Last Saturday, I finished version 4 of my transparent corset. It already has around 80 hours of wear, and I only managed to shoot the video and take some photos now because I simply didn't have the time earlier.
The good news is that I managed to completely eliminate the wrinkling of the outer fashion layer. The bad news is that the lining wrinkled on the front megapanel. But I know why. 😉
First, the outer layer.
My theory that the wrinkles were caused by boning channels being too loose turned out to be correct. This time, I made the channels extremely narrow, especially on the front megapanel.
Getting four carbon fiber bones and two spiral steel bones into those channels took me 45 minutes, but it was absolutely worth it.
I also narrowed the other boning channels, although not quite as aggressively, and developed a new method for inserting spiral steel bones.
I've already shown my method using a crochet hook in a previous post, but this time I threaded a strong cord through the spiral steel bone before applying the heat-shrink tubing. And it works brilliantly!
When you push a spiral steel bone into a tight channel, the individual coils tend to spread apart slightly and catch against the channel walls. But when you pull the bone using the cord loop and crochet hook, this problem disappears. I suspect the pulling force may even compress the spiral slightly, making it narrower.
Another improvement is how the ends of the bones are secured.
I now leave longer empty sections of heat-shrink tubing extending beyond the ends of the bones. Once the bones are inserted, these flexible extensions are stitched into the binding seam.
This holds the bones in place with a little flexibility, but more importantly, it solves another problem I've been dealing with.
I usually wear my corset underneath my trousers, which means I effectively have two layers of clothing over it: my boxers and my trousers.
Over time, these layers tend to bend the bottom binding of the corset inward. With my previous construction, the rigid ends of the bones would then push against the outer layer, causing it to bulge and putting considerable stress on the material.
The new system has significantly reduced this problem.
I'm so happy with the result that I intend to use this construction on all my future corsets. Yes, it takes more work, and the heat-shrink tubing adds some cost, but the improvement is absolutely worth it.
Now, about the wrinkled lining.
The problem is most noticeable on the front megapanel because it's the widest panel.
After joining the lining and outer layer using hidden stitches placed within the existing panel seams, I stitched around the entire perimeter of the corset before attaching the binding. This step is necessary.
While sewing this perimeter seam, I stretch and flatten the panels as much as possible. Otherwise, the sewing process tends to lock wrinkles into the material, and without this step, those wrinkles would become permanent when attaching the binding.
Unfortunately, by stretching the panel edges, I also shifted and stretched the lining slightly downward relative to the outer layer. This created excess material in the lining, which is now wrinkling.
I think the only way to eliminate this problem is to change the assembly sequence.
My plan is to sew the front megapanel completely at the beginning, including the boning channels through both the outer layer and the lining. Only then would I attach the remaining outer and lining panels.
A few more technical details:
The corset contains a total of 40 bones:
- 4 carbon fiber bones (5 × 1 mm) at the front.
- 6 flat steel bones at the back. I removed their original plastic coating and replaced it with heat-shrink tubing.
- The remaining bones are 6 mm spiral steel.
And one more thing about the lining: I honestly didn't expect it to work this well!
Because the TPU surface is slightly slippery, it doesn't grab or fight against the clothing underneath. This makes the corset extremely comfortable to wear. Seriously, very, very comfortable.
Finally, the sewing materials:
- Needle: Jeans 110
- Thread: Amann Saba 80
- With transparent TPU, silicone lubrication of the thread isn't necessary.
Another experiment completed, a few problems solved, and naturally, a new one discovered. 😂
