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Faire Garb => Sewing => Topic started by: gem on February 09, 2010, 03:25:11 PM

Title: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 09, 2010, 03:25:11 PM
I am making a hemp-corded version of the Simplicity corset (http://images.patternreview.com/sewing/patterns/simplicity/2621/2621.jpg) I made last fall (http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL417/1033223/22511199/375914178.jpg), and I'm pondering some variables at the moment. Anyone up for musing with me?  :D

First, as you can kind of see from this tiny pattern line drawing (http://images.patternreview.com/sewing/patterns/simplicity/2621/2621fb.gif), this corset is designed to be heavily boned in front, and only lightly boned on the sides and back.  I think most of the corded corsets I've seen are fully boned, and I'm wondering if I should add more boning channels (I'm at a stage in the construction where that would be easy).  Thoughts?

Second... lets talk about gowns to wear *over* the corded corset. I've been reading dress diaries for years, and I have a couple of ideas, but I'm not sure how to go about the fitting. Am I going to have to draft a pattern from scratch, or can I adapt one of the good patterns to work with the more rounded/Italianesque silhouette? (I know people have done corded effigy corsets, but that's not the shape I'm going for here).  Does anyone have suggestions?

Ideally/eventually, I'd love to make a version of St. Catherine's gown (http://www.backtoclassics.com/images/pics/caravaggio/caravaggio_stcatherineofalexandria.jpg) (and I've *just* realized she's covering her entire bodice with her arm!). But I really just started this because I've been wanting a corded corset forever, and hadn't given a lot of thought to what I was going to do with it once I had it!  So, shower me with tips and ideas!

Gramercy!
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: operafantomet on February 09, 2010, 05:02:03 PM
You could go for one of the bodices of Eleonora di Toledo, and make the front and/or general waistline shorter than her bodice. That fit will be good for earlier Italian style, and it's this more informal style that prevailed in "general" Lazio dresses of the late 16th and early 17th century (much of what appears in Caravaggio's paintings).

The always-excellent Jennifer Thompson has a simplified diagram which is based on the Eleonora bodices, but adapted to earlier Florentine style (you've probably seen it already):
http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/diary/images/florpat1.gif

The finished dress can be seen here: http://www.festiveattyre.com/gallery/florentine/earlyflor.html

The normal thing would be to have lacing at the sides, but you can also put it in front as seen in some portraits from the same time. My "Maddalena Doni" dress is front laced.

St. Catherine might be covering her bodice in that painting you posted a link to, but that dress, or variants of it, keep appearing in other Caravaggio paintings (so is the lady...). Here's more dresses of this style:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/roma/caravaggioroma1598b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/roma/caravaggioroma1596.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/roma/zuccariloretomassilla2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/roma/ogentileschi1620s.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/roma/ogentileschi1630.jpg

(the latter is a tad different, with a softer bodice and an open skirt, but I still found it right to add it here)

As for corded corsets and/or bodices... I would add more cording to the sides and back than the boning channels suggests. The idea is to make a shell, a second skin, so to speak, without wrinkles. I don't think single cord rows is sturdy enough to keep large areas free of wrinkles. You don't need to cord every inch of the surface, though.

Looking forward to follow this project!!
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Mythrin on February 09, 2010, 07:06:36 PM
I love the hemp corded bodices and have posted on them several times.  I have made several for my self and more than I can count for clients. 

Wind shield wiper blade steel is great for making a tool to push the hemp into the channel.  That way you only have to sew it into the channel at one end.  Gives a nice finished edge look.

