12CORSETS AND CLOSE-FITTING PATTERNS§7

WEAR AND CARE OF CORSETS

CORSET WAISTS

26.   Although corset waists are by no means corsets, they are so closely allied to corsets that mention will be made of them at this time.   As a rule, corset waists are made on very straight lines.   In their construction is employed light-weight coutil boned with lightweight featherbone, which is soft enough to lend itself to every movement of a person's body.   Such waists are usually made to button in the front, and over the shoulders they have narrow straps or armhole portions that serve to support them from the shoulder, rather than from the waist line.   Around the waist line of corset waists are generally placed two rows of buttons—one row at the waist line, and the other ½ to 1 in. below—to which undergarments may be buttoned, thus avoiding the use of tight bands around the wearer's waist.

27.   For the young girl whose hips are not sufficiently developed to hold up skirts, corset waists are a necessity, and the fact that they are well supplied with substantial hose supporters, which are required by every girl, makes them practically indispensable. The mature small woman, too, can well enjoy these comfortable waists. Especially does this statement apply to such women who find the wearing of corsets tiresome, for corset waists aid materially in keeping a neat waist line, and at the same time they carry much of the weight of garments, which to some women seems rather burdensome.

28. Corset waists are generally inexpensive, and they are so universally used that they can be purchased in most stores where women's merchandise is sold. As they require many buttonholes and buttons, much stitching, and additional labor, considerable time must be consumed in making them. For this reason, it is deemed advisable in these sewing lessons not to give instructions for making corset waists. However, any person who desires to make corset waists will encounter no difficulty in so doing after having thoroughly mastered the drafting of tight linings, which follows, and the making of such linings, instructions for which are taken up later.