Now what?!!!

[operafantomet]

This won't help on any fitting questions, but... If you're going for historical accuracy, your boobs SHOULD be squished and flattened...

[PrincessSara]

Mmkay, so here's the latest mockup.  I think the bust and the sizing turned out fine, and the final piece will be made of linen, so it will stretch a bit anyway.

But I've come across another problem, as you can see in the "side" pictures.  Because I have a tummy, the bottom of the front sticks out.  And since the back is short, there's nothing to pull it around.  I deliberately made the front longer and wider at the bottom because I'm making this corset to go under a gown I already have, which has a longer bodice than the corset pattern is intended for - if I were making the gown that this corset pattern is made to go under the waistline would be around my natural waist, but the gown I have has a waist about 4 inches below there.  There is a temporary busk in there right now (a thick wooden ruler) but it doesn't seem to help much.  Is there anything I can do about it?  I know lengthening the back would do it, but that would be a major overhaul.

[Kate XXXXXX]

Make the whole thing  longer.  I think it needs to be an inch higher under the arms and the bottom back edge need to be a couple of inches longer.  Front length and busk length are determined by how high the neck edge needs to be and how long a busk you can stand for comfort.  To determine this, sit down in it!

(So that you don't get bones digging in round the back and hips, consider making an effigy style corset with 'grown on' tabs.  The boning goes down through the waist into the tabs, which are all cut as one.)

How much boning is there in the back?  To help with the control, you may want to add more...  I'd certainly add some up the sides.

Remember: this IS the mock-up, or toile - it's there for ironing out all these issues.  Get it right now and you'll have a fantastic pattern for a perfect garment you can use over and over for both corsets and bodices to go over them.   

Without a curved Victorian style busk designed for going round our larger tummies, yes, the busk may always poke out a bit at the bottom.  That may help to determine it's length: stop at the point it leaves the tummy behind.

*Note for if you want historical accuracy:  Clothing of this period fitted far closer round the armscye than we usually see in modern woven fabric clothing.  They aimed for a fit closer to that of a fitted T shirt, in some respects.  Ease of movement was made by adding gussets to armpits, but the garments fitted closely under the arm.  Your corset needs to reflect this.  It will also help with the control and getting the flat line up the front.