What is a corset busk?

A selection of modern corset busks

A corset busk, or stay busk, in its original form is a solid rod made from wood, bone or metal which is inserted into the front panel of a pair of stays (old word for corset) to keep the fabric taught and straight over the abdomen.  Without a busk you do not and cannot have a true corset - the reason for this is because a corset is a garment which shapes the torso into the fashionable silhouette of the day, whether that be an 18th century conical look or the more archetypal  Victorian hourglass.  In other words, without substantial stiffening at the front in the form of a front busk, a corset cannot and will not do it's job.  Different types of busk can be used for different types of corset and to create different effects.

A beautiful carved wooden stay busk dated 1786 and carved with hearts and initials.
These were commonly given to ladies as love tokens from their sweethearts
as they were secret and worn next to the body.

A flat wooden, bone or metal busk was used in closed front corsetry right up to the mid 19th century when the split busk, or two part busk, was invented by the Victorians.  This split busk invention was at the time a revolution for women because for the first time they were able to put their corsets on un-assisted and this of course meant that corsetry was now much more accessible to women who did not have a maid and this in turn meant that the demand for corsetry grew and factories sprung up all over the world to support this demand.There are many types of split busk all of which originate from this period in Victorian history.

Here are some of the types of busk which are still available today for our corset making endeavours.

A white flexible corset busk with stainless steel fasteners
 all split busks have a  loop side and a stud side

The regular 'flexible' busk  - this  is the most common type of modern corset busk, the most widely available and the one with which people are most familiar.  They are made of powder coated spring steel and are about 12mm wide on each side.  They are very very flexible, and feel a bit flimsy but don't forget that once encased in a couple of layers of coutil which they will be in a finished corset, then the flexibility will not be so noticeable and can be quite advantageous.

A narrow stainless steel busk
slightly tougher than the white flexi steel busk

The stainless steel busk - these busks are made of sprung stainless steel with dipped ends.  They come in a variety of widths and shapes and are flexible but much sturdier than the white flexible busks.  In Victorian times of course, all busks were made of uncoated steel.  

See how the spoon busk is curved where the tummy would be

The spoon busk - this is a typically Victorian busk which as it's name suggests is shaped a bit like a spoon - the busk is curved with a wider area at the bottom which forms the 'spoon' and it is completely rigid. The Victorians liked a nice round tummy and the cupped shape of the spoon busk supported the cut of the corset and the tummy.  When ever you see a spoon busk in a corset, you know it's Victorian.

The Edwardians loved a flat tummy

The conical or tapered busk - This is the Edwardian equivalent of a spoon busk.  You have a wider area at the base of the busk but the whole busk is flat and not curved.  This gives tummy control but the Edwardians preferred a flat front and so this busk, while giving support to the flat front cut of the Edwardian corset also helped to smooth the lower abdomen into flatter submission.  This is my favourite type of busk and is very common in Edwardian corsetry.

Wide steel busks are 2 inches wide total and the least flexible of the busks

Wide steel busk - this is a wider busk made from sprung stainless steel in various lengths and a inch wide on each side.  This type of busk is not common in antique corsetry and has a more modern application in the medical corsetry of today because of it's ridgidity.  In fashion corsets, it has it's uses but is the least flexible of the straight busks,  so whilst it can give extra control over your chosen aesthetic (medical corsetry aside),  it can also hinder results by not moulding over the body and creating an overhang gap at the bottom of the corset.  This is particularly common in women who have a prominent rib cage or abdomen - the solid wide busk looks like it might flatten the abdomen very easily but what it actually does is provide too rigid a front - in fashion corsetry, this can also be very bulky and uncomfortable.   

So there we have a very small lesson on Victorian style corset busks.  These amazing fastners are still in production today and easily available from specialist shops.  They come in all the above shapes and sizes but these days you can also get them in black, or colours, and there's even a bling version with diamante studs!

New year, new corsets!

Happy New year one and all!! I hope yours is filled with much joy and even more corsetry!!  I thought I'd start off this year with some cool corset related links as there has been much writing and scribbling on said subject over the past few weeks and there are always things to learn from the past.