Here is a hemp boned bodice and some details about the mix of soft (hemp) and hard (zip tie) boning. http://picasaweb.google.com/MythrinFarm/Boning#.  (http://picasaweb.google.com/MythrinFarm/Boning#.) Also a set of photos about how I push vs pull the hemp into the channel if interested.  http://picasaweb.google.com/MythrinFarm/HempBodice# (http://picasaweb.google.com/MythrinFarm/HempBodice#)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_OKVMf9jSlGc/SHqg5bp_KiI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/GkyRwWxVyX8/20080524_492.JPG)  This garb is a bit unique in that it has a hemp boned under layer that is actually attached to the bodice portion of the under-dress.  What this does is guarantee that the lacing is smooth and flat without looking stiff.

You can build a corset that has the channels on a diagonal along with straight up and down, but it takes more thought.  I would post on that if there is interest.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 10, 2010, 07:41:24 PM
Thanks, you two!  ;D

Anea, that Caravaggio Mary Magdalene you posted *is* the exact same dress from St. Catherine! I was thrilled when I first found that painting (both because I could see the front, and because I love that they re-used garments and models in their artwork).

Here's a progress shot that shows the configuration of the boning, as per the pattern instructions. I'm sorry the seams and boning channels aren't showing up as well as I'd like; Photoshop was not cooperating.

ETA 4/23/10: I deleted the original image from my Picturetrail account, and I can't even recall what it looked like, but here is the fully corded corset:
(http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL417/1033223/4707019/386247755.jpg)

Original post resumes below:
You can see I've started in on the sides (side-fronts, technically), and Chris, your windshield wiper steel worked like a *charm!!*  (I found a stash of old wiper blades in my garage a couple of months ago, and sent Mythrin a giddy email about them!).  There's also a single boning channel near the side-back seam (marked on the right with that long silver thing--actually the wiper steel), but it doesn't have the cord in it yet.

Modified Eleanora bodice is a great starting place, thanks! I might also see how this fits, and then use it as the basis for a gown pattern (which is what I usually end up doing anyway).

Largely, this entire thing is experimental, so I have no idea how it's going to turn out, but I wanted to try.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: operafantomet on February 11, 2010, 05:00:56 AM
Looks very good so far!

A bit annoying that the EdT (Eleonora di Toledo, not Eau de Toilette...  ;D ) dress is the only Italian renaissance pattern we have... I mean, cool dress, sure, and it's also cool to have two almost identical ones existing (Eleonora + Pisa dress). But the slightly ironic thing here is that the burial dress of EdT is most likely a spare dress she had hanging in the closet in Palazzo Reale in Pisa, and not a dress of particular significance (as far as we know).

The velvet underbodice (sometimes referred to as "stays", but without boning and closed in front) were clearly too large for her (as it was just wrapped over the chest, the sides overlapping quite a bit). It might have been put on just to "fill in" the overbodice, as the Duchess has become radically thinner the last years of her life. She suffered from tuberculosis and whatnot, and is said to have thrown up her food every morning because her body couldn't handle it. Quite impressive then that she led such an active life, accompanying her husband everywhere. I guess that's what true love does to you...

But I'm rambling... what I wanted to say, was that I visited Pisa before Christmas. I stopped by the Palazzo Reale to see the Pisa dress, which is wonderfully displayed in one of the large rooms in the "piano nobile". And to my big surprise there were two other dresses there too; one from the late 16th century, and one from the early 17th century. I have seen pictures of them previously, after the Florence Costume Colloquium, but I had no idea they were on display! Here's some pics I took:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/th_dress1pisa.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/dress1pisa.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/th_dress1pisa1.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/dress1pisa1.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/th_dress2pisa.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/dress2pisa.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/th_dress2pisa2.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/dress2pisa2.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/th_dress3pisa.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/dress3pisa.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/th_dress3pisa3b.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/dress3pisa3b.jpg)

(please don't re-post this pictures elsewhere without asking)

The greyish blue one has just been conservated, with plain fabric filling in for missing parts, and is as of now considered a house dress of either an upper middle class or noble lady. It's a bit peculiar in the bodice, with a seam in the front and with very short straps. The greenish Baroque one also had plain fabric filling in for missing parts. I think both of them came from the same convent as the crimson Pisa one, and all of them had been modified from noble garb to "dressing religious statues" robes (which is why chunks were missing).

