Demystifying Corset Construction: How to make a corset with clear, easy instructions
The Victorian Corset Sewing Workbook
No more struggling with how to make a corset! It’s easier than you think!
Believe sewing a corset is hard? Scared to make one? Corsets aren’t really that difficult. You simply have to know which supplies to use and the order in which to use them. Apply them with simple seams and you can sew a corset! In this detailed workbook, you’ll learn about the fabrics and tools you’ll need for corset making. Then we’ll walk step-by-step on how to put your corset together. From cutting the coutil and inserting the busk, to grommets and adding laces to the back when you’re done – we go over it all!
You don’t have to be scared of making a corset – simply daring enough to try. You may hear that they’re not that hard, and they’re not. You merely have to follow how to put each piece together and how to use specific tools like an awl and grommet setter. In this hands-on workbook, I’ll take you through each step of building a corset. With thorough instructions and full-color photos to make each step easy, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to tackle sewing a corset!
Workbook covers:
- Corset fabrics to use and how to pre-treat them
- Detailed list of supplies & tools needed and where to get them (chapter 2)
- How to cut out a corset then flatline it with fashion fabric (so it’s not only pretty but built correctly from the start) (pgs. 26-27)
- Piecing the corset panels (pg. 30)
- Setting in the busk (the right and easy way) (chapter 7)
- How to make boning channels (pgs. 41-42)
- Tips for measuring bones (pg. 45)
- Finishing the raw edges for a professional look (chapter 12)
- How to set in grommets for a smooth & tight finish (pgs. 51-52)
- Sewing Tips gleaned from years of corset making
- Dealing with corset storage and cleaning (chapter 16)
- How to wear your corset so you can still eat, dance & not faint (chapter 17)
- Other helpful tricks when sewing corsets
and much more! You’ll also get my recommended vendors & online suppliers for corset making materials, including patterns. It’s all here!
“Hi Jennifer,
The disclaimer: your first corset won’t be perfect. They never come out perfect. Even the most talented seamstresses and tailors continue to push forward to make their next corset even better. Don’t let perfectionism or lack of skill stop you.
This workbook is only for those who are challenged in their historical sewing and want to push themselves to the next level of costuming. Will you give it a try?
Purchase your workbook copy here.
Available as a digital PDF file for download from our Etsy Storefront.
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Dear Jennifer, I am trying to make a blouse suitable for a Victorian theme night. I have a very nice pattern, which unfortunately has just straight long sleeves. I want straight sleeves from just above the elbow down to the wrist, and with quite puffy top sleeve from above the elbow to the shoulder. Am I right in assuming that if I cut slits in the top half of the sleeve pattern, then stretch the slits out placing the whole piece on marking paper and then pencil around the widened area to draw another pattern piece, that this would work. Gratefully yours, Shirlie xx
Yes, that is what you want to do. On this page you can see original 1890s sleeve draft shapes. Good luck!
Your website is very useful for everyone… I like to sew a corset. Do u have any free pattern for me pls. Im appriciate this very much. Tnks. Harini
Is this a true work book made with paper pages or a digital book? I much prefer a true “book” for this kind of thing.
Thank you!
Barbara
Barbara,
This workbook is currently only available as a digital PDF file. You can save the file then print it out yourself or take it to a printer or office supply store where they can print and even bind it for you. Thanks for the question.
Jennifer
Jennifer, what is the fabric shown in the photo above. I looked yesterday for a cotton twill or poplin but didn’t see any with a shiny surface. Should I order it online?
The cream brocade? It’s mostly cotton but with some poly (I believe but don’t know for sure). It is a damask as it’s all one color with the pattern woven around the stain weave. A brocade would offer the same but in multi-colored patterns. You can get similar in silks too.
Does this book cover fitting? Specifically how to change a pattern to fit someone who isn’t a standard shape? I am very short waisted, and small busted, so “off the rack” corsets simply don’t fit me, and most patterns seem to have the same fit issues. I would really like to make a corset that fits MY body correctly, before I make a bodice. If I make a bodice to fit over a poorly fitting corset, it won’t fit right whenever I finally make a good one. I hope to take your bustle dress class, and will need to hurry to get a corset done before that!
Thank you, Christa
Hi Christa,
This sewing workbook covers all the steps to make a corset from the collection the right tools and notions clear through to setting in grommets and binding the edges. Although I don’t cover fitting specifically, a list of recommended patterns is given where each of those patterns has some fitting instructions included. In the online corset class we do go through fittings, but alas, the current one is ending and won’t be given again until later this year.
For being short-waisted you’ll want to fold your pattern pieces at the waistline to shorten before you make your mockup. You are very right in thinking you need to fit the bodice over a good corset silhouette or it won’t look right! The Truly Victorian 110 and Laughing Moon Dore corset patterns are highly recommended.
can any Victorian corset pattern be used for this? Or does it need to be a specific pattern?
Thanks,
Janie
The workbook instructions walk you through the construction process of any straight panel seam corset. A list of recommended patterns is given in the workbook.
Hello,
Does the price on this book cover international shipping? If not, how much is the shipping to Finland?
Sincerily,
Lumikettu
Hi Lumikettu,
Thanks for the question. The workbook is actually a PDF digital document that you download (no physical book will be mailed). You can print your own copy at home or at a printing office. I have many international customers who’ve found this corset workbook very helpful in their sewing.
Thanks for your interest!
Jennifer
I can’t find cotton waist band stabilizing tape anywhere. Is there a mail order source you know of that I might use? Thanks.
Try Wooded Hamlet and Cheep Trims websites for cotton twill tape. You might also find it at JoAnn Fabrics or Hancocks.
Also, BBlack and Sons has Spools of Twill tape, and the prices are VERY Reasonable, and shipping is pretty fast as well.
Twilltape.com has a huge selection of cotton tapes of various sizes and weights
Hello Jennifer,
I just started sewing because I joined an Civil War Reenactment group. I am very much a beginner/novice seamstress to say the least. Would the Corest and Corded Petticoat instructions be the same as the 1860’s time period. I thought I saw either on your site or on another that your book for the Corded Petticoat goes to 1855. Would 1855 be close enough or the same for the Civil War Era? I know things changed at certain times but I don’t know what crosses over to which time period … basically I don’t know what the “cut offs” are.
Thank you,
Victoria Walker
Hi Victoria,
Welcome to the world of historical costuming!
You might have seen that 1855 date here as the wire hoopskirt was patented in 1856. This does NOT mean corded petticoats were immediately discarded, but by the early 1860s many women had a wire hoop. You can find when a fashion style began but not when it faded from use as most records only talk about the new and not the old. Take a look at this post I wrote discussing the corded petticoat during the Civil War era: https://historicalsewing.com/mammy-says-scarlett-cant-wear-her-corded-petticoat-anymore
As for this corset workbook, the instructions walk you through a general, 2-layer style corset that was worn for most of the Victorian era (1840s to 1900-ish). No pattern is included but a long list of recommended patterns to use are given. And yes, you can use it for the mid-1800s/Civil War period.