Make your own corset

Design by Belinda Zanello

We caught up with corsetry lecturer Lesley about her upcoming short course and how this one piece of underwear has shaped women's fashion.

Describe the corsetry course in five words.
Inspiring. Unusual. Celebrating women’s curves.

Design by Kellie Anderson

What do you love about being the corsetry lecturer at TAFE? How long have you been teaching?
I’ve been teaching the corsetry course since 2008, and it’s always interesting to meet the people who come to take the course - some come to make corsets for bridal or evening gowns, some come to make fashion garments, some come to make underwear, but all of them are as passionate about corsetry as I am! We have had students come from all over South Australia and even from Melbourne, from all walks of life and interests, and they all talk animatedly about why they want to make corsets!

Tell us about your background in fashion?
I have been working at TAFE SA as a patternmaker since 2002, and as a patternmaking lecturer since 2007. I have been working as a costume maker for dancers and for the theatre in Adelaide since 1999. I became interested in corset making in 2003, and have been studying historical and modern corset making techniques ever since.


What will students do on their first day of the course and what skills will they walk away with?
The moment the students walk in the door, they are measured and fitted for the basic corset. We then talk about how designs can be tweaked and changed to their own personal design. We talk about how fashion silhouettes change, and how corsetry in fashion has changed over the years. We go through many techniques in sewing to work out what will be the best way for the student to proceed, and we talk about the steel boning and metal hardware that goes into making a proper corset, as opposed to a plastic boned bodice. And that’s just on the first day! Over the three days, they learn many tips and tricks to make corset making easier, and by the end of the three days, they not only have a corset that they have made, but enough knowledge to make more and the passion to try different styles.


Corsets - history to the catwalk.
In the corsetry course, we have a focus on the modern shaped corset, but we discuss how the historical shapes have influenced fashion and how they changed the shape of women’s fashion. We talk about the myths and facts about tight-lacing, and why people are wary of corsets. We talk about how corsets constantly make appearances on the catwalk, and how they are used as shock value by fashion designers due to their extreme nature of body-sculpting.

Corsetry is fascinating. I don’t think that there is another item of clothing in the history of fashion that has drawn such extreme reactions from people.