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Can we talk about hemp boning and corsets again?

Started by gem, January 10, 2009, 03:30:57 PM

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gem

Oh, Mythrin, I *heart* you.  Thank you *so much* for putting that together!!  I do remember pictures of the blue bodice from my earlier whinging about this.

One thing I've noticed--your channels definitely look a pinch wider than mine.  I am going to give this another try.  I bet I can find some kind of metal doo-dad that will work like your wiper blade (I have a super-long, skinny crochet hook, but it doesn't do well to hook around the hemp; and the tube turner dealie I have isn't long enough or sturdy enough; and I seem to have trouble with wire catching in the canvas.)  With the hemostats or pliers--are they long enough if the hemp catches up in the *middle* of the channels?

Kate XXXXXX


Lady Kathleen of Olmsted



THanks for the photos, Mythrin!!!! Seeing them makes better sense of hemp for corsets.

Kate!!  The machine I used in the shop was a heavy duty Pfafff and Leather needles of all things. That was the summer of 2000 when I did that corset. I have not made a hemp corset since.
"As with Art as in Life, nothing succeeds like excess.".....Oscar Wilde

Mythrin

I suspect once you all (read those interested) get a handle on hemp boning you too will become a fan. 

Gem, the hemostats/pliers are used to give me more push if necessary.  I put them on perpendicular to the hemp pushing devise about 1 inch in front of the channel and with my left hand lightly holding the fabric down on the table.  The bodice is just on the edge of the table and the pliers hang over the edge.  I push hard with the pliers, move them back and do it all again.  If you have much more than an inch of blade being pushed on you can kink your devise. 

I would guess that I only have to get out the pliers for 1 in 4 of the channels, the rest of the time the flat end of the devise gives me a comfortable place to push against.  If it starts to bind, I get out the pliers to prevent kinking or bending the wiper blade devise.  What is nice about the wiper devise is that I can bone up to 16 inch long channels, obviously the shorter the channel the easier it is to insert hemp into.
Chris
Founding member of the Living History Company

"go Secret Squirrels"

Artemisia

I just used hemp for my recent completed project.

I also use the width of my sewing foot as the channel width. I use 1/16" cord instead of the 1/8". The wider stuff stiffens way too much and doesn't "bend" for me. I also didn't cord the entire length of the bodice - I corded every one inch.


I also used treated hemp cord and a loop turner to thread the hemp cord. The raw stuff shrunk about an inch after washing the gown several times.


Here's a video so you too may be convinced of its power:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/theartemis/dressdiary/?action=view&current=120108017.flv

I wrote lots more about this in my dress diary.  ;)
Artemisia Moltabocca
You haven't had enough coffee unless you can thread a sewing machine while it's running.

gem

Ok, so I was at JoAnn today and picked up some really stiff floral wire, a ball-point bodkin, an "Ezy-Pull" bodkin, and a pair of needle grips (closest thing to a hemostat I could find).  Surely, SOMETHING will work.

I am wondering about cord thicknesses, though.  The circa 2002 dress diaries all say 1/8" cord (or 1/16"), but all the cord I'm finding is measured in millimeters (or weight).  I looked at some 3 mm cord at JoAnn (not hemp), and that looked like it was close in size to the 1/8" cord, but it's hard to say. Does anyone have a supplier of *really good* quality cord?  I saw some online that said "polished" or "waxed," which sounded promising, but again--what do I know?

Cilean



I was able to be part of Lizapalooza which was a 2 day discussion with Drea Leed.  She had some
examples of 'stuffings' some modern like chop sticks and others if you click on the next picture there are the chop stick experiments.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Cilean/DreaLeedSTalkForCostumeTalk#5199667940704017170

Quick note on washing of the Hemp Cord, I did that and allowed it to air dry and it was not as stiff but still held my DD's. My channels are 1/4" and very well stuffed
and stayed pretty well and I did not get the chance to use the PoB because of weight loss.

Lady Cilean Stirling
"Looking Good is not an Option, It is a Necessity"
My Motto? Never Pay Retail

Tixi

I'm intrigued by the idea of hemp boning...  What width hemp did you all use, and where did you get it?

gem

#23
Hail and well met, Mmeeooow!  Welcome to the boards!

If you go back and look through the posts in this thread, you can kind of see what people used--particularly Mythrin's slide show, and the post from Artemisia with the photos and video.  It seems like there's *a lot* of variation.  Artemisia had great results with this really tiny cord almost like thread, and the stuff Mythrin uses is as thick as yarn.  That's what I finally got to work, too.  I *think* it's the 1/8" cord--2 widths fit in a scant 3/8" channel.  I found my spool at Hobby Lobby for $10, tho' I know JoAnn carries the narrower stuff.

(edited for spelling)

mollymishap

OK, so I went to the only place in town (Walmart--I live in a small town) that has any craft supplies and the choices in hemp were in the beading aisle and comprised of either a few hanks of variously dyed thin hemp or one ball of natural un-dyed thin hemp.  I bought the ball of thin hemp.  It's either the same as or very similar to this one I found online: http://www.thebeadery.com/product_p/1890.htm.

So this is where I'm stuck: I came home and used my nifty turner thingie and pulled the hemp through my channels.  Thing is, the head of the nifty turner thingie is larger than the width of the hemp so that in order to stuff the channels properly I either have to double up on the hemp (=quadruple strands per channel) or just let the one double strand hang out rather loosely in the channel.

Is this ok?  The consensus seems to be to stuff the channels tightly, but is it ok to have 4 strands per channel?

gem

Molly, you corset-making fool. LOL  My understanding is that when you use the wee skinny hemp, you *do* use 4 per channel.