Monday 23 February 2015

The Great British Sewing Bee - Corsets or 'boned bodices'?

So, I've just seen a little trailer for this week's episode of The Great British Sewing Bee and it's filled me with trepidation ...  This week is the one I've been waiting for - they're making corsets.

Or, rather, they're making what they're calling 'boned bodices', but it looks like all the contestants are referring to them as 'corsets'.

Gratuitous Patrick Grant photo.
I suspect they're making something that has zero reduction (so doesn't cinch the waist, but does smooth the body) and is designed to function as a bodice/top for wearing with a skirt, perhaps.  That way it's not too racy (Oh, lingerie, too brazen for the Beeb!) and avoids any fearmongering about reduction or body modification ("But your ribs will break!").

Here's the little preview: The Great British Sewing Bee Does Corsetry.

I'm keen to see what techniques they use and how the contestants get on.  I definitely saw spiral steel in the trailer, so they are using steel boning.

What do you think of the Sewing Bee?  Should they be making speed corsets?  Would this encourage you to have a go at making a corset?

If you're thinking about making your first, I've got some info coming up soon about corset patterns, so keep your eyes peeled.  Subscribe to my mailing list, to be first to know when it lands!

Edit: Here is my first post on the corsets made in this episode of the show!  And Part 2 is here!

2 comments:

  1. Yep I quite agree with you, they were boned bodices, I cringed a lot.

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    1. I thought they were pretty good for the time, materials, pattern, etc that they had, but yeah, they weren't reducing corsets. Hopefully it's helped some people see that corsetry doesn't have to be so scary, though ... of course that will all have been undone by the history segment of the show! *facepalm!*

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