Hi Zuzanna, >I just wanted to post a question about what methods you use when >drafting/scaling corsets to size. Any way that works at the time. ;-) Generally speaking I create a proportionately close copy of the original I am working from based on the bust/waist/hip measurement I am aiming for, create a toile, and start tailoring it in from there. I try not to mess too heavily with the original silhouette, however.
>a corset is designed to shape the body rather than to adjust to it. Yes and no. It's primary purpose is bust support, then torso shaping. This also depends on what era you are looking at, but I think the conversation is referring to the mid/late 1800's, so I won't confuse the issue. ;-) It's only this era and onward that was more concerned with torso compression than any other. >I draft all patterns I make, but I still cannot draft a corset that would >achieve the period, not modern, figure. I mix and match my techniques. I am still a little queasy on drafting vic patterns, but georgian and older I can do without trouble. I always prefer drape drafting for later eras and flat patterning for the older ones, because they tend to be a little more geometric than later eras. When following a specific era closely, you have to take into account the body type differences and posture variations between the two, and accept you may have to make allowance for the two in order for them to meet. It's just like the placement of a shoulder seam - do you put it in the period correct place and have it either fit funny or end up in a visually wrong place, or do you adjust it to fit correctly and end up in the visually correct location on a modern body? When I drafted this pattern (the one I posted is the same pattern I am using for my current project) I had to make an allowance for difference between the spoon busk used in the original in exchange for the flat busk I have available. So I had to nip a little here and there to flatten out the front, but widen the side front to allow for the correct compression. I am still working on the fit, I'll have to let you know how that goes. Literally in the middle of preparing to sew the fitting toile I got a call back for a job (yayyyy!!) so my time has now been cut down significantly for projects such as these. >It's maybe best to make the right proportions (width and height) in photoshop >and then print it to the correct size. If you can accomplish it, then go for it. I just couldn't be bothered fussing with that formula listed on the pattern I posted. ;-) I, unlike Michaela (sp? correct person?) prefer to draft to the width then length of the torso because to me, shortening something is much easier than having to second guess the intended silhouette. Each to their own as long as it has the intended end result. >So, may I ask, what methods do you use when making a corset pattern? If it is >not your trade secret, of course:-) nahhhhh.... I don't consider knowledge proprietary, really. ;-) Other institutions have different ideas about this than I do, however... Toile is most important - the test fitting should be providing some support without the stiffening by the time you are finished fitting. The stiffening material is simply designed to keep the garment from collapsing or shifting during wear. It also helps take stress off seams under high tension. This is what provides the torso shaping when the fabric is restricted in stretch and movement. Hopefully that makes sense, and if it did, that is was useful. :-) Kathy It’s never too late to be who you might have been.-George Eliot Tosach eólais imchomarc/Questioning is the beginning of knowledge. -Irish proverb One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.-Helen Keller The difference between stupid and intelligent people - and this is true whether or not they are educated - is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. They are not baffled by ambiguous or even contradictory situations. In fact, they expect them and are apt to be suspicious when things seem overly straightforward. - Neal Stephenson, "The Diamond Age" It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not. - Denis Waitley __________________________________________________________________ Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/gift/ _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume