A Kitchen Corset

For the past 3 years I've imagined cooking in a kitchen corset - just the thought of it fills me with glee! Finally, a garment that captures the feminine shape and restrained Victorian beauty of a corset and the retro 1950's vibe that evokes images of the quintessential baby-boomer housewife. I had to make one.

So, I set out to first learn to sew, then design and create the first kitchen corset! It really is an internet first (search for kitchen corset and see for yourself!) My good friend C and I made our kitchen corsets together, figuring it out as we went along.

We presented our corsets to the world at our annual Turduckenfest, but that's another post.

The corset was made using a 1880's heart-shaped full corset pattern. Each piece of corset paneling was measured, cut, and sewn to fit my measurements. Lesson learned: Stabilize your weight before making custom clothing - the corset is a little wide because I managed to lose a few pounds during those late nights sewing.

How does it go on? A metal corset busk was sewn in to close the front panels while hand-punched eyelets to lace up the back. Because I didn't like the way the busk looked on the front of the pattern, I hid the busk by installing it on the inside, and covering the center seams with white piping. The front opens, and wraps around like a jacket, once the busk is hooked up the back is tightened with lacing.