On Making Corsets

The Merry Corsetiere is a Live Journal and remains my favourite resource for learning how to make corsets -  it's where I tell everyone to go when they need corset making information.  'Read everything!' someone once said to me, and so I did.  You take the bits you need, the bits that make sense and you might want to store the rest for a rainy day.  There are some great bits of information in there including posts from today's well known corsetieres 'before they were famous', like Sparklewren, Angela Freidman, Crickey Aphrodite, Morua Designs, Totally Waisted and Electra Designs, to name but a few.  You may not recognise them though as they had different names then.

Sew Curvy - my own website is not only a shop for corsetry supplies and couture haberdashery but a resource of useful information all about corsets and corsetry.  Each product description gives instructions on how to use the product offered for sale, but there are also free tutorials covering such things as inserting busks, dying corset laces, creative ways to use knicker elastic, interesting articles, customer questions & answers and much much more!

shop here for all your corset making supplies

Foundations Revealed - is a subscription website which you can use to find certain articles which will 'raise your game' in corsetry however these useful articles by the experienced, are becoming more rare on the site so do look back at the archives where there are lots of interesting articles about business, branding and  making written by profoessionals.  Newer articles include tips and tutorials from non-professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts and some interesting sew-alongs.  In the free articles however, you will find much to set you on the way including how to draft a corset pattern from scratch.

Click the picture to go to Foundations Revealed - image does not show in ad-blocker mode

Prior Attire - my good friend Izabela is always writing tutorials on corsetry and period dressmaking!  Now she has a You Tube channel.  You can check out her blog here, and her channel here - lately she has posted things like 'how to use pressing bars to create external bone channels'.  Her videos are quick, efficient and entertaining.

Google Patents - are old corset patents which have run out of copyright and are now on Google as an information resource for us crazy corset makers.  You can find all manner of pattern here to try, of course there are no instructions and some of the designs are as mad as the people who made them, but I've always said that a fantastic way to innovate in modern corsetry is to look at antique patterns and this resource is a bottomless pit of inspiration!

The Practical Corsetiere - is another 'old' resource on the web where many of the old guard learned a trick or two!  Here you will find information on proportions, measurements and grading, along with a number of old fashioned patterns from waspies, to corsets, to girdles.  Make a pot of tea for this one!

The Complete Vocational Course of Cutting - a web resource in French which is unfortunate if you only speak a language other than French.  But also another mine of authentic information from back in the day including many patterns.

Lucy's Corsetry - No corsetry resource would be complete without Lucy's Corsetry which covers much more than just making corsets -so Lucy belongs in every category here.  Lucy's videos and accompanying blog describe all aspects of corsetry from making, to wearing, to myths and legends surrounding all things corset.  Beware, you could very well lose a day if you click on these links!

On wearing corsets

There are many myths and legends surrounding the wearing of corsets and how they are 'dangerous' and 'crush your insides' and 'make women faint'.  Corsets are none of these things.  Corsets are no more dangerous or sensational than wearing a pair of stiletto shoes.  The social aspects of corsetry is a huge study in itself, probably one for another post!

image by Pitcheresque Imagery

Myths and Reality - of wearing corsets, by Izabella of Prior Attire

Top 10 Corset Myths - another blog post busting the common misconceptions about corset wearing.

How corseting affects your body - very interesting post about the difference between wearing a corset and not, and the more cosmetic effects on the body.

In other popular corset wearing conundrums lies the question "how do I put it on?".  Here are the answers.

How to lace yourself into a corset - a video by Melanie Talkington of Lace Embrace

How to lace someone into a corset - a video by Autumn Adamme of Dark Garden Corsetry

And the bain of many a corsetiere's life, the question "I saw this corset for £30, can you make me one?"

The difference between a real designer corset and a fake one.  If you don't want to believe that corsets should cost more than £30, then watch this video!  It's one of my favourites and was made by Catherine Clavering of British lingerie company, Kiss Me Deadly.

