3) Netherwear

To Begin from the Skin...

The actress wears a sleeveless t-shirt under her petticoat and corset. The petticoat has tucks to allow for future use by taller actresses. The corset is a layer of coutil to which the bones are attached. This is flat-lined to a layer of linen (the visible fabric) and lines of closely-spaced stitching provide extra stability. There are even bones in the small tabs along the lower edge. The visible metal center front are bars for the hooks on the underskirt--these helped the actress keep her skirt at her waist and also helped to line up the center front.

A View from the Back...

For those who care, note that I did not lace this corset correctly. I wanted the image to be clean (no strings attached), but a corset should be laced from the top and the bottom with two knots at the waist where all the laces meet.

My Close-Up Please...

To show off my beautiful stitching. And the piping around the neckline, sewn by hand on the interior. The lower edge of the corset is edged with bias tape, stitched on by hand because of the boning and the tabs. I ripped my fingers apart sewing through so much stiff, boned, material.