Corset Lining

Just a quick couple of notes on the corset lining:

 

Everyone who makes corsets, it seems, has a different technique.  My pieces are numbered (center front to center back, 1-6), and I mark the top of each piece with notches equalling it's pattern piece number.  Since the pieces are very similar to eachother, this keeps me from mixing them up, and it also keeps me from sewing in one of the pieces upside down. 

 

 

I also put a little notch at the waistline, to make sure that I'm lining them up correctly - not so much an issue if I'm making the same pattern as the original, but if I've done any modifications to the top or bottom line, it helps keep things square, so to speak. 

 

 

 

I use cotton duck for the lining, and I don't generally use a coutil layer.  The duck is strong enough, generally, given the use the corset will be getting.  If I'm using a particularly delicate fashion fabric, I'll line it with something with a little more heft - but usually just whatever I have laying around.  I'm not wearing this thing, daily, as underwear - I'm generally wearing it for a few hours at a time as a costume.  The cotton duck holds up just fine under the stress I put on my corsets.

 

Also, I use black cotton duck for a lot of things.  So, when there's that rare 60% off coupon at JoAnn, I buy a whole bolt of the stuff. 

 

Next step for me is to sew together the lining into two front panels and two back panels.  I iron the seam allowances flat.  Then, I stitch on channels for the boning - I use extra wide single fold bias tape.  It's the perfect size for the 1/2" steel boning I prefer.

 

The lady at the fabric store asked why I would purchase bias tape when it's so easy to make it yourself.  Why would I spend the time making it myself when it's just $2 for a package?

 

I don't put channels in the back along where the grommets go - those will be just the layers of the corset stitched together to create channels on both sides of the grommets. 

 

My order has shipped - from Philadelphia.  It should arrive during the week, and then I can get this thing wrapped up.  Today I think I'll get the outside done, so it's all ready for the hardware when it arrives.

Corset Patterns!

Norwescon is coming right up!  I've been invited to join a costume group (Skittles), and have almost finished my costume for this year.  Yes, I'll be wearing the shoes I made (the black and silver flats) with the costume. 

I've got a couple of weeks, still, and would really love to make their costume from last year:

 

 

Everyone has a color, and my color is black.  (I didn't want yellow.)

So, the two big items here are the corset and tutu.  I've been scouring the internet and pestering friends for info on making the tutu, but the corset I've got covered.

Here's a corset I made a few years ago:



It's not cinched tight, but it fits nicely (it's a tiny bit loose, because I've lost some weight, but the proportions are still good), mostly because the pattern was expertly drafted for me by Lori, a friend who teaches corsetry. 

So, any time I need a corset, I just modify the pattern I have.  In this case, I want the panels to be closer to the same size, so I can put diamonds on them easily.  I'll also need the bottom edge to be a little higher, and a little flatter, so as to not interfere with the tutu.  And this particular corset pokes me just a tiny bit under the arms, so I'm lowering that about a half inch, and making the front top line a slight upward curve.  Here's my corset pattern:



I had to make the pattern before I could order the busk and stays.  Luckily, I need an 11" busk, and that's one of the two sizes they carry in the diamond-stud busk.  (I do love me some sparkle!)

I got some gorgeous black velvet with little white crystals for the outside, and a selection of silver and grey fabrics (5" of each) for the diamonds.  I'll be able to put together the lining and the outside, but will have to wait for the busk and stays to arrive to do the finishing. 

So now, I have two project that are waiting for the mail to arrive.  *sigh*

Patterns - Lace-up Heeled Oxford

Now that the first pair of experimental, post-class shoes are done, it's time to move on to the next! 

Experiments in the previous pair of shoes included flats, leather soles, stacked leather heel, suede, asymmetrical design, straps, toggles, attaching straps with elastic, cutout/inset, and many more.

Experiments on this shoe:  wood heels, multi-piece pattern, laces, tongue, higher vamp, gimping, punching designs... and I'm sure there are more things I've never done that we'll find along the way.