On buying corsets

The Lingerie Addict blog has built up a massive archive of corset wearing and buying articles mostly written by my friend a collegue Marianne Faulkner of Pop Antique as their resident corsetry expert.  This archive resource covers everything from things to look for in a quality corset, to why corsets are so expensive, to what to do while wearing a corset and much much more!  Go to The Lingerie Addict and click on the tag "corsets" to find the archive.  There is also a Lingerie Addict Tumblr account where you can find 25 Articles about Corsets

Again, Lucy has buying corsets covered on her amazing World Map of Corsetieres!  Here you can find just about all the worlds current working corset makers.

Lucy's Corsetiere Map only includes corset makers who offer a made to measure or bespoke service

On Learning Corsetry

For those who prefer to learn how to make corsets 'in person' then there are a multitude of videos on Youtube, and there are classes springing up all over the world as the trend for corsetry becomes more popular.  When you look for a corset making class, depending upon the level you are looking for, make sure you have a teacher who is an experienced corsetiere.  There are many sewing schools and dressmakers jumping on the corset making bandwagon who know little about corsetry and teach nothing more than making a laced basque, or worse, who will charge £100+ to help you read a pattern in class.  Look at their work, judge for yourself if they teach what you want to learn.

If you are in Australia, Lowana O'Shea of Vanyanis is teaching corsetry.  She is an excellent, professional who pays huge attention to detail.  She will be teaching her classes using the Sew Curvy pattern.

If you are in Glasgow, my friend and colleague Alison of Crikey Aphrodite will soon be teaching corsetry.

If you are in Austria, Barbara Pesendorfer of Royal Black Corsetry and Couture sometimes teaches (German speaking).

If you are in England or can get here,  I teach corsetry all year round via The Oxford School of Corsetry - courses are popular and sell out fast - this year we are covering beginners, intermediate and advanced, along with masterclasses on sheer, cupped, and Edwardian corsetry, pattern manipulation and draping.

Based in rural Oxfordshire - book courses here

And if you want to get together over a weekend and make lots and lots of new corset obsessed friends, then you must come to The Oxford Conference of Corsetry.  This year it is on 29-30 August, and our special guests are Ian Frazer Wallace of The White Chapel Workhouse, Barbara Pesendorfer of Royal Black and Immodesty Blaize,  Europe's top showgirl and burlesque performer!  Hope to see you there!

Starting over. Again.

So here's an old new blog.  How did we get here?  Well ...  A long long time ago, seems like half a century but in fact it's really only about 10 years, I made my first corset.  I was inspired by lots of things, but I think what finally did it, was the day I met fan dancer Gwendoline L'Amour who had with her a little tiny suitcase stuffed with costumes, and the most beautiful corset I'd ever seen.  This wasn't hard as I hadn't really seen any real corsets up to that point.  It was black silk, encrusted with amber jewels and a matching bra.  "It was made for me" she said casually as if all women have beautiful things made for them every day and as if she was saying 'this old thing' whilst handling what looked like the crown jewells!   "MADE?" I thought?  Aren't these things just magicked into existence for goddesses to wear?  Happily it seems not.  That was one of my moments in time.  There have been others that led to this point, but that was the one specifically to do with corsetry.  It was a defining moment.

This was maybe the third corset I ever made.  Modelled by moi!
It's the Laughing Moon Dore pattern

Quite a long time later, I took a year out and honed my sewing skills.  It was a time when craft blogs were just starting, dressmaking wasn't a thing, and if you searched for 'how to do a vintage hairstyle' you may have been sadly disappointed at the lack of information.  But I started a sewing blog and filled it with silly sewing projects, and domestic tidbits.   During that time I had ideas, and those ideas developed, a business was born, and here I am today.  I outgrew the blog but there were some interesting bits on there.

Those interesting bits, are now here.  And the boring domestic bits are still on the old blog.  I've edited the titles and on some posts i've put "edits from the future" because it's funny how things turn out sometimes.

