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I just started a rather involved sewing project and I thought it would be fun to blog the project from start to finish, with photos along the way. (People who don't care about sewing should probably skip this whole series; I'm not going to give you a cookie for reading it if you don't want to.) Unfortunately I had this idea after I'd already bought the fabric and done the first bit of sewing, so I can't write it up from the very start. But pretty close.

The project is my Halloween costume for Lisa's party. I'm making this pattern. The whole thing: corset, chemise and drawers. I'll be Scarlett O'Hara before the ball. Fiddle dee-dee!

I made a corset once before, but I was a lot less experienced at sewing then so it didn't turn out as well as I might have hoped. It was a Victorian pattern from Past Patterns. They have a great reputation for authenticity, and the saleswoman was very helpful on the phone. I bought the "corset kit" from them which includes everything you need. It's great for a first attempt because you don't have to figure out what supplies to buy, but the fabric is kind of ugly. Plus there must be something funky about their sizing because it never fit right, especially in the bust. I cut it open and took the boning, busk and laces for re-use. I guess you could call it my "parts corset."

This time I put more time into planning so it will look nicer and (I hope) fit better. The pattern is to be made out of only one layer of fabric, with the boning on the inside. Corsets need to be made out of very sturdy fabric with very little give, but these fabrics tend not to look very nice. So I'm making mine out of three layers: duck canvas for strength, a simple cotton lining on the inside for comfort, and a pretty dupioni silk (on sale, yay!) on the outside for show. Also, instead of putting the boning on the inside, I'm making it out of a contrasting color of the silk and sewing it to the outside. I got this idea from a corset-making website and though probably not authentic, I think it will look nice.

The first step of course was to sew the layers together. Actually, the very first step was to edge the pieces with a zigzag to prevent unraveling. Normally I wouldn't bother when the edges will all be enclosed, but this silk frays so fast I figured I'd better do it, just to make it easier to work with. I did not edge the canvas or the cotton lining. But I digress.

OK, so the first step was to sew the pieces together. As you know if you have ever sewn anything, you always put the right sides of the fabric together, so that when you open it up the raw edges will be in back and won't show. But in this case, the raw edges are going to be hidden under the boning, which goes in front. So I had to sew everything with the wrong sides together. I was nervous about screwing this up -- it's just the kind of thing I would get wrong when hurrying, and I don't want to have to rip out any seams in this silk -- so I double checked each seam before sewing.

The only other complication was that the canvas was too thick to take pins. So I had to go slowly and just sort of hold the fabric together, an inch or two at a time. Actually it wasn't that bad. Since none of the fabrics are slippery, they stayed in place pretty well.

The second step was to flat-fell the seams. I wish I had taken photos of this step in progress because it's kind of hard to explain, but I found a page with photos here. Basically it means trimming one side of the seam allowance so it's shorter than the other, turning them to one side (with the longer one on top) and then sewing them both down. It makes a nice strong seam (because the seam now has two rows of stitching, not just one) so it's used on seams that will get a lot of stress. Like in jeans, or a corset.

Normally you would fold under the long edge of a flat-felled seam, so all the raw edges are neatly enclosed. I didn't bother with that here because the whole thing is going to end up underneath bone casings. All I need is the added stability.

And that's how far I got in one evening on my corset. Reading back over it, my post makes the work sound rather tedious. But it really is fun, in the sense that focusing on the details of a challenging project is fun. If you're still with me, the next installment will probably be putting in the busk and grommets. I'm supposed to do the bone casings next, but I want to be able to try it on first, since it will be a lot easier to alter before the boning is sewn in.