February 26, 2012

Regency Stays Interlining Pictures

I finally found the time, energy, and batteries to take pictures of me in my Regency corset mock-up 2 / interlining. I’ve been sick and busy in the last several weeks while trying to get my research project to the point of IRB submission (which will be this Monday! I’m crossing my fingers it won’t take too long for approval).

Yes, I know its not good to tie your laces like that, but its convenient for fittings when you have three yards of excess lacing. :)


Unfortunately, my roommate was busy playing Star Trek online and Skype-ing with his friends, so I had to lace myself in this time. I also felt weird about going into his room to use the full length mirror to lace it myself (I knew he would have a running commentary about it), so I used the small mirror in the bathroom. The top half of the waist is cinched in too much and the bust isn’t tight enough, but it still looks ok. The bust isn’t as supported as it was last time but only slightly. I used the binder clip to keep the top edge of the fabric flush with the busk, which is what helps keep the, er, “ladies” in place.

If you’re wondering why the bust gussets are a different color, it’s because I used the test D+ gussets from my first mock-up on this one. I’m going to replace them with the cotton drill before I put the layers together.


Side view. I probably should have raised my arm for this photo. Oops.


You can more or less see the classic Regency silhouette here. My cleavage was…well, let’s just say I’m glad I wore the neckline I did. O.o The bust was more shapely when the corset was properly laced because there was a bit more support and it wasn’t too tight along the underbust. It’s also helpful if you can “place” yourself as you’re getting laced, which I wasn’t able to do.

You can also see the pins I used to attach the straps to the front. I was quite impressed with myself for not sticking myself even once this time! Hooray! I haven’t picked up a pin or needle in weeks without sticking myself at least once. (I hope my tetanus shot is still good.) Anyway, for anyone thinking of making this, do yourself a favor and make your straps longer for your mock-up so that you won’t be slightly hunched over during your fittings. It’s rather uncomfortable and hart to move your arms. I definitely recommend making the straps for the mock-ups, though, because they help keep things in place.

The only problem I see is that the front seems to be a tad b bit too long. When I sit, the front curls up a couple of inches. I already have the lining and cover fabrics cut out and sewn (aside from the gussets), so I’m just going to put it together and trim it if needed once the bones are in (and probably get shorter bones, if needed).


Back view with my lovely lacing strips and grommets.


Here you can see how wonky the lacing job is. When laced properly, the CB is parallel with a gap of about 2 – 2.5 inches.

The straps typically are a little closer to CB, so they normally lay better. Again, the lacing is off. Oops. You do have a nice view of my lacing strips, though, and my lovely grommet settings. I only messed up on one because it was slightly off center on the setter when I hit it and is slightly smushed on the right side (the back is showing on this one).


Left back hip gusset

I popped a poorly-sewn hip gusset the last time I did a fitting. The edge of the gusset was slightly frayed, so I just did a fancy zig-zag style stitch to fix it. It’s going to be on the inside, anyway. I might go over the other back hip gusset like this, just for added stability.

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