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How to draft a really simple underbust corset pattern
By Jasmine | November 8, 2008
This is a simple corset underbust pattern and some instructions to go with it. It is a way of doing an underbust without needing to draft and fit a sloper/block.
The instructions are a little rough but should give the basic concept to get some one started. If you get a little lost half way there is another method that is even simpler at the bottom of this post.
The point was to post some basic instructions that don’t require to much fluffyng around or a degree on mathematics to make a little waist cincher.
Measurements…
Essentially take front and back (natural) measurements of your underbust, waist and lower belly and a line about 2″ above and 2″ below your waist. Your underbelly line (just above your public bone) should be no lower than where your thigh muscle attaches to your hips, if you sit down and tense your thigh muscle you should be able to feel it. If your corset is too long there you will have a hard time sitting in it, same with your pelvic bone…
(If you don’t have someone to help with the mesurements, use a texta/pen to mark the lines on your body and take all the measurement twice and use the average. Marking a line down your side (side seam), will make it a lot easier to get front and back measurementsfor example)
Get your waist to underbust measement at the front, side and back and the same for the waist to under belly (this is where the pen markings are handy too. Make sure you stand up straight when doing this.
It is also worth checking how much give(squishy-ness) you have at 2″ above and below the waist. The 2″ above/below are used as a guide when reducing the waist measurement, some people can squish an inch or two at the hip/ribs others squish a lot less. Too tight at the hip or rib will be really uncomfortable,
Create a block…
On a large peice of paper draw the waist line and a line 2″ above and below. Draw a vertical line for the front (busk), then on the waist line make a mark at half your under belly measurement, use that mark to draw the back vertical line. Use half the ‘Front underbelly’ measurement to find the side seam line.
Mark the vertical measurements (waist to underbust and waist to underbelly at the side, front and back). Use these to add the underbust and underbelly lines. You should have a sort of square-ish shape with three lines across the middle.
on the side seam line mark 1″ either side on the underbust line (more or less depending on how curvy you are), then draw a line from that mark to where the side seam and underbelly lines meet. These lines become the new side seam lines, and will help give a better hourglass silhoutte.
Create the Panels..
Draw a line 1″ from the center back line, (this is lacing gap) and another line 1.5″ from the centerback (this is for where the eyelets/boning will go)
On the underbelly line mark 2″ (personal preference) and at 3″ (3.5″ for taller people/boys, on your body it should be on belly not on a hip bone). On the underbust line mark a line at 3″ (personal preference) and another at about 6″ (should be where the the outer edge of your breast is, use the underwire of a bra as a guide). Use the marks to draw a straight line between the underbust marks and the underbelly marks.
The ‘personal preference’ is because there is no reduction/shaping on the first panel and seam, you can make the first panel straight or have the first seam on a bit of a diagonal, which ever you prefer.
On the second vertical line from the front (outerbust one) mark at 1.5cm (1/2″ inch) either side along the waist line and then draw a line to the underbust and underbelly lines (this is the shaping for the 2nd & 3rd panels). (note for adjustments, if you have a big [waist<>hip] ratio you may need to add put more shaping space here and add the same amount to the underbust line. Just be careful not to end up with the 2nd panel narrower at the waist than the bottom. See below for the side seam being too tight a curve)
Now measure from the Center front on the underbust line and mark half your ‘front underbust’ measurement (add shaping amount it you added any). Do the same for your waist but add 1″ (or the amount taken out for shaping), then draw the a line from the underbust to the waist to the underbelly (this is the side seam line). The side seam should be reasonably vertical from the underbust to the waist and then not more than about 45degree angle out to the underbelly, if it is you may need to take more out of the second seam line (see above note). If it is too tight a curve on the side it will sit funny.
Use a ruler to get the measurement along the waist line from the ‘new side’ line you drew to the line that marked the eyelet section, divide that measure by three. and mark the amounts along the waist line, draw two verical lines on these marks (this turns the back evenly into 3 panels, with the back panel larger for the eyelets).
Use a ruler to measure along the underbust line from the ‘new side’ line to the center back. Deduct half your Back-underbust measurement from this, (this is how much you have to take out) and divide it by 5. Mark the ‘diff/5′ amount on underbust line from the ‘new side’ line and on either side of the two vertical seam lines.
