Oh Frabjous Day!

[lovetriangle]

The binding is done! The binding is done! Callooh Callay, I chortle in my Joy!

I am FAR too impatient to wait for a mail order to arrive, despite the good advice from sarahbellem and peggyelizabeth. I went to Michael's and got some brass jumprings, as recommended by myladyswardrobe, and pink cotton floss since I couldn't find silk buttonhole in the right color. I have marked out my lacing holes. All 60 of them. Remind me again why I thought lacing in front and back was a good idea?

Now I just have to sit down and start stitching...  

Hey sarahbellem, when you made your effigy that laced front & back, did you make lacing holes all the way down the back tabs or did you stop at the waist? I'm inlcined to stop at the waist, but I shudder to think I'd make a bad decision out of laziness... bbbwwwwAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA*gasp* *ahem* sorry...

Comments

[sarahbellem.livejournal.com]

The trick is to order things like the jump rings when you don't need them so you don't have to wait for them when you're in the middle of a project. But that requires advance planning and I'm pretty sucky at it usually. ;)

As for lacing all the way down the CB, yes, I do. I always see the corsets that people make that stop lacing at the waist and I wonder why they do it like that (not criticizing anyone who does do that, really I'm curious)... Lacing all the way down helps support the lower back in a corset that covers the hips, and as someone with back issues it makes a difference. YMMV, of course. You could just stop at the waist, try it on and see if it feels right, and if not, just add the remaining eyelets. No harm, no foul. ;)

[love3angle.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry... advanced planning? bbbwwwwAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA*gasp* *ahem* sorry...

It's just that the original corset doesn't lace down the back but has a split tab there so it's open from the waist down. Now that I've opened up the whole thing, do I want to stop lacing at the waist to allow the tabs to split like the original, or lace all the way down for support/comfort/etc.?

That covers the "why" I'm just not sure which way I want to go. I like your idea of trying it before I add those eyelets...

[sarahbellem.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know... Advance planning is kind of an oxymoron.

As for the lacing, I guess I really meant stopping about three or so inches from the bottom, not directly at waist level. The original has a slit, it's true, but not up to the waist (at least not the way I draft 'em). It's about an inch or so below the waistline. In this pic: http://modehistorique.com/benlowes/DSCF4454.jpg you can see that I ended the lacing about 2.5" from the bottom. In retrospect I probably did put the lacing down a bit further than the slit would have allowed... But I haven't noticed any problems stemming from that decision.

[love3angle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's cool. I like leaving it unlaced at the bottom tabs but I probably will go at least an inch below my waistline. I think that will make my skirts & stuff sit better, too.

[systemgoddess.livejournal.com]

What size lacing rings would you recommend? I found some 1/2 inch and 3/8 inch. Thanks!

[sarahbellem.livejournal.com]

Mine are 7 or 8mm, so they're a lot smaller than those. I guess the 3/8" would be better... I'm not so inclined to have huge eyelets - just personal aesthetics. :)

[systemgoddess.livejournal.com]

I've never used them before so I didn't know what I should be using. I was clueless. Thanks!

[systemgoddess.livejournal.com]

Yay! Those lacing holes will go fast, no worries.

[myladyswardrobe.livejournal.com]

Mine is also laced front and back. I have a "split" at the back where the original has one - I think its about an inch or two over the waist. I felt that lacing ALL the way down through the tabs would make it a bit too "victorian" in feel (not aesthetics as this is very unlike a victorian corset!). Mine was/is very comfy (apart from it stretching enough to be pretty much edge to edge front AND back after just 4 days wear!)

Hopefully you will be ok with the floss. Unfortunately I don't seem to have shown a close up of the eyelets after I had sewn them. I've only got a close up of them when they were whipped on ready for sewing.

By the way - I didn't use floss for mine, but I used normal sewing thread. This is because I used a silk floss on my old corset eyelets and the silk eventually wore away.

[love3angle.livejournal.com]

I've been using cotton embroidery thread for overcasting grommets for as long as I can remember and it's always held up for me. I have silk buttonhole on my PDSvN kirtle but I haven't worn that yet so I don't know how that will hold up. Regular thread, eh? That would cut down considerably on the bulk build-up at the center of the hole... hmmmmm...

"apart from it stretching enough to be pretty much edge to edge front AND back after just 4 days wear!"
I can't TELL you how freaked out I am about this! I used linen canvas that I know is going to stretch and after all this work I just know this darn thing is going to need taking in. :-(