I had yarn left over from another project. And I was wondering what to make with the yarn: So I made another handwoven corset top! I’ve already made two handwoven corset tops and a handwoven fit and flare dress. But you can never have enough handwoven corset tops, right?! 🤣
Warp Calculations
I wove the fabric on my rigid heddle loom. And I used 185g cotton yarn for my handwoven corset top: 125g for the warp and 60g for the weft. The warp is cotton yarn: it was apricot-colored before and I dyed it with turquoise fabric dye which turned the yarn this beautiful shade of greenish turquoise. And the weft is cotton-linen-blend yarn: it was beige before – I used some of the yarn for my crochet Easter bunnies (click on the link below for the tutorial) – and I also dyed it with turquoise fabric dye.
I made the warp 32cm wide and 150cm long. After weaving the fabric measured 29.5 x 105cm. After weaving I wet finished my handwoven cotton fabric in the washing machine. This shrinks the fabric to its more or less final size making the weave denser. After washing, the handwoven fabric measured 28 x 100cm.
How To Sew The Handwoven Corset Top
Piece The Fabric
Piece the fabric together if necessary. You can use the old German stitch to join selvages of handwoven fabric. The old German stitch is like a closely spaced baseball stitch. It’s the traditional stitch to join selvages of handwoven fabric.
Related: Old German Stitch & 33 Other Types of Historical Seams
Finish The Raw Edges
Turn the seam allowances to the wrong side of the corset top. And bind the raw edges of the handwoven fabric with bias facing or cotton twill tape. I used bias facing on the curved top and bottom edges of my handwoven corset top, and cotton twill tape on the straight front and back edges.
Add A Closure
Add a closure at the front of the corset top. You can use a traditional corset busk, a zipper or lacing hooks with lacing cords. I used a zipper.
Add Corset Boning
Reinforce the front of the handwoven corset top with corset boning. You can use either rigilene, synthetic whalebone boning or metal corset boning depending on how stiff you want your corset top. For my corset top, I used flat steel boning and cotton twill tape for the boning channels.
Add Grommets
Add grommets to the back of the corset top for lacing.
DIY Braided Shoulder Straps & Lacing
I used leftover yarn from the weaving and braided shoulder straps and lacing cords. I braided different patterns of 8-strand flat braids for the shoulder straps. And for the corset lacing, I braided a long 6-strand braid. DIY braided lacing cord is slightly elastic which makes it perfect for corset lacing.
Related: Handwoven 18th Century Stays