On the Front half measure the distance between the the side seam line and the ‘new side’ line, and mark the same distance on the back half. You want the seams on the front and back sides to have the same curve over your hip. Now measure from this mark to the center back along the waist line and deduct half your back waist measurement from it and divide the remainder by 4. Mark this amount either side of the two vertical lines on the back.
Draw the lines from the underbust line to the waist and to the under belly line to create the three shaped back panels.
The back side seam should match the front side seam exactly below the waist and be pretty close to the same above the waist.
You now have a basic corset pattern with no waist reduction.
Adding waist reduction…
if you want a 3″ reduction take half an inch out of the side and two back seams (1/4″ on the side of each panel) and taper it back to normal just before the underbust and underbelly line using the 2″ above and below measurements as a guide. You want to aim for smooth even curves, a little bit of reduction is overall is good but REMEMBER that a 1/4″ on a few seams will add up to a few inches overall!
I also try and keep a 1″-1.5″ band around the waist (1/4″ below >> +1″ above) where the waist tape goes that is the same measurement rather than having the reduction at the waist come to a sharp point. It is more comfortable, easier to sew and will put less stress on the bones.
Draw the top and bottom lines (top and bottom of the corset) as you like them, making sure that the bottom front is not too long.
The distance between the panels along the top and the angle of the seams at the bottom will make it tricky to get a nice even line, but don’t fuss too much as it is easier to correct these in the next step.
Cut along the seam lines but don’t cut the top and bottom lines yet, also cut off the lacing gap section from the back panel.
With the peices cut out double check that the peices are the same length using the waist as the reference point. Square the ends by making sure the bottom and top edge lines don’t have points at where the pieces meet (on the seams) by putting them next to each other and adjusting the top/bottom line to get a smooth curve around the top and bottom. Doing this now will make sewing a lot easier as the peices will fit together like a professional pattern.
When you are happy with the top and bottom line cut along the line, you know have a corset pattern with no seam allowance.
Add seam allowance…
Trace these onto another peice of paper and add seam allowance to the seams including the center front and back (not the top and bottom). Mark the waist line and the lines 2″ above and below (add more reference notches if you think you’ll need them when sewing it together too)
Keep the pattern that does not have any seam allowance as it will be handy for making adjustments or changing the style a little. I usually try to write all the measurements on it too, if you go back and use it in 12 months you will know what size it is.
Do a mock up to iron out any fitting issues and then make your corset.
Notes that should be noted…
if you are a larger/rubanesque shape you may do well to deduct an inch or two from your underbelly and underbust measurement to account for the squishyness.
A huge waist reduction may require re-jiggering the lines/spacing etc to not end up with a really sharp curve at the side waist.
You can use this method to do Overbust corsets by taking your front bust measurement and adding the difference (Front bust minus front underbust to the first two seams on the front starting 1-2 inches below the underbust line. (the first front seam should be moved to about 2.5″-3″ from centre front and the second to just inside the underwire of your bra. to allow the extra needed for the bust to be spread over the two seams without it ending up in you armpit.)
If you are feeling lazy…
the following will also work. (only needs whole underbust, waist and underbelly measurements and the vertical measurements)
Follow the instructions to get the Square block shape but don’t bother with the side seam or the ‘new side’ line.
Add the lacing gap and eyelet space lines. (see above)
Draw a vertical line on the front 2″ from the center front, this is ’seam #1′. (This can be diagonal or curved too, it doesn’t matter it is just a style line that you add boning to…)
Measure from the seam #1 line to the eyelet space line and divide it by 5, use this measurement to mark along the waist line (this makes a 6 panel corset) and then draw vertical lines on those points for where the seams will go.
Calculate ‘underbelly mesurement’ minus your ‘waist measurement’ and divide the result by 8.
Mark this amount on the waist line either side of the four vertical lines you drew (not on seam#1 or the eyelet space line)
Calculate ‘underbelly mesurement’ minus your ‘underbust measurement’ and divide the result by 8.
As was done for the waist. Mark this amount on the underbust line either side of the four vertical lines you drew (not on seam#1 or the eyelet space line)
Draw a line from these marks to join the underbust to waist to the underbelly line to create the panels.
Then use the above waist size reduction and finishing to complete the corset pattern
This is all pretty vague but has been put here to encourage people to take a stab at making corsets for themselves.
Topics: Corsets, Musings, Patterns, Resources | 1 Comment »
February 18th, 2009 at 12:25 am
How do you go about boning the corset? I am in the process of making one for my wife…