Cost £160

corset workshop brochure

Email me if interested.

There were 5 in the class and all did really well. We used the Laughing Moon Dore pattern and everyone managed to pretty much finish their corsets – though a couple still needed some handsewing of the bias binding.

Had fun and enjoyed the visit – will definitely go back..

The trip had been organised by Foundations Revealed and we were kindly given permission to view, handle and photograph some of the amazing collection of corsets held as part of the Symington Collection.

I had the opportunity to talk with Philip Warren and Sarah Nicol, both of whom work closely with the collection. I learnt about how the corsets are stored and one method of dealing with moths (freeze them – put the garment in a bag, stick it in the freezer for 2 weeks. This will kill off any moths but not the grubs. Take the bag out, leave it sealed for another 2 weeks allowing the grubs to hatch. Stick it in the freezer again to kill the newly hatched moths and in theory this should break the cycle).

We also discussed ‘celluloid type’ boning and how an Edwardian ‘bust improver’ worked.

Photos with permission from Leicestershire County Council Museums Service; Symington   Collection.

There are more photos on Flickr here

If interested just email me -  anna@corsetworkshop.com

They look incredible on,  the 18th Century inverted cone shape compresses the bust leaving nowhere else for it to go but up!

The pattern and construction are deceptively simple (and very clever) using rigilene instead of spirals or steel boning -  even for the ‘Couture’ Gold Label.

On most of the ones I have the rigilene is not covered – there is no casing or lining so the rigilene is directly against the skin and (surprisingly) the ends of it are not finished in any way. On the denim anglo mania – the only one I have which is fully lined – spiky bits on the rigilene ends have worked their way through the fabric making the corset virtually unwearable.

The shape is a classic – and the designs instantly recognisable as Westwood….

There is an identical one in the Symington collection – here. They date theirs to 1905.

The purpose of the ‘improver’ was to produce the ‘low bust and straight front’ profile which comes in at some point after 1900 and lasts perhaps until the great war.

The boning on mine is a little distorted – and I am not sure what material the bones are made of – the Symington collection describes them as celluloid – the bones in mine are a hard plastic like material (which is not very flammable) a little like bird quill.

The improver is not like a corset – its very lightweight and does not shape the body at all – simply adding a smooth shape where needed. In adverts from 1905/10 in the Waisted efforts book and in Sheps book similar garments are described as ‘brassieres’ and when I tried the improver on it is very similar what we would call a bra but offering no support at all.

Here are a couple of Weldon’s patterns from 1908/10 (from a scrapbook) showing the  desired profile:

The <Foundations of Fashion> book has many examples of bust improvers

Katrina used a stunning kingfisher blue duchess satin and Lorraine used a crisp dupion silk in green that had blue threads running through it as a contrast. The bias binding was made at the workshop using the corset fabrics and then hand sewn into place.

There are over 200 items of underwear on display which includes corsets dating back to the 18th C.

Leicestershire County Council (exhibitions web page)

Pictures of the exhibition at the BBC (link)

The fabric used was an oyster duchess satin, overlaid with a fine black lace. The lace was cut symmetrically and hand sewn over the satin.Click to view slideshow.