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argurotoxosI recently replaced my corset lacing from 4 yards of 1/3" wide double-faced white satin ribbon with 8 yards of double-faced black satin ribbon. 8 yards is a bit excessive - I could have gone with 6 - but I like having more length. I also changed the lacing style from 'bunny ears' to inverted 'bunny ears', which adds extra support and feels better.
The fabric at the end of one of the boning channels started to rip, and before sewing it up, I took some photos of the spiral steel boning. One of the potential problems with cheaper corsets is the use of inferior and cheaper plastic boning instead of steel, but this corset does indeed use steel. (However, it's all spiral steel with no flat steel.)
This is the original lacing with white double-faced satin ribbon in 'bunny ears' style. As you can see, the lacing was getting a bit ragged and twisted around. The 'bunny ears' are the loops that go straight down - as opposed to crossing to form an 'x' - at grommets 5 and 6 on each side. When tightening the corset, the 'bunny ears' sit at the waist line and make it much easier to self-lace a corset, with the top loop increasing tension on the top half of the lacing and the bottom loop increasing tension on the bottom half of the lacing. Some other lacing styles, such as straight lacing, are much more difficult to self-lace and involve tightening the lacing manually one row at a time, repeating until the corset sits firmly. I experimented with the two-tone lacing shown in Lucy's video, which did look very cool, but the ribbons I used were too long and I was only able to get the top two rows tightened before I gave up and relaced with reverse 'bunny ears'.
You can also see in this photos that there is a bowing in the corset like this: ( ). This isn't healthiest for the corset, and is one reason I wanted to start with a cheaper one, i.e., I wouldn't care as much if I damaged an item I paid relatively little for. (I had very little idea what I was doing at the beginning, and there's a lot I still don't know.) On the other hand, one reason this bowing may occur is the lack of flat steel bones, which provide more reinforcement than the spiral steel. Another cause may be that the waist is too small and I should have bought the next size up.
Here are the new black laces with reversed 'bunny ears'. I like the contrast added by the black. Since the 'bunny ears' are extended, unlike in the previous photo, it's easier to see them. With reversed 'bunny ears' there is an extra crossing in the lacing, with the side effect that the top of the 'bunny ears' now tightens the bottom part of the lacing and the bottom of the 'bunny ears' tightens the top part, hence it's reversed.
I took this photo accidentally, but it works. You can see the corset from the front along with the long white skirt I recently found to match. One of the ribbons that used to tie at the front of the corset fell off and I cut the other off to match. I prefer it this way.
The corset and skirt in profile. The white shirt I use for a corset liner was from Salvation Army; it's cotton, and thus breathable, and was bought a size or two down from what I normally wear. (Like leather clothing, you can't just throw corsets in the wash and need to take special care when you do clean them. To compare, I clean and condition my leathers about once a year, usually in the late spring when I'm ready to put them away for the summer, depending on how much they are worn and under what conditions.)
The lacing from the back. It's not the neatest and I've tucked the excess lacing under the bottom of the corset. You can also see that the modesty panel [the fabric under the lacing] is somewhat wrinkled, along with further proof that the corset doesn't fit perfectly. I can get the top lacing closed much tighter than the middle or bottom, helped by the fact that I have a small bust. However, the bottom lacing often gives me problems and feels too loose while the middle (the 'bunny ears') sometimes seems as if it's not exactly on my waist. It's best for the gap in the corset to be parallel all the way down, but as you can see I still have a tendency to not loosen the top lacing enough to compensate.
Here is the spring steel bone that started sliding out of its channel due to a tear at the bottom. As you can see, it's almost exactly 11" long.
Further proof that the boning is indeed metal -- it clings to a magnet.
The fabric at the end of one of the boning channels started to rip, and before sewing it up, I took some photos of the spiral steel boning. One of the potential problems with cheaper corsets is the use of inferior and cheaper plastic boning instead of steel, but this corset does indeed use steel. (However, it's all spiral steel with no flat steel.)
This is the original lacing with white double-faced satin ribbon in 'bunny ears' style. As you can see, the lacing was getting a bit ragged and twisted around. The 'bunny ears' are the loops that go straight down - as opposed to crossing to form an 'x' - at grommets 5 and 6 on each side. When tightening the corset, the 'bunny ears' sit at the waist line and make it much easier to self-lace a corset, with the top loop increasing tension on the top half of the lacing and the bottom loop increasing tension on the bottom half of the lacing. Some other lacing styles, such as straight lacing, are much more difficult to self-lace and involve tightening the lacing manually one row at a time, repeating until the corset sits firmly. I experimented with the two-tone lacing shown in Lucy's video, which did look very cool, but the ribbons I used were too long and I was only able to get the top two rows tightened before I gave up and relaced with reverse 'bunny ears'.
You can also see in this photos that there is a bowing in the corset like this: ( ). This isn't healthiest for the corset, and is one reason I wanted to start with a cheaper one, i.e., I wouldn't care as much if I damaged an item I paid relatively little for. (I had very little idea what I was doing at the beginning, and there's a lot I still don't know.) On the other hand, one reason this bowing may occur is the lack of flat steel bones, which provide more reinforcement than the spiral steel. Another cause may be that the waist is too small and I should have bought the next size up.
Here are the new black laces with reversed 'bunny ears'. I like the contrast added by the black. Since the 'bunny ears' are extended, unlike in the previous photo, it's easier to see them. With reversed 'bunny ears' there is an extra crossing in the lacing, with the side effect that the top of the 'bunny ears' now tightens the bottom part of the lacing and the bottom of the 'bunny ears' tightens the top part, hence it's reversed.
I took this photo accidentally, but it works. You can see the corset from the front along with the long white skirt I recently found to match. One of the ribbons that used to tie at the front of the corset fell off and I cut the other off to match. I prefer it this way.
The corset and skirt in profile. The white shirt I use for a corset liner was from Salvation Army; it's cotton, and thus breathable, and was bought a size or two down from what I normally wear. (Like leather clothing, you can't just throw corsets in the wash and need to take special care when you do clean them. To compare, I clean and condition my leathers about once a year, usually in the late spring when I'm ready to put them away for the summer, depending on how much they are worn and under what conditions.)
The lacing from the back. It's not the neatest and I've tucked the excess lacing under the bottom of the corset. You can also see that the modesty panel [the fabric under the lacing] is somewhat wrinkled, along with further proof that the corset doesn't fit perfectly. I can get the top lacing closed much tighter than the middle or bottom, helped by the fact that I have a small bust. However, the bottom lacing often gives me problems and feels too loose while the middle (the 'bunny ears') sometimes seems as if it's not exactly on my waist. It's best for the gap in the corset to be parallel all the way down, but as you can see I still have a tendency to not loosen the top lacing enough to compensate.
Here is the spring steel bone that started sliding out of its channel due to a tear at the bottom. As you can see, it's almost exactly 11" long.
Further proof that the boning is indeed metal -- it clings to a magnet.
