Ever since my first trip to the Maryland Rennaissance Festival I had tried to make my own medieval bodice.
I had rented this extremely stiff thing my first year and could never find anything to replicate it. I tried
all kinds of bodice patterns from Simplicity to McCall's... but none of them worked, why? Because they aren't
meant to have any kind of rennaissance "support" and shove your breasts up to your neck. They were designed
merely as costumes for fun.
This isn't what I was looking for. What I needed was a flat panel for the front and back pieces, not a
two-parter princess seamed nightmare. That's when I just used common sense and looked at lots of pictures
from the rennaissance faires around the world and pieced together my bodice pattern. It's so simple that it will
make you cry when you're done :P
Materials:
Steel Boning (No, plastic crap won't work here. Don't even think about it.) You'll need to measure what you want based on the locations given in the pattern pieces below. The center front one should be 12".
3 Fabrics: Lining, Interlining, Front (get a little extra of the lining for boning casing)
At least 30 grommets (1/2")
3 yards of drawstring (good sturdy stuff, nothing that could slip)
2 packages of double fold bias binding
Step 1: Measurement Taking
The first step to making the bodice is to get the proper measurements. You need to get the following:
Bust
Waist
Bust to Lower Waist along the side (Note: The lower waist is about an inch below the natural waist.
You want to make sure the bodice scoops up all of the "squishy" sections of your waistline.)
Step 2: Mathmatics For The Win!
After you have your measurements you can start doing the math:
Subtract 3 from your bust measurement.
Take the result and divide it by 4. This is your new bust measurement. Write it down.
Subtract 2 from your waist measurement.
Take the result and divide it by 4. This is your new waist measurement. Write it down.
Subtract 0.25 from the Bust to Lower Waist measurement to get your new measurement. Write it down.
These measurements will help you draw out the pattern.
Step 3: Making the Pattern Pieces
Your pattern is really easy to make. You use the measurements you got from above. For an example we will use my measurements.
My bust is 35" so I have a new bust measurement of 8". My waist is 26.5" so I have a new waist measurement of 6.4". Now
my Bust to Lower Waist measurement is 8" so I make that new measurement 7.75". This is because when you draw the diagonal
line from the bust to waistline dots in the pattern you will have an offset of a quarter-inch.
Bodice Front:
First you should draw a dot to represent the center front bust point.
Measure a line to the right of the bust point out for your new bust measurement. For me, it would be 8" away from
the bust point.
Draw a new dot at the end of this line. This is your armpit area.
Draw a 12" line down from the bust point dot. This is your center front line.
Draw a dot at your new Bust to Lower Waist measurement down from the bodice point dot along the new center front line you just drew. This is your waistline dot.
Draw a line out to the left of your waistline dot the length of your new waist measurement (for me this would be 6.4"). Draw a dot at the end of this line. This is your waistline at the side seam.
From the armpit dot you made in step 3 to the new waistline dot, draw a line. This is the side seam.
Pencil in a line from the end of the waistline to the very bottom of the center front line.
You can't leave the line so straight like this, because it will pinch you when the bodice is laced up. Instead, draw a curve inward from the sideseam up along the waistline and then downward as seen in the pictures below.
Draw a 1" area outside of the center front seam. This will serve as a boning casing for the center front boning. It also makes the grommets hold up from wear and tear, because these receive a lot of stress when laced up tightly.
Draw a dot 1" down from the armpit dot along the side seam line.
Draw another dot 2" to the left of the armpit dot along the bustline.
Draw a line connecting these two new dots. This is the new line for your armscye. It prevents the bodice from rubbing up against your armpit and causing general discomfort.
Bodice Back:
Draw the bustline, bust to lower waistline, waistline, and side seam lines the way you did in the Bodice Front directions.
Once you have drawn those four lines, you can draw a new line 5" above the bust point dot.
Draw a dot 3" to the left of the armpit dot.
Draw a new line up 5" from the new dot.
Draw a dot 1" down from the armpit dot along the side seam.
Draw a slight curve from the side seam dot to the new bustline dot. This is an arm hole.
Draw a line connecting the two extending lines along the top of the pattern. This will be a back support system as well as a connecting point for the straps.
When you're done making both pattern pieces, go along the edges and draw in a 1/2" inch seam allowance. This will be where the bias binding goes later.
Step 4: Cutting Out the Fabric
This is a supporting bodice, meaning, when laced it will be so tight that even if you were an A-cup, you'll look like a C-cup.
You can't use just any old fabric. You must find strong, sturdy fabrics to make this out of. There are three layers: lining,
interlining, and the front. I suggest that you get tapestries or home decor fabrics for the front. Something pretty, because
this is what people will see. It should be strong and thick. Corderoy also works. Now for the interlining you should go with
something I lovingly call "duck cloth." Joann's carries it. You could also use cotton twill, denim, or canvas. Duck cloth is
the best though. It needs to be stiff to give that extra support the boning may not be able to reach. The lining can just be
a broadcloth or muslin. I just grabbed muslin for my bodice.
Now the yardage will depend on your size. I only needed a yard of fabric for each type. For others, you may want to go higher.
Fold the fabric along the widest edge and place your pattern pieces on there. The back bodice piece should be along the fold.
The front bodice piece should be outside of the fold, because you are going to want two separate pieces for this one. Do this
for all three fabrics.
Step 5: Putting It Together
If you bought raw steel boning without caps, you may want to cap off the ends with duct tape. Otherwise the steel will
eventually eat its way through your lovely bodice and poke you when you least expect it.
Case the boning in some scrap muslin. Make sure you cut it so that there are 1/2" seam allowances hanging from
all ends of the boning. This is so you can sew the boning in place easily and it keeps it in place.
Sew the boning into position on the interlining fabric. Make sure to keep the boning away from the seam allowances, or you may hurt your machine later by sewing over it. The center front bones should be 1" away from the center front seam, because that is actually a flap that will be finished and folded over for more casing later.
Attach the front fabric pieces to the interlining pieces with a basting stitch. Make sure the boning is facing away from the front fabric. You should be able to see it when you flip to the interlining side.
Take these new pieces and sew them together at the side seams then press them open.
Sew the lining pieces together at the side seams. Press open the side seams of the lining.
Place the wrong side of the lining against the wrong side of the first bodice section you basted together. Sew these two together with a normal stitch along all edges.
(Optional) Quilt the boning to the bodice from the lining side.
Serge the center front seams off and fold them over 1" and sew into place. This should completely encase the front boning again, adding extra support.
Attach the grommets to the bodice front. You can see where to place them from the bodice pattern photo above. They should be next to the boning as close as possible.
Bind all of the edges with the bias binding.
Make the sleeve straps from scraps of fabric. They should be 9" in length and 3" wide (no pattern needed, just a good ruler):
Sew the pieces together: lining -> interlining -> front with 1/2" seam allowances.
Bind all edges with left over bias binding.
Attach a grommet at each corner of the straps.
Attach the sleeve grommets to the front and back. They should be right along the edge in the back and then really close to the center front on the front section of the bodice. This prevents the little buggers from slipping off. You may want to try it on without the straps and try to place them where you feel most comfortable. Have someone hold them in place in the back for you.
Tie the sleeves to the bodice with some ribbon.
Enjoy!
Step 6: The Finished Product
Now you should have a finished bodice. Below is a picture of me enjoying the new bodice. Well, I enjoyed the bodice but not the picture taking.
I hate cameras and they hate me!
