Corset Finished

[atherleisure]

I finished my knitted corset. It's knit from a pattern printed in Harper's Bazar in 1868. Here's the Ravelry page.

It wound up something of a loser. Not really knowing how it was supposed to come out, I went ahead and knitted the whole thing as given. I chose my gauge based on the length of my mid-19th century corset, which is about 13" long at the center front. This ended up just a little shorter, but that doesn't seem to have been quite the right method of selecting a gauge. While the waist fits round me reasonably well with some tension on the buttons, I think the whole thing was supposed to be longer. The straps make for a snug armhole, which is right for the period and is how the picture on the pattern looks, but it means that the whole thing is pulled up so that the waist is on my rib cage. It flares for the hips above my actual waist so it gets pretty loose there and ends just below my natural waist, which is admittedly rather high. I went ahead and took a dart in it that eliminated the center back gore entirely, which made it better through the waist/high hip.

From walking around it in for about a quarter-hour yesterday, it seemed somewhat supportive, but I didn't wear it all that long and didn't do anything even remotely energetic. This evening I wore it for a couple of hours, and it wasn't uncomfortable, but it didn't really serve its purpose either. Here are pictures:









Had I to do it over again, I would gauge for a 16" center front length and reduce the rows rather substantially to compensate for the added breadth that would give. I'm unlikely to make another one since I never did know what I was going to do with it. Oh, well, at least the dress I finished early this week was a success. You can't win them all.

Comments

[sewloud.livejournal.com]

They look almost like an 1820s or 1830s corset. I wonder how differently they would fit on a 4' 9" person.

But I am vastly impressed with your knitting ability. I can do really basic things, nothing that fancy!

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought about it that way, but it really does look more 1820s or so. It might work much better if you had a 4'9" person with about a 36" bust. That would put more tension on the corset, which would probably work better.

The pattern is easier than it looks; it's nearly all garter-stitch. All the shaping is done through short rows. The worst part is interpreting the pattern.

Thanks for the compliment. I like knitting, and it's about the only thing I can do while riding in a car.

[starlightmasque.livejournal.com]

So impressed! It looks terrific!

[atherleisure.livejournal.com]

Thanks.