Class Instructional Corset

During my time at the University of Southern California, I was invited to teach an undergraduate level course, entitled "Corset Construction." The students ranged in experience, with some having never touched a needle or thread in their life. My course taught them sewing skills through the making of a custom corset, as well as a brief history of the female silhouette from 1500 to 1950.

This is the corset pattern I taught with, and I made a corset alongside the students to demonstrate each part. The corset is inspired by late 19th century corsets, but is a more theatrical version. It is made of cotton fashion fabric flatlined to a layer of coutil, with the boning channels only on the coutil layer. There are alteration points at the side seams and grommet tabs. Everything is bound with self-made binding.