Comments on: Comparison of Different Boning Materials for Use in Sixteenth Century Corsetry

By: missa

missa — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:20:30 +0000

Hi, Sophia. I’m not involved with the SCA, but I have friends who are. I was involved with my local ren faire for years, but I’ve sort of retired…. ;)

By: sophia (svpepper@gmail.com)

sophia (svpepper@gmail.com) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 18:02:26 +0000

are you in the sca? if not you will like it because thats what people do and they also t\do the whole outfit!

By: Elisabeth

Elisabeth — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:52:45 +0000

Hi!
I have been a fan for years, and I just wanted to throw out a boning tip: After reading your original descriptions of the Effigy corset, I made one for my Renfest costume that year. I boned it with a lightweight reed that I got in the floral department. It is the same width as wheat straw, but heavier, and quite stiff.It worked really well, though I am pretty small busted, so might not work for bigger “girls”! (It went into a corset of Muslin and silk, edged with leather.) I have been using it ever since, though the corsets have to be washed by hand, not in the washer.
Thank you SO much for all your helpful insights over the years!

By: admin

admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:56:46 +0000

Er, Chick, what’s a corset mouse? I’m not familiar with that term, and it sounds a little odd…

Trish – I made up little samples (5×7″ or so) of muslin boned with different substances so I can show people what the different feels from the different boning materials are. I keep them paper-clipped to note cards about the substance and any specifics (channel size, etc)…. It’s a decent supplement to pictures. :)

By: Trish

Trish — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:04:59 +0000

Thanks Missa!
I haven’t worked with the Hemp or the Weed Whacker cord, or even the Zip Ties yet…but I teach a corset class and I like to be able to give a vague idea of the differences of different sorts of boning and alternatives.
I also like to see the patterns and how they -actually- work up, since I just don’t have time to make them all. Again also showing examples to the class and how it differs from what we will do.

By: the cheap chick

the cheap chick — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:48:14 +0000

Have you ever used a corset mouse? I’m thinking about putting one in my Elizabethan (corset generator) corset. Thoughts?

PS – I think you look lovely in these!

By: admin

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:31:22 +0000

Larue – Some extant Victorian/regency era corsets have the cup area of the bust set in as a separate, unboned piece (at least one from 1785 has a series of small drawstrings to adjust how much the bust is pulled in – there’s a picture in Taschen’s Fashion, p130). Bust gussets (unboned) were common from the 1780′s through the mid 1800s. Boning starts going back over the bust when the multi-paneled corsets (sans gussets) of the mid-nineteenth century become more common. These don’t have shoulder straps. In my experience, if you’re not putting boning over the bust, you need shoulder straps or the weight of the bust will crumple the cup area. The bust can either be supported from above (straps) or below (boning up from the waist), but you really have to do one or the other if you’re over a B cup unless you were genetically blessed with boobs that are naturally immune to gravity.

Trish – As a general rule, the fewer boning channels you have to sew, the faster it is to sew a corset. I wouldn’t say any of these are harder to sew than the others – some are just more tedious. And, of course, if sewing straight lines is a challenge, then many lines of closely placed boning will become exponentially challenging. ;) I find hemp cord to be tougher on the wrists, because you have to fight it into the channels, but as a bonus, you can sew through it, so it’s easier to whack bias tape over the edge of the corset to bind. The hemp and weed-whacker boned corsets are most flexible. I can actually slouch comfortably in the lightly-boned weed-whacker jobby. That has held it’s basic shape over several years of frequent use, even with bits of boning that I once thought crucial falling out. (I think if the boning ran over the bust, this would be more of a problem.)
You can’t see pics of these laid out flat, as most of them do not lay out flat. Also, I am lazy. ;) No, seriously, I am. I have plans for redoing the patterning info that I used to have up, and when that happens, you’ll have the images you want. It’s a sizable project, and I’m still in the middle of a large musical (which means I’m in laundry-land….Ah, the glamorous life of a costumer!) Several other sites have pictures of the different types of boning, and good info on how to work with it. I’d start with http://www.festiveattyre.com and http://www.modehistorique.com .

By: Larue

Larue — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:41:56 +0000

I am so going to try that trick of only using boning up to the bust cup. I wonder if that would work on Victorian style as well…. What a great idea! The images are really helpful. Hope Oliver went well!

By: Trish

Trish — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:53:18 +0000

More questions for this fabulous article: which ones are easiest to use/sew in, which ones are the most comfortable, and which seems to have held it’s shape the best over time (IYHO).
Also can we see them laid out flat (for corset pattern shape) and do you have images of the actual boning material?