My experience with Truly Victorian TVE01 1903 Edwardian S Bend Corset

One thing I have been wanting to make for quite a while is an S bend corset.  I am not the most prolific corset maker because it's not my favorite activity. However, I really want to delve into this era and one must start with the proper foundations. I had already made some Edwardian combinations quite awhile ago. Probably my most favorite style of under garments. Alright! Let's go!

Pattern and sizing:

Multi sized with different cup sizes up to DD. The corset had 3 bust heights and 3 hips lengths. Really, I mean REALLY read thru her size selection several times. It will make things so much easier. By following her directions I only needed one mock up. First off don't over fit this corset. Use padding where needed. I have a hip/rump pad that I use under my 1890s costumes because my hip/waist ratio is very small. A little extra padding gives me a more hourglass shape.

What can be tricky about the sizing is waist/bust size. If there is 2 or more size differences between your waist and bust measure you need to reduce your cup size. I wear a D cup bra. Do to my waist/bust size I went down to a B cup. Trust me, it works. I started obsessing about hip size but stopped once I made my mock up and realized I had made them too small. I knew I was over thinking and went up one size in my hip area. I decided on the mid bust and longest hip length. If you have a tummy a longer hip length will be your friend.

Materials:

This is a single layer corset. I used beige coutil for mine. I decided on synthetic whalebone for most of my boning except for the back lacing bones, they are flat steel. She does not recommend spiral steels for this corset, only flat steel. I did cheat and used coutil lacing tape. The real good quality lacing tape isn't cheap. This is the only corset I have ever used it for and it was awesome! The tape has a boning channel on each side of the grommets. I bought mine from Farthingales and they have a tutorial on how to use it.

Directions:

Her directions are very clear. I didn't have any issues at all. There are no clearly marked boning channels on the front pieces. Look at the diagram and you will see where to place them.

Things I did differently and final notes:

I did add a couple extra boning channels on the back/side backs. This is just a personal preference. I also put in a double busk. A double busk is a wide piece of flat steel that you encase in fabric and sew on to the corset near the main busk. It makes it so much easier to do up a busk when dressing and add additional support. I don't do this when wearing a spoon busk. I have found that a lot of regular busks are flimsy and the extra bone behind them helps with that. Here is a link on the double busk process.


https://corsetmakers.livejournal.com/1692950.html

Also here is the type of under busk/double busk boning I bought.

https://corsetmaking.com/extra-wide-under-busk.html

TVE01 is a great pattern. I am totally pleased with the results and I am looking forward to costuming a whole new era!

Trying to be tasteful here....

 Here is my double busk. The bone does not need to be as long as your busk.

 Wrong side of double busk.

 Close up front.

I made some garters using 1 inch overall clasps, satin ribbon, no roll elastic and 5/8 inch sew on metal buttons. The overall clasps come with nail on buttons and they weren't cooperating with me.

Butterick 6093 Downton Abbey dress

I just finished making this dress in time for a Downton Abbey themed garden party at Dunn Gardens in Seattle.

I chose view "A" because I think the envelope picture of view "B" is ugly. However, The Pragmatic Costumer made a revised view "B" that was fabulous.

This is a fairly easy dress to sew. I would not say it is for a beginner, but if you have a few dresses under your belt and can do some pleating, sleeves and a zipper, go for it.

Sizing. This runs true to size as far as the finished measurements go. I graded several sizes together to make my dress. My FBM is 42 inches D cup. High bust is 36. I did not want to do a FBA (full bust adjustment) so I did a cheater FBA. I cut size 14 in the neck and shoulders. Size 16 on the side seams.

But wait! If Mimi's bust measures a 42 how can she cut a size 16 and not do a FBA? Size 16 is for a 38 bust. Well, you see all those gathers on the under bust of the dress. Those are your friends. I just used less gathers for my under bust seam. Simple!

I do have a D cup and we know most patterns are designed for a B cup. But I found there was plenty of room. Now, if you needed to do a FBA you would just rotate the FBA dart down into the under bust gathers. Still easy, but I was super lazy.

Skirting the issues:
Where I could have gotten into big trouble is the waist/hip area. Luckily I read The Pragmatic Costumers review BEFORE I cut my fabric. This dress is a very columnar style. And even though my hips are never a fitting issue for me, on this dress they would have been. So I sized up the skirt to about a 20 (44 hips). My hips are 43, fyi. I sewed the darts and did the pleating. And I just used less gathers on the bodice once I attached it to the skirt.

There were some changes:
View "A" is a fabric hog. I did not realize it is a double skirted dress (over skirt and under skirt). TWO WHOLE SKIRTS!!! Duh! Well of course I ran out of my floral fabric...And no more to be found either. So I needed to think outside the box. One of the things I did not like about this pattern is the vent on one side of the skirt. I understand why it is there, but it is a very modern solution for the narrow skirts of that era. So I decided to make the under skirt a separate garment. I used the provided underskirt pattern and added a few inches to the back seam. I used a simple drawstring waist to finish it. By adding that extra fabric to the back I did not need the side vent for walking. My under skirt has ample room but still kept the column shape of the time period. My underskirt is also a false bottom skirt. I wasn't going to go buy 2.5 yards of fashion fabric when I could buy .75 yards and use muslin for the top of the underskirt. No one is going to see that part of the skirt anyway. You can't see in the picture but the visible underskirt is a light green and white check linen.

Updated pictures 8/11/2020

The quick and dirty round up:
Make a muslin. If you are over a D cup you may want to do a FBA. Really pay attention to the waist/hip size and make adjustments. I give this pattern a thumbs up and it has gone in my favorites drawer. I will certainly make it again.

And......

Yes, Sean Bean...since you asked...Ahem 

I'm wearing a Titanic era corset (purchased) a princess petticoat and Edwardian combinations under my corset.