The lady working on the two "new" dresses was, as far as I understood, planning to release general pattern and info later on. Which means that we'll at least have TWO Italian renaissance dresses to work from; one court dress an one everyday/house dress. I'm highly anticipating that! :D

Back to EdT, an excellent book on EdT was released some years ago, and it contains rather new research on her burial dress. Most of that chapter is available through Google books, alas without pictures but an interesting read nonetheless:

http://books.google.no/books?id=85dDMWfok7IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22the+cultural+world+of+eleanora%22&source=bl&ots=l4JAHwyE2B&sig=4b9aKT5kgPh3l7QA3qD-8po9QBA&hl=no&ei=oDRXS5aoI8fm-QbUxtSDBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Kate XXXXXX on February 11, 2010, 05:09:19 AM
Thank you for these pix and notes.  Very useful.  I do love the crimson dress.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: operafantomet on February 11, 2010, 05:24:30 AM
Quote from: gem on February 10, 2010, 07:41:24 PM
Thanks, you two!  ;D

Anea, that Caravaggio Mary Magdalene you posted *is* the exact same dress from St. Catherine! I was thrilled when I first found that painting (both because I could see the front, and because I love that they re-used garments and models in their artwork).

It's understandable about the dress, as Caravaggio probably went to a pawner and got hold of a noble dress to use in his studio. He's painted the exact same dress a couple of times, and also seems to have variants of it. The paintings in which the dress occurs all seems to be from his early Roman period (1598, when he first painted a woman, and until 1606, when he fled the city after a murder).

I doubt the dress belonged to the sitter, because she (Fillide Melandroni, if she is correctly identified) wasn't a noble woman. It wasn't uncommon to get either garbs of pieces of rich fabric from a pawner and use it as a basis for art works. And that's great for us who wants to see a dress from several angles, he-he!

It's also understandable it doesn't appear after he fled the city, as his things probably was sold...
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Kate XXXXXX on February 12, 2010, 07:08:18 AM
It would seem that the artistic temperament is not new...   ;D

I have to admit it's another gown I'd love to make some day...
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Adriana Rose on February 12, 2010, 11:33:29 AM
Just a note.

I have never tried to make a hemp boned bodice BUT do keep in mind that hemp does NOT like water and if its exposed to water or moisture too many times it starts to break down. And when it does it gets mushy and smelly.


just my 2cents.

I do love reading about the history of the gowns!
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Mythrin on February 12, 2010, 12:08:17 PM
Those photos are great!  Thanks

Huh, I have not had any problems with my hemp bodices/corsets breaking down when wet.  I am on my 4th season with the one in the photo and I am on cast in a hot/humid area so it gets a lot of wear.  I wash mine in the washing machine, turn it in side out and hang it to dry in the sun. So far no one seems to step away from me due to a funky smell.   Maybe good luck?  But I am not arguing with it.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 12, 2010, 12:12:09 PM
So... do you guys think I need more boning channels, or should I be fine with the ones that are there?

Mythrin, I was wondering about the moisture, too, since sailing vessels were rigged with hemp rope... but I wasn't planning on making a hemp-corded swimsuit, and being the lady that I am (snork) try to perspire only *lightly* in my garb.  :D
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Adriana Rose on February 12, 2010, 02:46:10 PM
Ok thats a good thing to know, I just have had somw hemp necklaces get all funky on me... maybe it was the guy I swiped it from lol.


As always I love the amount of knowlage that is here!
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 12, 2010, 03:03:20 PM
You have me curious, now.  I think I'll plunge a spare scrap of the hemp cord into some water for a couple of days and see what happens...
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Kate XXXXXX on February 12, 2010, 05:16:07 PM
It'll get wet...   :-*
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Mythrin on February 15, 2010, 10:48:43 AM
Kate's succinct answer is right. 