The old blog.  I still have designs on vintage style but they are corset-centric now

Everything from this point on will be new musings concentrated on corsetry and couture.  I've come a bit of a way since the first post here!  I've got a thriving online haberdashery shop which is in it's 6th year of business, specialising in corset making components, I've founded an International Conference, with it's it's third year nearly booked out already, and I've been teaching corsetry for the last 5 years in and around Oxford, but over the last three years, from my woodland studio in West Oxfordshire.  I've had students come from all over the world to learn corsetry with me and have just launched The Oxford School of Corsetry, the only school dedicated entirely to the art of corset making in the whole wide world!   You can read about some of my journey in the past posts here, and I hope you enjoy reading about the further adventures of Sew Curvy and all it's bits in the future!

The last corset I made for Oxford Conference of Corsetry.
This is the Pearls of Wisdom Corset and was inspired by the Fellows Library at Jesus College
modelled by Liv Free and photographed by Scott Chalmers

Improving your corsetry with antique patterns

One of the best ways to learn corsetry is to examine and make antique corset patterns.  These patterns are widely available either via collectors who have taken patterns from antique corsets in their collections, or via Google patents, or via the many historical costuming books available, the most popular for corset making being "Corsets: historic patterns and techniques" by Jill Salen which contains a veritable compendium of historical corset patterns to scale up and try.

Ref R pattern from Atelier Sylphe available here.

One such pattern I have made was from Atelier Sylphe who takes corset patterns from her lovely antique corset collection - these patterns come in one size only (the size that the corset happens to be) and with very scant instructions however having tried two of them, I can report that her patterns are excellent and with each one, Joelle supplies a large number of digital photographs of the original corset from all angles, inside and out with plenty of close ups.  These are emailed to you upon receipt of your order.

I tried Joelle's  "Ref R" pattern which is taken from a beautiful corset with a gentle line and continious flossing over fully boned front panels.  This corset has 9 panels on each side and a hidden busk which I found intreguing.

The first thing to do when making up your antique pattern is to make a paper version of it.  Cut out your pieces, stick them together with masking tape.  This way you get an idea of how the peices fit together without wasting too many resoucres.  Minor problems, if there are any, can be ironed out at this stage and the corset can also be re-sized more easily when you can see a '3d' model infront of your eyes rather than a collection of flat shapes.  Sometimes with antique patterns there are extra parts which you can't quite work out until you 'do' them.  In the case of the 'Ref R' pattern, this was the hidden busk.  The pattern peices for both sides of the centre front panels where the busk is,  are a curious shape, there are no instructions for the pattern, you just have to trace the peice, and fold it until it makes sense - this is easier than it sounds and results in several "ahhh!" moments!

I resized Ref R by imposing it on my own corset block and basically copying the style of the panels to the size I wanted - I had to reduce the pattern because the original is a 24.5" waist and so would fit a modern (UK) size 10-12 lady.  I needed it in a size 8-10 in order to fit the model I was making for.

Now this particular corset pattern it seems was possessed by evil pixies and became known between my corset making friends and me as "The incredible growing corset"!! I made it no less than 3 times (after the initial toile), the first two times in expensive silk, the third time in less expensive loomstate cotton satin.  I wasn't taking any more chances and in future, I would always make up the 'final' version in a cheaper fabric first - just in case!  The problem, which I never fully got to the bottom of, was the number of panels and the number of bone channels within those front panels.  Basically, during the action of sewing it together, with welt seams at every panel, the corset stretched on each seam.  Version one ended up 4 inches bigger than it should have been, version 2 grew by 2 inches, version 3 was just right but only because I gave up and removed a panel thus changing it from an 18 panel corset to a 16 panel corset.  It is still somewhat of a mystery because if I measured the paper pattern peices they were correct, if I measured the corset panels individually they were correct, if I superimposted the paper pattern peices onto the corset panels, they were correct,  if I added up all the numbers on both the paper pattern and the corset they were correct, but put it all together, and petite sized corset became plus sized corset!  Totally infuriating and it still makes my head hurt.  The best way I can explain what happened is, if you think, you have 9 panels to stitch together... if those panels 'stretch' by 1mm each, perhaps by making a welt seam, then by the end your corset has grown by 1cm on each side.  That's nearly an inch overall without noticing!  These are things to be careful of when sewing any corset - handle with care!

