This is the first corset I’ve sewn some years ago: a boned 1840s corset.

I didn’t use any pattern; I’ve just used pictures as reference. Here’s a ca. 1830s corset, an 1845 corset, and an 1846 fashion plate of a corset. It has some flaws, but for a first corset it isn’t too bad and it actually fits 😉 .

It’s made from one layer of cotton twill.

It is heavily boned with German plastic boning which makes it so stiff …

… that it can stand on its own! I’m not holding the corset, and there’s no cushion inside. 😉 German plastic boning is really stiff – not like other plastic boning – rather like whalebone.