1910 Overbust Corset

It has been corset central around here lately. I had intended to finish four of them this week, but could only manage three and a chemise. Ah, well!

First up is the 1910 overbust. Yes, you read that right, a Teens-era overbust! I didn't think they existed, either. I had always heard "all Teens corsets are underbust", and the extant examples and the old ads from the period seemed to support that.

Thank the gods for Holland.

The fashion magazine, De Gracieuse, came to my rescue. I had always wanted to try out one of their patterns, and they had just what I wanted! This is the original illustration for the corset.

It describes it as a "corset for a slim woman, easy to wash". What slim woman has a bust like this corset has, I'd like to know, because it's roomy even for my ample girls! 

The hard part of the work - finding and digitizing the pattern - had already been done for me by Corsetra Designs. She had turned it into a nursing corset, so if anyone needs a Teens nursing corset, definitely check out her alterations! I went with the original pattern.

I sized it up, accounting for a 2" waist reduction and a 2" lacing gap. The corset still turned out a little large, though, but it will be a good training corset to get me used to wearing them on a regular basis again.

I didn't take any in-progress pics, unfortunately, but everything went together really smoothly and quickly. I used a white-on-white brocade lined with cotton muslin, with bias-cut boning channels added in separately. There was some pretty Venice lace at Wal-Mart that I added to the top edge, but otherwise there isn't any decoration. I do want to go back and add some flossing to the boning channels, just because I finally flossed my first corset the other day (an 1880s overbust), and I really love the end result. Here's the finished corset.

I really love the shape of the final corset. It's smoothing, and gives a lovely curve to the back. It comes up just enough in the front to provide enough support, without the top edge being visible underneath clothing. The bones run only a couple of inches into the hip panel, so the area over the hips is mostly soft, making it comfortable. The only thing that's a little off is the bust, as it's a bit large. Not enough to cause a problem, but if you're intending to make this pattern, definitely keep in mind that the bust is rather roomy. Mock-ups definitely help.

I'm really pleased with the De Gracieuse pattern, and am eager to try more of them. There's a suit I'm dying to make, so that's definitely on the list. ^^