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I've made numerous upgrades to this costume over the years, mostly replacing some of the cheats we used to finish by Halloween with more accurate or better items. Almost everything has been upgraded or replaced, so I thought it warranted a new page. :)
[Skip to in-progress costume.]
Corset v.2.0 Muslin
I made the first version of this corset back in 2002 and had to take a few shortcuts in order to finish the costume by Halloween. To see version 1.0 of my corset, click [here]. After wearing the corset only two times, it already started to show some wear, so I decided to make a second, better version, especially since I'd plan to make a cancan skirt to wear over the corset (find that costume here). I heavily modified Simplicity 9769, the Civil War underwear pattern. First, I lowered the front so that it hit under the bust and then extended the bottom of the corset onto the hips two more inches. I had to do a few muslins to get the fit just right. In order to test it before cutting my good fabric, I made two lacing strips from duck cloth and grommets so that I could get an accurate gauge of how the corset would look when completed. 
[up] [finished costume] Corset Construction
The corset is two layers: sturdy duck cloth and white satin fashion fabric. I cut the duck cloth first, then used temporary basting spray to secure the duck cloth to the satin before cutting and basting the two layers together. I used regular plastic boning, but upgraded the hook and eye tape from my last attempt to a proper metal busk. For my original corset, I wanted green and white stripes for something a little different. Finding fabric like that was next to impossible, so instead I used white satin and wide green ribbon to mimic the effect. Once I assembled the newest corset with boning channels and the front busk, I pinned the wide ribbon into place following the curve of the boning. I used a zipper foot to stitch the ribbon down (though I did have to hand sew a few sides that were too close to the boning). Then, the top and bottom of the corset were bound with white double-wide bias tape and the grommets were inserted into the back. I used size 00 silver grommets, which are placed 1" apart. The lacing is matching ribbon also from Joanns. 
Left to Right: pattern pieces, without stripes, with stripes; with binding [up] [finished costume] The Finished Corset v.2.0 Costume v. 1.5
Here's my Tango Underwear with the new corset and a few new accessories, but without the new chemise. 
Left to Right: front and back [up] [finished costume] Chemise
I originally wore a tank-top and skirt under my corset, but it's always bugged me that they were two different shades of green, so I finally decided to suck it up and make a real chemise. The new chemise was self-drafted by me and is made from green cotton from Joanns. I wanted a similar look to my original skirt, so the front is cut to look like the bottom overlaps and is trimmed with matching ruffles. The ruffles and yoke are decorated with green and gold trim that I've had forever and matches quite nicely. COMING SOON [up] [finished costume] Other Components of the Final Outfit:
The Finished Costume To see the reference images used to make this costume, check out my Tango Underwear Research. |
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