OOP McCall's 3636 Corset for Lidia

 This was a very special sew.

Lidia had her final Formal as an Open Access student and the theme was Starry Night. 

She was super keen to have a corset sewn in Van Gogh inspired fabric so I sent her over to Spoonflower 

We went with the Celosia Velvet, which with codes and special offers came in at around $65.

We knew we wanted to work with OOP McCall's 3636 as Liddy loves her pink version and has worn it many times.

I was so nervous cutting into this fabric. I checked the nap a dozen times and only cut each piece as I was ready to sew as I was worried it would fray badly.

For velvet, it was not too  bad to sew. It wasn't slippery however it did not want to press flat. Luckily Lidia was happy for me to top stitch.

I didn't attempt to pattern match and as the design was abstract that was okay. It just added to the etherial look of the design.

I lined the corset with the fabric left over from Zara's Vogue dress

because Liddy was going to re-wear it!

There is some serious construction in this Baby!

The boning, after cutting each individual piece, stitching across one end of the casing, pushing the boning out and trimming it, pushing it back and stitching across the other end of the casing, is sewn to the inside seam of the lining, matching the top at the bottom of the boning piece to the transferred markings.

BOOM!

I did have to shorten the straps a wee bit but I didn't trim the excess off just in case I need to let it out again.

As she has sisters...

Do you think she was happy?

I love how she styled it!

The straps sit far enough on her shoulders, in my opinion, but Liddy said she was fine with that.

On Matilda, with her fuller bust, they sit more firmly.

We also sewed half a press stud inside the corset and the other half to her bra as it was gaping a wee bit. This worked really well.

She looked incredible!

It was a whimsical nod to Van Gogh...

Without being a walking painting.

We even found Ben a co-ordinating tie on eBay.

~Lidia's Verdict~

This is an absolutely gorgeous piece that has already had two wears and will have many more. I originally had it sewn for my last formal and then wore it again for a ‘Gang of Youths’ concert. It is so pretty and I love the range I can wear it too. 

The fabric is so so beautiful, lovely to touch and wear. I had people stroking me all evening. 

~My Verdict~

Not a complicated sew but a BIG sew. So many pieces, so many steps, so many fittings but totally worth it.

Thank you for reading... xx Nicole