A friend asked me yesterday if it was wise to cut the straps off a Simplicity 2621 Elizabethan corset pattern she had bought. Straps can be both fiddly and hard to fit, especially when first learning how to make a corset. Too short and the corset cuts in under the arm, too long and the straps can fall off the shoulder. A good mock up solves the problem easily but if you’re not keen on the straps in the first place, why bother?
She didn’t think it ‘safe’ to customise a standard pattern so asked what I thought.
Well, you all know how I feel about customising corset patterns – EVERYONE should be doing it! Why not? If you’re making your own corset, then you’re not paying for costly extras from a custom corset maker. The truth is as long as you make one decent mock up out of some old/scrap fabric, there’s very little that can go wrong here. For cutting off straps, just draw the new line of the top edge on your mock up and try it on, if it looks about right then cut the mock up and transfer to your pattern. If it looks a little low to cover everything it needs to, redraw the line a little higher around the bust. Don’t be scared to play around with corset patterns!