The final version of my 'Ref R' corset has 8 panels on each side and is fully boned over three of the front panels.  The hidden busk is not constructed quite the same as the antique because in experimenting with the original pattern I discovered a better mechanism for modern corsetry and so I applied that method instead - the original has an underbusk, mine does not.  

The finished Clessidra version of  'Ref R' made from cotton satin coutil 
with french applique lace details and ivory 'diamond flossing'.
photo: Catherine Day

I'm very pleased with the way this corset turned out, and I have applied techniques learned from making this to other corsets that i've made since then.  I also learned a huge amount about corsets with more than a 'normal' number of panels and how careful you have to be when stitching... in short, the more panels you have, the bigger the discrepancy you could end up with if you're not careful.

he next corset I made was also fully boned, made using the same techniques as 'Ref R' but
did not 'stretch' while sewing and as you can see I used the 'diamond flossing' again
to pick out the boning structurephoto: Chris Murray

Construction details:  The 'Alice' corset was constructed with cotton satin coutil on the outide with a double layer of cotton canvas inside which supports the boning and the structure without the bulk of coutil.  It is lined with silk and embellished with french metallic lace in two colours.  The flossing is done using perle cotton size 8, and the boning used throughout the corset is a combination of 4mm spiral steel bones in the fully boned areas, 5mm spiral steel bones on the seams and 6mm sturdy flat bones at the centre back edges.  The pink corset was made using similar techniques and materials and in addition has Swarawski crystals highlighting the flossing and placed within the antique Edwardian lace applique.

Usefull links:

Atelier Sylphe shop - where you can buy full size antique corset patterns

Atelier Sylphe Ref R corset pattern

Buy 5mm boning used in this corset

How to scale up a pattern from a book - tutorial using a photoshop technique to accurately scale up patterns

Printing a digital pattern using photoshop - this website has a trillion other corset related links!

"Corsets : Historic patterns and techniques" by Jill Salen - book of antique corset patterns 

Google Patents - corset patterns

Clessidra Couture - bespoke corsetry by moi!

Oxford Conference of Corsetry 2013 - review

Just over a month after the corsetting event of the year, I've finally caught my breath and can start planning for next year the dates for which were confirmed soon after the end of the Conference.  Nobody wanted to leave theis year which I thought was a good enough indication that we can build on the huge successes of this year to make an even better event next year!  Excitement! 

My own perspective on the event is that it went better than even I could possibly have imangined!  There were less people than I had prepared for but ultimately that was good.  The group was not too small to make us feel like we were rattling around and not too large as to overwhelm the venue.  People gelled really well and some good and lasting friendships were made.  The venue staff were an absolute joy to work with - I have many years of experience as a conference organiser both as someone who organises large academic conferences and someone who manages the venue - my last venue job was Conference Manager at Keble College, Oxford, and so not only do I know how an event works from the inside, but I do have a very critical eye.  I simply wouldn't have booked a venue if I doubted their helpfulness or efficiency and Jesus has a real asset with their Conference Administrator Luke, who clearly has a natural gift for the job.  I hope they appreciate him.

My good friends and collegues did sterling work supporting me while organising the conference and teaching during the conference.  Alison who gave a superb fitting workshop with specially created mannequin, Dolly Button, gave me much moral support and helped with all the graphic design, Gerry who gave a fantastic masterclass taster on draping corset designs, enthused me no end with her excitement over the prospect of such an event and was a life-saver when it came to finding the wonderful photographer Chris Murray and liaising with corset queen Morgana who very kindly agreed to do the modelling alongside Victoria Dagger.  Jenni the embeillishment expert, kept the Conference Facebook page going by tempting people to book with snippets of the knowledge they could gain by coming to the conference, learning from experts and sharing information with eachother, and Marianne modelled to perfection although I am sad that we didn't use her more academic skills more fully - this will hopefully be rectified next year.

Dinner with Jesus!

Our guests Ian and Polly stole the show on Saturday night and I'm hoping they will both join in the fun again next year,  I didn't know it but they and others had their very first Pimms that evening!  Of course there would have been no event at all without our wonderful and talented delegates who completely personified the spirit of my vision which was to share knowledge, network, make friends and have fun!