Remember this design?

Time to get started.  I received my copy of Handmade Shoes for Men, one of the very few good shoemaking resources available.  It answered some questions I had about the relationship between the lining and the tongue/laces area of the shoe.  So, on to pattern making.

Many/most? shoe makers do something called a mean forme.  Basically, you design your shoe, then split the pattern down the center line, and find the average between the inside of the foot and the outside of the foot, and make a pattern that's symmetrical. 

With my super wide feet, and with my propensity for asymmetrical designs, I like the system I learned in class better:  just do the whole damn thing.  So, I drew the design I liked onto the masking tape, and cut carefully along the lines with an exacto knife.  Peeled off the pieces, and traced them onto manilla file folders.  Added allowances for seams and lasting.  Here are all the pieces that will be black:

 

And here's the piece that will be metallic silver/pale blue, before adding the tongue and allowances:

 

And here's the entire pattern.  I love the shapes of these pieces - especially the light blue one.  I think it looks kind of like concept art for a fast spaceship in a sci-fi tv show.

 

I've already got the insoles made, and the heels carved.  But I can't start on these until I receive my shipment of black kangaroo leather, which should be arriving soon.

First pair of shoes - finished!

Just finished up my first pair of post-class, all-by-myself shoes!

 

 

Once the black suede was glued down, I took the shoes up to the belt sander and ground down the wrinkles, and cut away the excess material.  Filled in the gap(s) with cork (the kind you get in sheets from the craft store), and filed away the excess.

 

 

 

Cut the soles and two sets of heel lifts from some black scrap leather.  For pumps, in general, I'll be using a rubber soling material (which I have lots of now), but for this pair, I wanted to use leather.

 

I took the soles to work, and used a press there, and my new custom leather stamp, to stamp in my logo, which I filled with a little silver rub & buff.  Which may have been a bit of a mistake, as it didn't wipe off the surface as well as I had hoped:

Glued the soles and the lifts on to the shoes...

 

And removed them from the lasts.  Took out the foam sheets that were the placeholders for the comfort insole, and trimmed the elastic.

 

Popped in the insoles, and tried them on:

The longer straps were really loose, so I re-attached the elastic a little bit lower down.

 

 

Unfortunately, they're a bit loose.  And the heel point is a little low. They fit pretty well with a pair of socks on, however, so it's not a failed experiment. :)  Lessons learned.

 

I received in the mail today another pair of lasts - purchased for $20 off ebay (if only there was more selection available that way!).  They're a half size too big - 6 1/2 EE, and again with the square-ish toe (like these ones).  I think I might grind them down a little to an almond shaped toe.  They've got a nice 2 1/2" heel pitch, so I'm looking forward to finding out if I'll be able to use them for shoes for me. On to the next pair!

Counter, Toe Box, and Final Lasting

Time to get going on the structure.

I know - this first picture is a re-post, but it's in here to show different things.

I cut the counter out of the same orange suede I used on the insoles.  In class, we used split shoulder (tooling leather), but I don't have a splitter, and I'm thinking that the suede is about the same thickness.  I soaked it for a couple of hours in water, and then spread Hirschkleber (elk hoof glue) all over one side.  I applied the counter to the back of the last, on top of the lining, but under the outer leather, and lubed up the outside with the hirschkleber.  In the photo, the counter is the brown thing on the back of the shoe. 

The white, semi-circle piece is the toe box (also known as a toe puff) - it's a thermo-molding material.

 

You put glue on the white stuff and on the toe of the shoe, and let it dry.  Then heat it up in a toaster oven (I got one on clearance at Fred Meyer for $20!) until it's floppy, and quickly stretch it over the toe of the shoe.  While it's still warm, you can use scissors to trim off the excess material at the feather line.  

 

Then, I used a file to sand down the edges of the toe box, so there won't be a visible line on the outside of the shoe. 

 

I also took the shoes up to the belt sander and ground down the wrinkles in the lining (on the insole) and trimmed away the excess material there.