Hemp is a great fiber. It was used for rigging ships because it was strong and could take getting wet without rotting for quite a while.  Hemp is also become one of the wonder-fibers for new fabrics because it is so durable, comfortable and takes up a lot of moisture without feeling wet.  Horse people love hemp bedding because of the shear amount of ***** it can hold.  However due to the silly drug policies here, we have to import this bedding from Canada. But that is another story.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Goody on February 17, 2010, 09:06:15 AM
Quote from: Adriana Rose on February 12, 2010, 11:33:29 AM
Just a note.

I have never tried to make a hemp boned bodice BUT do keep in mind that hemp does NOT like water and if its exposed to water or moisture too many times it starts to break down. And when it does it gets mushy and smelly.


just my 2cents.

I do love reading about the history of the gowns!

I did have a hemp necklace that got weird when wet and it turned a lil dark and got kinda smelly bit i soaked in in dishsoap and it was fine (plus i think I swam with it and that is when it got kinda gross) and i would'nt say it got mushy but  the fibers did begin to fray and all kinda ratted in on each other. But that's a necklace prolly doesnt apply same as in channels?
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: operafantomet on February 17, 2010, 03:10:04 PM
Quote from: Goody on February 17, 2010, 09:06:15 AM
Quote from: Adriana Rose on February 12, 2010, 11:33:29 AM
Just a note.

I have never tried to make a hemp boned bodice BUT do keep in mind that hemp does NOT like water and if its exposed to water or moisture too many times it starts to break down. And when it does it gets mushy and smelly.


just my 2cents.

I do love reading about the history of the gowns!

I did have a hemp necklace that got weird when wet and it turned a lil dark and got kinda smelly bit i soaked in in dishsoap and it was fine (plus i think I swam with it and that is when it got kinda gross) and i would'nt say it got mushy but  the fibers did begin to fray and all kinda ratted in on each other. But that's a necklace prolly doesnt apply same as in channels?

That's the cord reacting to the salts in your skin/sweat. Things used directly on the skin will react and change appearance (except, of course, precious metals). This goes for various natural fibres, fishing lines, fake jewellery etc. Though, there might be individual differences, based on your skin type and such.

When hemp cord is used inside channels, it shouldn't be very exposed to the skin, cause there's a layer or two of fabric in between, and the ventilation is different. It may of course depend on the type or quality of the hemp, but I've made three bodices with hemp boning so far, and they all seem to behave well. However, I've used the same hemp type for all of them. Maybe I should try a different one next time?
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 17, 2010, 06:36:10 PM
One thing I noticed (and don't remember seeing anyone remark on before) was that the hemp that I used, which came in big spools like crochet thread, was *much* smoother and easier to work with when coming from the outside of the spool/bundle.  Once I started getting to the inside of the spool, the cord was a lot more crimped and curly and unruly, harder to coax into the channels, etc.  Since I think this stuff is sold for jewelry, it made me wonder how they intended people to deal with that--it's way too curly at the moment for a necklace cord, for instance.  Iron it? Soak it so the crimps relax, then wait for it to dry?
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Kate XXXXXX on February 18, 2010, 05:06:41 AM
Try stretching it out and steaming it with the iron.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Mythrin on February 19, 2010, 07:04:20 PM
I have ironed/steamed it as Kate suggested.  You are right in your observation on the inside being way more crimpy (I am sure it is a word) than the outside.  I find myself having to work around knots and bumps more on the inside of ball than the outside.  i have been known to dispose of certain sections that are particularly bad.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 19, 2010, 07:11:39 PM
Well, I have the whole thing corded (yay!!), and it's on hold for the moment until I can do a fitting (not for a couple of weeks; I need to work off a couple of pounds of winter weight!  :o). It went together remarkably quickly.  In the meantime, I need to teach myself to use the eyelet function on my Viking.  ;D
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Kate XXXXXX on February 20, 2010, 05:20:00 AM
It's fun!  Remember: silk thread and go round twice!   8)
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Cilean on February 25, 2010, 02:52:56 PM