We had generous sponsors too - Foundations Revealed paid for the wonderful Symington Collection of Antique Corsets to be present for examination, Proportion London provided mannequins for show, as did our friend Lucy at Corset Laced Mannequins, Janome supplied fantastic goody bags, Sew Curvy (that's me!) funded various parts of the conference, and we had generous donations of fabrics and embellishments from everyone but special thanks must go to both Lisa Armstrong of Elizabeth Armstrong Design, and Izabela Pitcher of Prior Attire who literally donated suitcases full of silk, lace, beads and trims!

Ian Fraser Wallace of The Whitechapel Workhouse, and muse extraordinaire Polly Fey

Most amazingly we were covered by the local press and radio and we were featured on the BBC News "In Pictures" website!

You can read a whole lot more about the conference from all sorts of different perspectives by following the links below and I'll be doing some separate posts on some of the guests and sponsors over the next few weeks.  I'll also be getting the details of OCOC'14 together, so do keep watching!

BBC News "In Pictures"

BBC Radio Oxford interview with Julia Bremble - forward to 2:25:20

Oxford Mail Article with pictures

Review of the Conference by Marianne Faulkner on The Lingerie Addict Blog

Review of the Conference by Clare Sager, attendee from Nottingham, UK

Review of the Conference by Sara Spookystitch, attendee from Minneaopolis, USA

Oxford Conference of Corsetry Facebook Page - for further updates and news

Studio shenanigans at Sew Curvy

I've already done several corset making classes this year including corset making for beginners, intermediate corset making, and how to make a corset pattern from scratch.  Most of my girls this year have been two or three times which is lovely because instead of a bunch of lessons, it feels like a nice sewing circle/social!

Erica, Emily, Tamina and Michele learning how to flat pattern a corset from scratch

One of the girls who came along, lets call her "Erica, Queen of Sewing Gadgets" had the most superb sewing machine, which I had been lusting over for a while before Erica brought hers to class. Upon seeing it's performance, I was immediately smitten, and I decided I had to have one!  I wrote to the nice people at Janome, and they sent me one on loan for a year in exchange for me saying nice things about her.  Well that isn't hard because she is utterly Fabulous!

She's ARRIVED!!! Glee!

And.. here she is:

My new Janome 1600P - she is fast.... very very fast

I immediately set to work on the wedding dress commission I have to finish by the end of this week, while my friend Izabela who had joined me for the day, worked on a very complicated corset drafted from an 1884 patent.

Scaling the pattern

Working out the stitching methods ..

et Voila!  An 1884 pregnancy corset (no she isnt!) come to life, with 'steam punk' customisation in process

The lining of my wedding skirt

Completely ironic really when you consider that Izabela's main occupation is making big flouncy dresses for her brands Prior Attire and Prior Engagement, and my main occupation is making fancy corsets!  

Bustle making classes with Prior Attire

Just coming up for air again, it's been non-stop as usual here at Sew Curvy / Marmalade Towers.

Teaching season began in March and since then I've had a few lovely ladies coming through the doors to fall in love with corsets, and a number of those very ladies have re-booked for further courses.    This weekend coming I have not one, not two, but THREE repeat students coming so it will be extra fun I'm sure!

Here are some pictures from Izabela Pitcher's Prior Attire courses which covered all manner of Victorian Underwear ...

Here is Helen making a semi hooped petticoat with broderie pleated trim.
This was to be worn under a dress for a masked ball!

This is Jane who has been on two corsetry courses with me and who is
making a Steampunk costume

Does my bum look big in this?

Here is Suzy making with her petticoat that goes over the hooped bustle petticoat

With and without the cage underneath

Does my bum look big in this #2 - I'm trying on EVERYTHING at the same time!

You can read more about Izabela's costuming exploits at her blog: A Damsel in this Dress.  Izabela's skills are amazing!  If you want to book a course with her, get in touch via her blog, and when enough people are gathered, the workshops take place at Sew Curvy!  Great fun!