New black lace corset
I just finished a new black lace and pink satin corset. The strength layer is out of a strong cotton twill (I didn't want to use coutil as it is too thick, the lace on the corset is already thick too much so I wanted to keep it all as thin as possible), the fashion fabrics are a dark pink polyester satin and a heavy venetian black lace. The lining is made out of a thin silk satin (VERY COMFORTABLE).
More pictures here.
There are several boning channels made out of a straight (not bias) tape, no boning in between the channels. Most of the bones are from spiral steel, the back ones are from flat spring steel. No plastic used.
The pattern is drafted to the customer's measurements, I did one mockup from a cheap fabric.
To tell the truth, I am not much satisfied with the result. I like the shape, but would make a deeper "V" decollete in the front. But what bothers me the most is the black lace. It was too thick to flat line it to the other fabrics (the seams would be really bulky), so I sewed the other fabrics together and then applied the lace, having no seam allowances. The raw edges were then covered with a boning channel at each seam.
It is more than clear that this method will always result in some shifting and simply - the lace doesn't lie totally flat. It is only caught to the fashion fabric on the seam lines.
So next time I'll sew the coutil+satin+lace together before sewing the pieces together, having the lace with NO seam allowance, so that it won't come into the seams and will not be bulky. I'll stitch through the whole surface of the piece in rows about 1,5cm apart. This will catch the lace and under layers together. The stitching will be visible when looked at in detail, but it is still far better than having a gap between the lace and the fabric and cousing dark and wrinkly spots.
I don't like the boning channels either. I thought doing them in a double layer with a coutil would make them too thick, so I just used the fashion fabric (the satin is quite strong). But it only resulted in a weak boning channel, thin, showing every uneven surface of the spiral boning inside. next time I'll flat line the boning channels to some cotton batiste or muslin or whatever. It'll make the channels less wrinkly, easier to sew on (the stitching is not perfectly straight...aaaargh!!) and more durable.
And next time I'll really try to get a longer busk. Nobody had this black busk as long as I wanted, so I ordered this 14" busk from Richard the Thread. Don't buy their busks! I was told (sadly, after the buy) that their black busks are Chinese and not very durable - and indeed, the colour tends to peel off a little bit after use. I have a sample from a German company and it looks much better. I think Vena Cava carries the good ones, but only in short lengths. I am seriously thinking of buying and selling longer black busks...
Any other thoughts, tips & tricks?