Bustier versus corset

I am taking Kenneth King's bustier class at Pattern review, and am learning some very interesting things.  First, the most important thing: the difference between a bustier and a corset!  The second thing I am learning is ... I don't really want to sew a bustier!  Third (and this was well worth the cost of the class!) why my Kwik Sew 3850 bustier-made-corset-style flopped ... which relates back to the major difference between corsets and bustiers.

Before signing up for the class, someone had asked on the message board class pre-registration Q&A thread if any of it was applicable towards making corsets, and KK replied "Yes."  I am happy to report there is "truth in advertising" here ... I am picking up some really good tips for construction.  I just don't feel it would be ethical for me to post them, because KK earns money from both his class and his CD-book.  However, I will say that for me this class is worth the fee.  Then again ... I've been the adventurous newb frustrated by lack of info available for free on the web who has been learning by mistakes ... err, "learning opportunities".  As y'all recall, I had quite a few of those with the KS 3850 bustier-corset ... and hadn't figured them all out on my own.

I suppose with enough Googling and reading, the difference between a bustier and a corset can be found on the web ... it's a small but important difference in patterning.  A bustier is designed to have zero ease ... lay against the skin like a second skin.  In contrast, a corset has negative ease and shapes the body with more solid and more support (boning).    The bustier takes its shape from the body with no wearing ease, whereas the corset shapes the body (even just smoothing things out is a form of shaping).

Which brings me to the second thing I've learned ... since a bustier doesn't shape the body, I am not actually wanting to make a bustier.  Which means my Kwik Sew and the new McCall bustier patterns will need to be modified on a fundamental level before using them.  I like the looks of both KS 3850 and M 6325 ... but I don't have the body to pull off either one as a bustier.  Time for me to learn fundamental theory of corset-drafting ...

Which brings me to a more informed analysis of why my KS 3850 bustier-corset flopped - other than the fact that bustiers and corsets aren't quite the same.  Along with the over-engineering in the bust cups, I didn't have near enough support in front (unlike my denim mid-Victorian) combined with too much ease despite it hugging me through the waist.  For a corset, zero ease is still a bit too much.  Also ... and this may be a biggie ... I am not sure the KS bustier can be made strapless.  From wearing mine a few times (granted, I didn't follow the instructions for it!) it does feel like it hangs from the shoulder straps ... whereas the McCall's bustier pattern has two of the four views as strapless.  Ideally, a bustier should have enough support to do strapless, and not hang from the shoulders.

I am kinda-sorta-not really sewing right now ... a nasty storm front hit us Thursday night and I am still hearing thunder now on Saturday afternoon.  Today I've been playing with my embroidery machine a bit, and also discovered the "air dry" fabric marker I used Sunday afternoon was not a good idea, as most of the marks have disappeared because I've taken so long to get back to it.  Oops ... new note from Sergeant Obvious: Don't use the air dry fabric marker unless you are certain you will get back to the project before the marks "dry" away!  Yup, live and learn ... and pics will need to wait until tomorrow because it is just so grey again today.

KS 3850, version 1

Yes, this will be another version 1 ... but I have it mostly finished and it's *sorta* wearable ... hubby likes it but I can see some significant changes to improve.  One of the "fun" parts of learning as I go!  First, the pics:

As y'all can see, I over-engineered the cups and don't have enough room.  This is pushing the top of the zipper out, which I should have supported with smaller cable ties but didn't have room due to the cording around the cups.  Yes, the straps are safety-pinned because somehow they ended up way too long for me.
Now, for what I really like ... the way the body fits!  It's just the right amount of support and even looks slimming (IMO) from the front.  The zipper in front is great for getting in and out quickly.  The bottom is flared enough to wear jeans and a leather belt under it  I also like the "rabbit ears" tie method for the back ... this time I didn't need to ask hubby to tie me up (err ... did that come out right?).

Finally, remember how last week I was grumping and griping about subzero temperatures on the Fahrenheit scale?  This is our third mid to upper 60s day.  I'm even wearing a half-top under the bustier corset.

Now, to plot out how I will do version two differently to fix the problems ...

Kwik Sew 3850 bustier core completed!

I'm still quite excited about this project - nothing is quite like inspired sewing!  I just finished the first core layer for Kwik Sew 3850, the bustier I am doing corset-style.  Before I could snap a pic of it on Mathilda ... first I had to sacrifice a bra that fits me and pad her out!  The core just was not going to fit right on those unrealistic shaped hard boobs of hers ...

I stuffed her bra with the leftover faux sherpa fleece scraps, since those are nice and squooshy.  I realized while pinning the core to her that I didn't stuff the bra cups evenly, but a quick comparison shows they're close enough, right down to the squish factor.

Now, for the core layer!

It's not hanging right in the waist and hips, because I now need to figure out how rearrange and pad out mathilda's lower belly and hips to match me.  The measurements might match, numbers-wise, but the shaping just isn't me.

Enough about my lumps and bumps - y'all want to hear details!  As I mentioned in my pattern notes yesterday, this pattern has 1/4 inch seam allowances.  Probably no big deal to the quilters out there, but I've gotten used to the "standard" 5/8 inch seam allowance in the vast majority of commercial garment patterns.  These tiny seam allowances, combined with all the wonderful shaping in the pattern, make it a royal pain in the (donkey) to press these seams over to topstitch them down.

Oh, another point in the "pro" column for these pattern instructions: They do say to topstitch every seam.  On the minus side (*IMO*) is that for many they say to press the seams open after stitching.  Although I've seen corset tutorials going either or even both ways on pressing seams, I have a strong preference for the "to one side" way, as it seems to my last two working brain cells that this would be stronger.  While I have no intentions of ever trying to tightlace, I also have no desire to experience a wardrobe malfunction, especially after all the work that goes into making a corset.

While this is very fiddly with the tiny seam allowances, I am loving the shaping that is drafted into this pattern.  Here's a bit closer view of the bust cup (and more proof of my assertion that I still can't sew a straight line to save my life ... yeah the black thread on white fabric really proves it).

Time to cut and sew a second core layer!  Wooo hooo!