You have your corset pattern.  You have your fabrics.  You have taken your measurements, and you are ready to begin.

Follow my tutorial for some basic steps and term explanations.  I will take you from the initial measurements, through the mock-up, and to the finished product.

1. I will assume you have either drafted your own pattern, or you are using a standard pattern that you are reasonably sure will fit.  Start by making a copy of the pattern, using fabric paper.  If I ever need to back up and re-do a step, I have the original pattern to work from. If you need to add seam allowances, now is a good time to do it.

2. Using your copy, cut out the pattern pieces.  If this is the mock-up, you can do a single layer of fabric to test only the seams, or you can do multiple layers of fabric (for strength).  I use beanbags to hold my pattern to the fabric, and a rotary cutter instead of scissors.  If your pattern does not have a seam allowance, make sure you add one before you cut out anything!

 3. Arrange and label your pattern pieces into Left and Right, and number them.  Use a fabric pencil, chalk, or even painter's tape, so long as you can remove the marks when you are finished sewing.  This step is very important; if they are mis-marked you will not be able to put your corset together!

4. If you are working with multiple layers of fabric, it will be much easier if you bond some of them together before sewing.  I use quilt basting spray, and attach the fashion fabric to the strength layer.

5. For the one-fabric mock-up, pin the pieces together in order, and stitch on the seam allowance.  Press each seam after sewing. If you are using multiple-fabrics, you need to bond the fabrics together first.  If you have extra cuts of the end pieces (these will be facings), hold them aside for the moment.

 6. After the last steps, you should have something that looks like one of these next photos. The first photo is a single-layer muslin.  The second two are of the same two-layered construction, from the inside and the outside.

7. To test the fit, you can pin the pieces to a sewing helper, after another pressing of all the seams:

8. Now you need to decide how you will check the fit on yourself (or the person who will ultimately wear the corset).  There are three basic ways to do this: 1) sew the two front halves together with a single seam in the center; 2) sew the facings to the front halves and add grommets for lacing; or 3) sew the busk into the front sections as directed by the pattern.  You can always cut the busk out and re-use it, so if you want to practice doing that, feel free.

I used option1 with the basic muslin, and option 2 with the star fashion fabric.  Regardless of which method you use for the front closure, you will want to add facing and grommets to the back closure.  You can also sew in simple boning channels, using twill tape, for a better fitting.  See later tutorials for details on how to do this. For now, just attach the facings where needed.

 9. Now, you can test your fitting on a live person.  Pinch and pin extra fabric. If it is too tight, decide where to open things up and use painter's tape to mark it.  When you are confident with the fit, take measurements of each pattern piece, as some stretching may have occurred, and take photos too.  Transfer any changes to the pattern to your original pieces.

10. Once you have transferred your markings, you will need to repeat this process until you have a good-fitting mock-up that is not too tight, too high or too low anywhere.  When you are sure you have the proper pieces, you can cut out your good fabric for the final garment. I use a clear ruler to help me when matching patterns. This corset has a strength layer of black coutil, a fashion layer of green brocade, and a lining of black cotton.

11. Repeat the bonding and labeling steps.  This image shows the sandwich method of construction: put together the busk pieces, then starting from the front, layer the next pieces, right sides together so that you can sew four pieces of fabric together at one time.  This particular shot shows the busk (far left), lining side up; attached to the second section, and in the process of being attached to the third section. You can see a hint of the green fabric in the middle.  See how the layers are built up?  If you are using a waist tape, you can add it between the layers in this step. The blue tape on my machine is used as a seam guide. Be sure to press each seam as you sew.

12. The two halves of the corset should be together, and look something like below. Depending on how you plan to finish the back (and what allowances you made with your pattern), you can either sew the ends together and bind them later, or you can press the seam allowances under and top-stitch closed.

13. Add your boning channels now by top stitching on either side of the seams, or as directed by the pattern.

 14. All that is left is binding the edges, inserting the correct-sized bones, and adding the grommets to the back.

15. If you have other trim, it should go on last. Handsewig is best.

I will have other tutorials which detail the steps for busk construction, grommets, binding, and lacing in the future. If you are interested in seeing other, larger photos of this process, please visit the image gallery.

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