 

 

Time to finish lasting!  A quick swipe of glue on the insole and the black suede, and a generous application of shoe stretch, and it's ready for nails.

 

My ghetto lasting stand is working just fine. 

 

Here's how they're looking at the moment.  Next, I need to trim and sand down the wrinkles on the black suede, like I did on the liner, then fill in the bottom with some cork.  Then soles - which I'm going to make out of leather - yet something else I've never done.  These shoes have a lot of experiments in them.  Perhaps I should have started with a more standard pump...

Toggles

These flats are supposed to go with my costume for Norwescon this year.  Since the costume is more or less Norse, I wanted to pay homage to the Norse shoe by using toggles to tie down the straps. 

It was somewhat problematic, since I had no clue when I was starting how exactly I was going to do that. 

Regardless, I made some toggles. I cut some triangles out of silver leather from the craft store - it was thicker and fluffier than I wanted to work with, but I don't have a splitter, so there wasn't much I could do about it. 

When I rolled them up, the tan colored edges showed, so I got some black leather dye and dyed the back sides:

 

 

Lesson learned here - don't touch this stuff until the dye is all the way dry - I started rolling up one of the toggles, and the silver was rubbing/sliding off of the front side.  Fortunately, once the dye was dry, that wasn't an issue. 

 

So - put some glue on them, rolled them up, then used the power drill to drill two little holes through, so I could sew them onto the straps.

 

I'm using elastic, inserted through the suede, to hold down the straps.  I don't have a better idea of how to do it at this point.  I guess we'll see if it works.  (I need to trim the ends of the elastic off from this photo.)

Finally, they're starting to look like shoes

I don't know yet if it's just this particular pair of shoes - the suede I chose is a little heavier than the kangaroo leather I'll mostly be working with in the future - but my sewing machine did not like sewing the lining to the outer suede.  Even with a walking foot, it did a really shitty job of keeping tension.  Since these shoes are for me, and they're sort of an experiment/learning experience all around, I kept the mostly-ok bits, and hand-sewed the rest.  Ugh.  

 

 

Then, trimmed off the excess lining material.

 

A couple of things had to happen before I could start lasting.  For starters, my home-made ghetto lasting stand was too tall.  So I had to unscrew the steel pipe, and take it out to the garage, and cut about 8 inches off it.  Now, when I put the last on the stand, I can brace it with my knee. 

Also, I made sure to test the hinges - to make sure that the glued-on modifications I made to the last wouldn't make it impossible to get the shoe off once it's done.

Then, I had to drive to Fred Meyer.  Because it turns out I don't have an old bottle of baby powder in the bathroom.  I didn't even know where they kept the baby powder at the store - I had to ask. 

Also, I'm going to be adding a 1/4" thick comfort insole into the bottom of these shoes, so I grabbed some fun foam sheets, glued them together (to get approximately 1/4" thickness) and cut out some insole shapes, so that the final shoe will have enough room in it to slip in the blue comfort foam.  I put the last on the stand, put the fun foam on the sole, and then the insole I made previously.  Nailed it on with three nails, positioned toward the middle, where I'll be able to get them out again after the shoe is lasted.

So - under normal circumstances, you'd powder the inside of the upper liberally with baby powder, to help get the shoe off the last when you're all done.  Because I'm working with suede, and it's a flat (which means it'll be easier to get it off the last anyway), I powdered the last, rather than the leather.

Then the nailing begins!  My lasting pliers are a little large - I may eventually invest in a second pair with more pointy grippers. 

After it was all nailed down, I sprayed it liberally with shoe stretch - I'm hoping that as it dries, it'll form a bit into this shape.  The next step (probably tomorrow) is to carefully take out the nails, and glue down just the lining to the insole, all the way around. 

 

Both shoes are at this stage - and they're sort of looking like shoes!  That's kind of exciting.  I started making the toggles that will hold those two straps down.  There are still a couple of different ways that could all shake out, and I'm not sure which way I want to go with that.