Artists: Brian Wayne Bingham; Angela Maria Bingham; Ashton Vern Crocker; Carla Crocker; Matthew Walbeck; Michelle Walbeck.

 

Order of Construction:

1: Planning & measuring.

2: Panel patterns.

3: Leather cutting & edging.

4: Tooling.

5: Assembly.

6: Wet-forming.

7: Staining.

8: Detail painting.

9: Finishing.

 

Step 1: Project Planning

Michelle approached Brian about making a leather corset to match her Celtic Cross headband and bracers (BCS2016-005A & BCS2016-005B). They bounced ideas around; looked at styles of other corsets on the market; Michelle drafted some sketches; and Brian eventually settled on using the same texture and caduceus-like symbol for the corset that he designed for the bracers and headband.

 

Matt and Michelle provided me with a 5oz. leather hide, basic materials (dye, rivets), and a body-form made from duct-tape, which was made

 

Step 2: Panel Pattern Construction

This is really the most difficult step, getting started.

 

Artists Angela and Ashton attempted to convert Michelle’s tape-form into segments, but it became evident early on that wasn’t going to work. So they compared the tape-form to a sewing pattern for an under-bust cloth corset, and a dress-form with Michelle’s approximate measurements. They then drew up panel patterns on paper, which were then tested against the dress-form.

 

Next, Brian modified the panel patterns to integrate cups for the bust to the front panel patterns, and to increase the overlap of the panels to 1/4 inch then. The goal was to have a corset that used panel overlaps for ribbing, adding structural integrity to the bust. Angela then numbered the panels, and Brian transferred the numbered panels to poster-board.

 

Step 3: Leather Cutting

Once we were sure the leather hide was large enough to produce all the panels, Brian cut the leather into the corresponding panels. This is also a difficult stage, not only because it has the highest risk of injury, but because leather is expensive, and there are no guarantees that you will be able to find a matching hide if you screw up.

 

Next, Brian and Ashton edged, burnished, and tooled the panel borders. Brian tooled and edged the front panel borders and detail while flat. The other panels were handed off to Michelle to stamp.

 

Step 4: Assembly

Because of the curves, assembly required each panel to be wet so we could warp it and rivet it into place. Brian didn’t have the equipment to case the leather, so it had already dried after the tooling stage. Holes for the rivets were made by lining up each panel at the top, marking the first rivet, and then marking down 1 inch from each previous hole. Ashton , Angela, and I then assembled the panels by running them under cold water, and warping them into shape, riveting each panel from the front back. This got trickier as we went because some panels had deep curves, especially around the bust and sides. While the panels got less curvy as they went around the back, the problem became that the piece as a whole was now round, and it required two people to balance the corset at the right angles to rivet against a flat surface.

 

Once the panels were assembled, Brian cut any excess from the bottom panels, and re-edged. Then Angela and Brian added the eyelets to the back and bottom. Large eyelets were added to the bottom in order to allow the wearer to tie off or hang other components, like pouches.

 

Step 5: Wet-forming (wet her & pet her)

Wet-forming requires a hands-on approach, so the corset was handed over to Matt and Michelle. The corset turned out to be slightly too large because of a decrease in the final panel overlap spacing, and the body-form was slightly larger in the measurements than Michelle, so Matt & Michelle shaved a little off the back panel and added new eyelets. They soaked the corset in hot tap water, then cinched it to Michelle’s body. She wore it for 2 hours while it dried, then left it overnight to cure.

 

Step 7: Staining

Michelle applied 2 layers of stain using Eco-Flo Timber Brown and Forest Green.

 

Step 8: Detail Painting

Brian added the final stain layer, then painted the details (cross, shading, detail lines). 

 

Step 9: Finishing

Brian replaced any rivets or eyelets; did a final burnish of the edges; applied three satin sheen coats; then treated and buffs with a combination of Feibings 4-in-1 Leather Care, and canuba oil.