FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Corset “Anna Karenina”
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
"All the diversity, all the charm, and all the beauty of life are made up of light and shade" - Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
"And the candle by the light of which she had been reading that book filled with anxieties, deceptions, grief and evil, flared up brighter than ever, lit up for her all that had once been darkness, sputtered, grew dim and went out for ever" - Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
My inspiration for this corset was the novel and character of "Anna Karenina", my favourite book which I frequently revisit, especially in times of uncertainty and depression. The second quote always comes to my mind when I am in deep troubles and can't find a reason to carry on - it always reminds me of the fact that I may at the moment not be able to see the good things in life, they are still there, waiting out of sight but will reappear when the candle flares up again. Life always contains light and darkness, joy and pain and it's important to always remember that. This duality of light and darkness is reflected in the fabric and colour choice of my work. The black silk is a nod to the black gown Anna wears to the ball where her fateful relationship to Vronsky starts off while the other side stands not only for the light side of life but especially for the ever important flame of the candle by which we view our whole life.
Outline the construction…
This is a Corset which can be worn with either side on the outside. The one side is made from black Herringbone Coutil with accents like cording and boning channels made of black silk, for the other side I used white cotton canvas which I hand-dyed in different shades ranging from yellow to red. I used a pattern by Truly Victorian (TV110).
The biggest challenge were the boning channels: they are hidden inside the corset, I used the seam allowance to sew them because otherwise the visible topstitching on the black silk and the corresponding line of contrasting stitches on the yellow/orange/red fabric would have looked horribly wobbly and just awful. I found out by trying to do it that way and then deciding to completely disassemble and restitch the whole corset and using that opportunity to hide the channels and do "fake channels" on the outside by topstitching each visible line seperately.
I used synthetic whalebone and flat steel boning (on either side of the eyelets) and stitched the eyelets by hand using black buttonhole thread. Since all the fabric stores were closed due to lockdown and I didn't have enough time to order materials online, I had to improvise and rely on materials I had in stash - therefore the cording is made from shoelaces. For flossing the corded panels I used red silk thread.
Both sides are absolutely stunning! Well done!
The flossing and cording really are striking together! Be proud of this!
A reversible corset?! This is genius! Also terrifying, but I expect you handled plenty of that while making it.
I love what you wrote! So sensitive, and the corset is stunning. I don’t know how you got the dye to be such a perfectly colored red and orange yellow flame. It’s amazing that it is reversible.
So stunning and smooth !
This is a beautiful corset. I love the colors, and that flossing! Wow! Thank you!
Oh my, Oh my! The gradient on the hand dyed side looks incredible! And the both side working as the outer layer is genius! Well done!