Scientific method
Scientific method
Originally uploaded by caturah_winterhart As it turns out, I was right to have linseed oil stuck in my head.
I'm making a 1790's corset at the moment, pattern courtesy of corsets and crinolines. It's being made with burgundy suede, and because I wanted to try it at least once, I'm hand sewing this one.
Since this may be the only time I completely hand sew a corset, I wanted to get it as right as possible, part of the reason I chose the reed boning*. And because it was Spanish reed boning, I needed to make sure it'd last a while, instead of shattering the first time I attempted to bend over.
So I conducted an experiment, using short pieces of reed, and various combinations of soaking in water, and oil and wax coatings. The winner of this test, was most definitely the linseed oil soak. It was best for increased flexibility (vs the control), but retained the most rigidity of all the pieces. The oil should also help slick the bones for sliding into the channels.
All bones have now been cut, and are happily soaking away. I have to wait on them before I can go onto the next step... I wanna sew on it some more!
*Btw, anyone who wants to bitch at me for my "pick&mix" form of authenticy? Go to hell.