Here’s what I’ve been working on for the past few days – a corset made from a beautiful Alexander Henry quilting cotton. The design is called “Kyoto Hollyhock”, and it’s swirly red leaves on a black background.
I’m really pleased with this one, although it’s not shown to its full effect in the picture. It gives a waist reduction of four inches, which will give the wearer a staggering seventeen inches difference between her waist and her hips. Those are the same proportions as Dita Von Teese! My dress form couldn’t accommodate that difference, but I can assure you that this corset is going to look sensational.
With each corset I’ve made, I always seem to have a crisis moment, after I’ve put the bones in but before I’ve added the binding. Will it fit? Can this really be the right shape? In that stage, a corset looks absolutely dreadful, but once the binding’s on, a real transformation takes place. Suddenly it’s neat, and almost finished.
It’s always very reassuring to put the eyelets in, lace it up, and see the finished piece in three dimensions.