Hey Gem,

First Part: I got my inspiration from Jennifer's site:
http://festiveattyre.com/research/cording/cord.html (http://festiveattyre.com/research/cording/cord.html)

I went to Drea Leed's workshop
here are some pictures of different stuffing

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_DmjLsKiy9Ww/SCjucWumWxI/AAAAAAAAAss/WAja1zYj2Ww/s640/DSCI0056.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_DmjLsKiy9Ww/SCjudmumWyI/AAAAAAAAAs0/4u7xhsAR87A/s640/DSCI0057.JPG)

(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_DmjLsKiy9Ww/SCjuemumWzI/AAAAAAAAAs8/IzFDf7wPGWo/s640/DSCI0058.JPG)



On so the 2nd thought!
I wore mine under my Summer Elizabethans and my Italians!  I camped with it and it was awesome! I did have to put some steal boning in the front channels, due to being a DD.


Cilean


Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: amy on February 26, 2010, 09:38:56 AM
I have a question about the corded corsets..... I am presently working on my first boned corset and chose the zip tie version.   I fitted a sample knowing that after I ran the casings and installed the bones, it would pull up a bit smaller.   When I see all those many channels and the thickness of some of that cording, I wonder - how can you tell how much the piece will shrink when you add the 3 dimentional cording?  Do you find that they are much tighter when finished as compared to when you fitted the flat sample?

Thanks... hope someone knows?
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 26, 2010, 01:03:05 PM
Amy, I didn't measure my first Simplicity corset before boning it, but after cording the new one, I did lay it over top of the finished one... and it's about 3/4" smaller. I used the exact same amount of boning in both corsets--just used the recommended boning diagram (minus the busk).  That's with a size 12. I knew that the hemp cord would make it shrink up a little. I'm not sure that there's an exact ratio, though. It would depend on how much boning you used, etc.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Aunty Lou on February 26, 2010, 02:40:54 PM
Regarding the "shrinkage" of the corset with th cording in place...  This is where you would cut the pattern a little wider in the seam allowances, and then fit the semi-corded bodice as you go.  Just like knowing that clay will shrink when drying, knowing that the fabric will draw up when stuffed is going forewarned...
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: amy on February 28, 2010, 06:23:48 AM
Thanks for the input.  I am considering using your ideas for some gentle stiffening in the actual bodice of my next dress and wondered if it would be too extreme a choice and alter my dress pattern fit too much.  I already have the challenge of fitting on myself so that is a bit of a guess to begin with.  Thanks for your help!
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on February 28, 2010, 01:10:34 PM
Amy, I'm getting ready to try using the Simplicity corset pattern as the bodice for a gown (transferring the lacing from the center back to the side back seams), and I'm thinking of cording it. I'm considering cutting one size up and making a fully-corded mockup, to compare sizes/shrinkage.

The one thing I haven't figured out is how to keep the cording ridges from showing, if you use a corded interlining. With a heavy fabric it probably wouldn't be a problem, but with something like linen, I think it would show through (tho' nobody seems to address this in dress diaries, so perhaps I'm imagining an issue that doesn't really exist). IIRC, Kate once said something about wool felt between the underlining and the outer fabric. Another option is to use the really skinny cording and use 4 rows per channel instead of 2 (which is what I think Artemisia has done).

Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: amy on February 28, 2010, 05:48:09 PM
I figured the same about the cords showing through on the finish fabric.  I would use it in the inner lining, and knew I would need a pretty stiff interfacing to keep it smooth.  But now that I think about it, over my new corset I think I am setting myself up for being unbearably hot.   I think I'll just stick to a few carefully placed light weight bones set into the seam lines. 

I'll be looking foward to seeing your new corset patterned bodice!
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: operafantomet on March 01, 2010, 03:31:37 AM
Quote from: gem on February 28, 2010, 01:10:34 PM
The one thing I haven't figured out is how to keep the cording ridges from showing, if you use a corded interlining. With a heavy fabric it probably wouldn't be a problem, but with something like linen, I think it would show through (tho' nobody seems to address this in dress diaries, so perhaps I'm imagining an issue that doesn't really exist). IIRC, Kate once said something about wool felt between the underlining and the outer fabric. Another option is to use the really skinny cording and use 4 rows per channel instead of 2 (which is what I think Artemisia has done).

I interlined my green Unicorn dress bodice, with a layer of the slubby silk like the one I used for lining. From some angles and in specific light the channels can still be seen:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/unicorn/unicornclose.jpg

Though in general the surface looks very smooth and nice, you really need to see it in a specific light to notice. But if I were to make the bodice anew, I would probably use wool felt or something under the silk, to make the surface even smoother. That is also a period approach. I've written an article about corsets in Italy in the 16th century (or the lack thereof), and this is some of the stuff I found:

"The padding of the garment was obtained by an internal layering of the fabrics, the doppia, made up of a felt and two types of cloth, one stiffened and one finer, San Gallo cloth or bottana, and for girls even cotton bambagino or bombast. (...) Usually this thick padding was covered with silk or even with taffeta of the same colour as the petticoat, and care was taken to choose the same or similar colours even for the fabrics of the inner padding." (Moda a Firenze 2004: 84pp).

( http://aneafiles.webs.com/renaissancegallery/stays.html )

This is exciting, because it tells that stiff cloth (or even linen cardboard "in a Spanish system") was used to stiffen the bodices, and around it one used felt and silk to make the surface smooth. Hemped fabric can function as a replacement for stiff cloth and cardboard, so I think the same padding can be used with success.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: ladyharrogate on March 01, 2010, 06:52:15 AM
Now I really want to make a corded corset, and that beautiful burgundy velvet gown.  Thanks for all the wonderful info!
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Mythrin on March 01, 2010, 09:00:44 AM
QuoteThough in general the surface looks very smooth and nice, you really need to see it in a specific light to notice.

This is my experience, I laid the linen of my Flemish under-gown directly on top of the corded under bodice. Yes you can see the channels in the right light, but it works well for this level garb.  I I were to do it again for a more upper class garb I would put a lining layer.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: amy on March 01, 2010, 09:59:28 AM
I am guessing this is not recommended for us ladies of the South  ;D
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Mythrin on March 01, 2010, 04:41:48 PM
St Louis can hold it on on the heat and humidity "meter" and a lot of our court ladies have gone to corded corsets for the comfort, coolness and support.  They are mixing hemp with hard boning and getting good results.  I have not have any issues with mine which is entirely corded, the heat is able to escape between the channels OK and even if it gets a bit warm under it I have never had it get that unpleasant wet/clammy feeling.  So, I would not automatically eliminate it as a warm weather options.  I might not put a heavy lining layer between the cords and a fashion fabric though.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: gem on April 25, 2010, 04:50:37 PM
Just a quick tiny update. I'm working on a corded bodice mockup now, and didn't want to fuss with the "crimpy" cord left over from my corset--so I steam-ironed it!  And Kate & Mythrin were absolutely correct: it ironed beautifully. It's now cooling off in beautiful soft large loops on my ironing board.
Title: Re: Corded corsets and the things we wear over them...
Post by: Kate XXXXXX on April 26, 2010, 03:17:40 AM
Ironing string: obviously a sensible pass-time for the bored housewife!   ;D

Yes, it really DOES work - you end up with straight string rather than crinkles.

One good way to keep it under control as you iron it is to wind it (gently!  Not too much tension!) round a wide flat board.  A bit of thin ply is excellent for this.  And puff a bit of steam at it after pressing so it doesn't get too flattened by the pressing process.