is fantastic for sewing. Not so much for homework, my student told me: a child had used one for a story, and the teacher loved it so much she laminated it… and it all disappeared… So there is a word of caution!

For this, I drew the gaps for the loops, and because I could, the straight edges well!

After I sew them, I normally just press them. This time I decided to edge stitch, using two variations to suit each side of the busk. This worked really well, and kept the edges super straight for the insertion. I am not a fan of topstitching in general, but love edge stitching.

I use an awl to make the holes for the studs, then a knitting needle to force the fabric apart. The sateen was quite strong with the interfacing, and required a bit of effort.

Now I can rest!

Foundations Revealed 5 Senses Competition - dress diary part 6

So I couldn’t hold back! I have the all clear to drive, and using a sewing machine isn’t so different – is it?! The key is to pace myself, which is hard, being a tad obsessive.

Day 1: I bonded woven interfacing to the fabric. The cotton sateen is nice and strong, but I wanted to be super safe. I did it as a whole piece because the patterns were printed really close together, and cut it out after. I am so happy with my new/old ironing press, it made the whole process much smoother.

I then cut out a layer of coutil, which is quite fine, but as this is a single layer corset, is not a problem.

In a show of great self-control, I walked away from the pieces even though they were calling to be sewn up!

Foundations Revealed 5 Senses Competition - dress diary part 5

The competition requires that the corset has a name... but what to call it?! I have struggled over this one, what word or phrase will encompass all that it means to me?

There is more to the human experience than the five senses, as individual elements; we have the ability to balance ourselves, we feel pressure, temperature, pain and motion, which involved the coordination of all the senses. We have proprioceptive sensors which are affected by gravity and stretch sensors found in muscles, skin and joints and enable us to feel our context in our surroundings.

Pondering these ideas, I contemplated what it means to wear a corset: it is not simply a garment for fashion, it is a choice, a desire, a drive or a need. It emboldens women (or men), it has a force in itself that impacts the viewer, it creates a hyper awareness for the wearer of their body, and yes, all their senses.

And then it came to me:

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is the phenomenon in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another.

Wearing this corset, I am aware of myself in a different light, and when others try it on, I see the same effect. So there it is, my corset is named: Synesthesia - a union of the senses.

Foundations Revealed 5 Senses Competition - dress diary part 4

Meantime, I had a burlesque event to go to, so I decided to wear the paper version. It looked great with tailored pants and I felt pretty snappy, until my inherently introverted nature kicked in and I took it off (and not even a photo to show for it!). What it made me realise though, was that actually, this corset was really good in its own right, and the fact that it was made in paper meant it fitted the brief perfectly: it was unexpected to feel paper instead of fabric, it sounded different due to the stiffness, and of course it looked different, as the paper had caught the feed dog while sewing, scratching the print and creating a slightly distressed texture.

I still wanted to make the fabric version, and when the material arrived I was so excited! It was perfectly to scale (I had included a 5cm square to check in blue), and the colours and resolution were lovely. Due to the width of the cotton sateen, I was able to get two full prints in one length, it didn't even use a metre of fabric, and if I make a mistake sewing it up, I have a spare! I am also really interested to see if the corset will be slightly bigger given that fabric will give.

Ta Daaaaaa!

A comparison between the paper corset and printed fabric. There is a slight colour difference, but I put that down to different printers.

But. On December 31^st I had a hysterectomy, which means that I have had to rest, and have now had the longest break from sewing that I have had in years. Meanwhile, the fabric is sitting on my sewing table patiently waiting to be born.

My machines sitting forlorn....

I can, however, sit at a computer for short periods of time, so I have been working on making a digital pattern for sale, fully graded with different cup sizes:

C Cup 

B Cup

So my big question is, will I be fit enough to sew it before the completion closes? Or do I submit the paper version, which isn’t as polished in terms of its construction as a fabric one would be, but on the other hand, perhaps it fits the brief better?

Foundations Revealed 5 Senses Competition - dress diary part 3

Being me, I got a bit excited as I was sewing it up, so decided to do it all properly, using boning channels and waist tape, a steel busk and eyelets, and spiral boning. I bound the edges with cotton bias and tried it on. Woop! It was great! Very firm, due to the inflexible nature of paper, but the shape over the bust was lovely, and in spite of the materials, was pretty comfortable! I was really happy with the shape the figures created over the bust and the way the waist is accentuated. 

Check out the pattern matching on the seams! That bottom and leg are perfect! Not bad for a material as inflexible as paper :) 

I am super happy with the shape over the bust.

My original vision was to get the fabric printed at Spoonflower, and after a lot of trial and error, I managed to upload the file. Due to the masking of so many versions of the painting, the file was enormous, and it took me a while to work out how to reduce it enough without loosing resolution. I chose the cotton sateen fabric because it is strong, and has a nice sheen. My plan was to back it with a lightweight iron-on woven interfacing, and line the corset with coutil.

Ready for printing - I hope!

When I committed to my layout, I was so nervous, hoping I had got the resolution right and the scale! Then I had to wait the 5 weeks for it to arrive, knowing that if it was wrong, it was too late to redo!