Information for Mantua Maker Corset pattern 1870 - 1895

The Mantua Maker Corset Pattern for 1870-1895

"The Underside of the 1880's"

Our # 00-pattern-34

The drawing on the front of the pattern is a bit deceiving as there are bust gores – at least for "C" and "D" cups. I also found that the corset is much shorter than it appears in the drawing, there is very little hip coverage and it is a fairly straight corset.

This sample was made by Anna Baines from "diamond" patterned Coutil in a size 12 (Bust 39, waist 30.5 and hip 39) for a "C" cup. This is as a single layer corset with bone casing tape, which means only one fabric was used and there was no lining. The coutil is pretty enough as the outer layer, strong enough to not need any interlining and while a lining would hide the bone casings – we want you to be able to see ours when the sample is displayed. Anna bound the top and bottom edges with extra wide double fold bias tape in a coppery colour and did the top stitching in a similar shade.

Bust Gore Detail Hip area detail

The following items were used:

Generally I find The Mantua Maker Patterns well drafted but the instructions a bit weak especially for a novice corset maker. Anna agrees the instructions are not very clear at times; in part because there is a lot of other detail mixed in.

Her first comment was "Read the instructions before cutting anything and have the pattern in front of you." The instructions also say to read the instructions first – ALWAYS a good idea – even if you have no intention to follow them!

Consider high-lighting the information you "need" not the information that's interesting.

If you are a "C" or "D" cup please note there are no instructions for adding the gores that are provided, instructions are included indicating where to add them just not how to add them.