#redthreaded

I made a new daily-wear corset for myself recently, and it (unintentionally) ended up strongly resembling the Redthreaded 1860s style. I thought it might be an interesting comparison to show the new one next to the two corsets I’ve made from that RT pattern.

1) black - my first daily wear corset, straight from the RT pattern. (Sorry that it’s probably impossible to see the style lines of it, but apparently I never ended up taking a photo of it in good lighting on me!

I made this in 2018 and used it for everyday (out of the house) wear through 2023. It suited my shape really well and I generally wore it closed at the back - it was a little big around the waist, but I mostly just needed the bust support. It got super worn out and beat up over time, and even with constant repairs I felt bad continuing to wear it. Also, by 2023 I had gained quite a bit of weight, so it no longer fit as well.

2) silver - made this as a replacement in 2023 (alongside another I was wearing which was an 1890s style made by Clockwork Faerie). This is not straight from the RT pattern - I sized it up a bit and also expanded both sets of bust gussets, as my bust had gotten disproportionately larger.

The one thing that had always annoyed me about the RT pattern on me is that it had the tendency to create a bump at the rib cage near the waist toward the back, so I tried to take that part in on this version. (It didn’t really work, so I’m still not sure what the issue was.) Overall, this fit well and did the trick.

3) white - not the RT pattern! I got a breast reduction at the end of last year and I have no regrets. However, much of my wardrobe no longer fits because I have a lot of very fitted clothing that I wore over the above corsets.

While I can still wear the silver corset, the bust just collapses on me, and with tighter clothing it creates an unflattering harsh line. I wanted to try something new, so I tested out a different style for a bit and then ended up altering it heavily to suit my shape and needs. (ie: it had shoulder straps, which I despise.)

After the alterations, it ended up looking similar to the Redthreaded corsets, but with split front panels, single bust gores, and wider hip gores. When I tell you this corset is comfortable…. Oh man. I hadn’t even realized that I’ve been tolerating some very minor fit problems in the other corsets all this time, and this has solved everything. I’m pretty short-waisted, especially at the back, and I’ve never remembered to account for that. With this one it isn’t even a problem! And the hip flare is great; I can actually tighten it all the way at the back. (I am disproportionately hourglassy and so my hips were always a bit too big for the RT proportions.)

Anyway. I started using RedThreaded's 1880's corset pattern. Making a few mock-ups mostly just to figure out my machine and such as I didn't have any boning to really make a mock-up that's anything similar to the finished product. I did try using some zipties bc i had them laying around but they were mostly just to make sure any boning channels I was making were wide enough, it was obvious zip ties weren't holding anything up when i was trying on my mock-ups.

I was also having trouble with the pattern itself. It does come in different sizes and that's great and all, but XS-M were on their own sheet, while L-XXL were on a separate sheet. I needed to grade between the M and L sizes and couldn't. I could have figured out a way of combining the PDF file or something but that isn't what I wanted to work on. So that was disappointing.

I moved on to Aranea Black patterns bc several Youtube videos talked about those. Of course she closed down her website and took all of her free patterns and tutorials down as well. Reddit users are great though and I managed to find what I wanted/needed. I started with SYLVIA for some reason, it just had a nice look to it and seemed like the shape i wanted. After changing what fabric i was using, getting boning, and 3 mock-ups of that I found it was turning out okay but I was having some pain from the waist/hip and didn't really want to fiddle with trying to insert a gusset or draft a new waist/hip line to try and correct it without knowing why it was hurting really.

So now I'm trying on mock-up #1 of DOLORES. Initially it felt REALLY great compared to the others but as I've been sitting here writing this it's starting to be painful in the waist/lower rib area. Bones might need to be rearranged possibly or drop the waist a bit more? I have no idea what I'm doing. It seems the pain is mostly from sitting. The back is currently too long and may be what's forcing it upward.

I'll change that and try it on again before fiddling with it i think.

Btw finished my stays~*~*~*

(Didn’t hand stitch the eyelets cause I’m running out of time so I’ll overcast the metal later)

And just finished my under petticoat. I wanted something with more body than my current petticoats, a I could have sworn American Duchess used ticking for theirs, but I guess not? No matter! It is exactly want I need it to be and it works.

I might be a bit sweatier than a heavy linen or wool but oh well~

Seriously, wear what makes you feel good. Last week I bought myself an 1880s corset and I literally have never felt more fabulous. If you want to wear long flowing skirts or a cloak to school? Just do it.

If you're worried about people judging you,

A) consider how you would react if you saw someone wearing a cloak to school. Would you think that person is crazy? I know I wouldn't. I'd be jealous of their fabulousness

B) Try easing your possibly controversial fashion in. Example: if you want to wear full medieval attire in public but are to embarrassed, start small, like by wearing a medieval style belt. Then once you're comfortable with that, maybe add a drawstring purse looped around your belt or something. Then later you can casually wear a tunic or kirtle over some leggings, add some boots and move on from there.