The end, nearly

The final corset

Finally.

Tightening the boning channels

One step I'd neglected to do was to making the boning channels that were to take the spiral steel a little skinnier.  They needed 9mm channels, not 10mm, so I awkwardly sewed up along the channels to take them in a little, along with the requisite unpicking because I wasn't accurate enough...

Binding the edges

I'm using pre-bought satin bias binding for finishing the edges of the corset. I have this terrible feeling I may regret that later.  This particular bias binding is fraying like nothing else I've seen and I suspect the first time it catches on something, it's all going to fall apart.  It wouldn't be the end of everything; I could just cover over it with a better binding, but I think I would cry, a lot.

Anyway, the binding.

I joined the two sides of the corset together by running a simple seam along the top. Then I opened out the binding and sewed it along the top front edge, covering the sewing. Then I flipped it over and started hand stitching it along the inside edge. Then I unpicked the hand-stitching (about 10cm) and sewed the second lock stitch I'd forgot the first time*.  Then I hand sewed the back down again.

Inserting the bones

A few days earlier I had decided that the teflon tape wasn't working to seal the ends as it kept coming unraveled.  So I stripped the ends of the nylon coating and painted with 2 coats of enamel paint, with a 16 hour drying time for each coat.

Unfortunately when I shoved the bones in and they got caught on the waist tape, it stripped the paint. So, back to Teflon tape again... There must be a better option....

Then, more frustration. 

The just to the inside of the grommets wouldn't go in. I tried and I tried but they just didn't fit.  This was from the "clever" adjustments I'd made earlier to take some of the size out of the corset. On one side I was able to unpick a few stitches to get it in, but on the other side that was not an option.  I ended up shoving. I hope this doesn't cause me problems later... The rest of the bones went in without problems.

More binding

And then the bottom had to be bound. And I made the same mistake again, where I had to re-inforce the stitching and had to unpick the hand sewing, again. All in all, it was a MOST frustrating finish.

But, it's done. Pretty much. Pics next.

Time/Cost

Binding - 2m at $1.50/m
Time - 4 hrs or so

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* The binding doesn't need the lock stitch, but that row of stitching is also to stop the bones coming out of the corset

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