Foundations Revealed

Do you use waist tapes in your corsetry? 🧵

Waist tapes are installed on the inside of a corset and are useful to provide structure and support, whilst helping to prevent stretching of the corset over time. They can sometimes be visible from the outside of the corset, which is something to consider.

You can find tapes in corsets, bodices, and gowns - with corsets in particular, they are held in place at the centre front and back, whilst stitch lines from boning channels or top stitching intersect the tape to keep it anchored.

Waist tapes are generally made of a sturdy woven twill tape for strength. In the final images, you can see some historical examples that have been printed with details of the boning materials used, and an example that has it's tape covered with lining fabric for aesthetic purposes.

If you would like to learn more about Victorian corset construction, our latest workshop and tutorial session exploring corsets from the Symington Corsetry Collection is now available to members - head to the bio to get started!

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