An 18th Century Corset and Panniers

Instructions for this can be found in chapter 18 on page 134 of "Women's Dress 1500-1800".
Drafting and Sewing Time: approx. 70 hours.

This is a very difficult corset to build as the tabs are not created separately and binding the edges is a very time consuming process. The front of this corset is strongly bowed with horizontal bones on the inside. This bow shape is not possible to attain on the hard bodied mannequins we have but would help create cleavage on any human body. Construction techniques are much like those for the earlier corsets, heavily boned with very stiff bones to help attain the desired shape. We used a brocade coutil item #74-1144-01 and the stiffest style of bones item #50-8206- series. Lacing of this and of all the corsets we are displaying under "Historical Undergarments" has been done in the "criss cross" method involving two corset lace ends rather than the method illustrated in the book. When setting eyelets or grommets in this corset remember to stop at the waist and not go lower despite the length of the center back.

The Panniers are not a simple garment either and require time to adjust the inside tapes that pull the hoops into shape. Looking down on this garment from above you will see that it is not round but almost rectangular with very curved ends. This shape is attained by attaching tapes to the inside casing at each hoop on both the right and left side of the body. These tapes are then used to pull the front and back toward each other, until the desired shape is reached.

The view of the inside of the panniers is taken from the hem looking upward. The tapes a were difficult to see, so I traced over the lines to make them very clearly visible, they go from front to back.

The products we used for the panniers was a strong 100% cotton broadcloth and hoop steel item #50-8405-10 with the coordinating connectors item #00-8400-11. You may with to use the heavier hoop steel item #50-8406-14 and it's coordinating connectors, item #00-8400-14 if you anticipate heavy fabric being used for the over dress. Where the top hoop ends at both center front and center back we placed item #91-840E-11, plastic tips onto the steel, this allowed the steel to be sewn into place. Petersham was used for a strong, stable and non-bulky waistband and twill tap was used for the inside tie tapes and hoop casings. Lightweight buckles could also be used for the tie tapes. We have left the back of the panniers open to keep visible the materials used, normally this seam would be sewn shut.

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