Sunday, July 15, 2012

Laughing Moon Silverado Corset #1

Whelp... this corset ain't gonna build itself.

Several years ago, I started a muslin for Laughing Moon's Silverado Corset Pattern. I got as far as tracing off the pattern, shortening the waist, cutting and sewing a muslin with no bones, and getting a first fitting. I have a vague memory of doing this on a craft day of long ago. Since then, the luslin has sat on a shelf waiting for me to order the corset hardware. Although I did not cut a size 8, I ordered the size 8 kit to get the shortest possible bones and busk.

I "borrowed" the following images from Farthingtales.ca because it shows the difference between the two corsets offered in this pattern:

The black corset is the Dore pattern and the pink corset is the Silverado pattern. The scuttlebutt on Victorian costuming site seems to be that the Dore version gives a more historically accurate "rounded bust line". I can see that, but I am interested in trying the Silverado for a few reasons.


  1. A stroll through Ageless Patterns' selection of period corset patterns shows an almost even split between patterns with and without bust gores. 
  2. Being so short waisted, I want to emphasize the distance between the bust point and my waist. The Silverado pattern does this well, using the bust gores to define and support the bust, instead of making a slow, smooth transition into the waist. 
  3. I'm hoping for more control over the fit in the bust. 
Yesterday, I did a second round of fitting on the muslin with no bones. I've traced off a new pattern with the changes. The next step will be to make another muslin out of sturdier fabric and try it with the busk, laces, and non-seam boning. This is likely to be the step where I will work on getting some waist reduction adjustments into the pattern. Right now the pattern is merely form fitting, but frankly, why bother with all the trouble of a corset if all you are going to get is one's same silhouette?

1 comment:

Cherokee stitcher said...

The original proprietor of Past Patterns preached the theory that there should always be three to four inches of spring in the back opening of a well made, well fitting corset. Spring is the distance between the edges of two back opening lacing panels. She said that the moderately wide spring allows for the corset to be tightened as needed after the person's body has set into the fabric of the corset and the fabric has relaxed due to both body heat and perspiration moisture.