- 1). Wash and dry the sheet according to the instructions on its care tag. Fold the sheet in half, so that its "wrong" -- undecorated -- side is facing up.
- 2). Generate your own custom pattern with an online resource such as the Custom Corset Pattern Generator on the Elizabethan Costume Page website, www.elizabethancostume.net (see Resources). To use such a program, you must type in your bust, waist and bust-to-underarm measurements, as well as your cup size. This will create a custom pattern for your corset. Print out the pattern and cut out the shape. Alternatively, you can buy a ready-made corset pattern.
- 3). Put the corset pattern onto the sheet, lining up the long straight edge of the pattern with the fold in the sheet. Pin it in place. Trace around the perimeter of the pattern using a piece of chalk. Cut out exactly along the marked lines. The pattern already accounts for seam allowance.
- 4). Open the cutout material and place it on another section of the sheet. Trace its shape and cut it out. This will create the front and inner layer of the corset.
- 5). Place front and inner corset cutouts on top of each other, with their wrong sides facing out. Ensure that the edges are lined up evenly. Pin the layers together.
- 6). Sew a 3/8-inch seam all around the perimeter of the corset cutouts. Leave a 1-inch opening along one side unsewn. Remove the pins and flip the garment right-side-out through the hole. Hand-sew the opening shut.
- 7). Place the open corset on a flat surface, with its back side facing up. You will see two straight edges on the left and right sides of the material. Using a ruler, measure 1 inch inward and 1 inch up from the bottom along the left edge of the corset. Make a dot at this point. Measure 1 inch upward from this mark and make another dot. Continue making these dots until you reach the top of the edge of the material. Repeat the process on the right edge of the corset. These will be the markings for the eyelets.
- 8). Snip a small hole where you marked each eyelet dot. Before cutting, be sure the hole you make will be smaller than the diameter of the circular eyelet pieces.
- 9). Place an eyelet into a cut hole, moving from the outside to the inner side of the corset. Put the eyelet setting tool, which looks similar to a large screw, in the center of the open eyelet. Lightly hammer it in place to flatten the eyelet and attach it to the fabric. Repeat this process on all of the other eyelet markings.
- 10
String a ribbon through the eyelet holes, the same way you would lace a shoe. When the corset is worn, the lace ribbon will run up the wearer's back.
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