Princess Corset

I came up the idea for this corset after making my first corset as an exploration for the corset for my Isabella cosplay.  I knew I wanted to make another practice corset out of canvas, this time with the laces in the front for the sake of practicality (you really can't bend over in a corset with a steel busk), and I knew that I wanted it to be something that would work with my usual day-to-day style.  I took a trip to Joann's to see what canvas fabrics they had, and I found this beauty!  

The birds with the little crowns paired with the flowers in the color blocked effect immediately put me in mind of both IKEA and a cute little princess from a storybook, so I knew it was the one.  I also absolutely adore the color scheme of this, the charcoal gray with the pale pink and golden yellow is really pretty to me.

I followed the instructions in Cosplay Foundations by Casey Welsch to make this corset, with the exception of the busk and the lining.  

First, I cut out the pattern.  Once I had all the pieces I sewed them together, including the center back, and sewed the channels for the boning.  Next, I measured the channels to see how long each piece of boning should be,  and cut it to size.  Once the boning was inserted, instead of attaching the lining I hemmed the whole thing.  Since I wanted it to be a front-lacing corset, I put the grommets for the lacing down the font. 

I chose to use a gold ribbon for the lacing, since it matched the gold accents in the fabric so nicely.

I'm really happy with how this corset turned out!  I do feel like the back fits better than the front, but I think that's just a side effect of having the lacing where it is.  Other than that though, I think it's really good for my second try at corsetry.

While I do really like this corset, I think for the next one I'll try putting the lacing on the sides so that the front panels are closer to where they're supposed to be.  I love this fabric though, and I think I might use what I have left over on some stays, sine I feel like the vibe of the pattern is more on the stays end of the spectrum than the Victorian era end.  It's super cute though, and I do plan on wearing it around!