Steampunk Corset - Prototype B

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

This is the first actual working prototype we've made of a brass corset, this one we also included some clockwork in (see the end).



Note the notches along the upper left side (they are also like that under the leather). This allowed the brass to bed around the nice curvy bits of Sjaantze's chest, rather than creating a strange boxlike container around her chest.



Sjaantze, lining up leather straps and punching holes.



The notches for the matching piece.



Note the rivets. Those are copper rivets and Sjaantze hand-peen'd all of them. The look great, but were a serious PITA.







The top and bottom are trimmed in a long folded piece of leather, sewn onto the brass through pre-punched holes. This was also a PITA.



OMGZ!



And the back...



Now with working ticking bits!





From the inside.

So we took away a lot of useful information on this sort of thing.

1. Copper rivets look awesome, however they suck and are expensive. Next time we may try the quick rivets.

2. The clockwork came from a vintage Big Bird clock. it is ok for this, but I think we'll look for a skeleton clock for the next time... the moving gears in this design are off to the side and while the ticking is great, you have to be very close to see the gears move.

3. Thicker brass. This stuff was very soft and the slightest error showed. We'll need to go up to the next gauge for future projects.

All in all, a success!

[Darth Cupcake]

Wow, that is a really impressive project. Nice work!!

[Suu]

Was the clockwork part uncomfortable in Sjaantze's chest?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Was the clockwork part uncomfortable in Sjaantze's chest?

Not at all, the design leaves a gap under her chest where the clockwork fits snugly.

[The Dark Monk]

Is it comfortable enough to wear for decent periods of time without an underclothing article?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Is it comfortable enough to wear for decent periods of time without an underclothing article?

Yes! Sjaantze wore it a few weeks ago with a strapless bra, then we made some modifications and she wore it Saturday on its own... from about 8 PM to 3 AM...  She said she could barely feel it at all.

[The Dark Monk]

That's awesome, it seemed like it would be a bit cumbersome to me, maybe that's just my head telling me "Metal is stiff dummy" and not considering the shape.

Modified - Also, question: Does that leather binding the pieces together stretch at allto help with the overall shape?

[Elder Iptuous]

Hooray for steampunk!
any photos showing this in context of full attire?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

That's awesome, it seemed like it would be a bit cumbersome to me, maybe that's just my head telling me "Metal is stiff dummy" and not considering the shape.

Modified - Also, question: Does that leather binding the pieces together stretch at allto help with the overall shape?

The metal is very soft actually, for metal and it flexes quite easily. Of course, we custom fit this for her, so we ended up with probably an inch or two of alterations to the waist... since the first try led to her turning into a turtle everytime she sat down. With the modified cut, it moves almost exactly as much as a corset, that is to say not much. The leather binding don't offer any stretch, but they're very soft to the touch. All of the give in the size is from the back lacing.

Our next design will likely include some cutouts for the arms... it will probably fix a couple issues with the fit.

[Jenne]

Very cool!

[Darth Cupcake]

I really wanna make one

[Elder Iptuous]

I really wanna make one

agreed.   although I wouldn't look to good in a corset, so perhaps i will make a steampunk brass codpiece.

[Suu]

I'm in the process of begging Rat and Sjaantze to make one for meeeeee. I am teh suck at corsetry and really want to win a lot of awards at Arisia and CostumeCon this year.

[Darth Cupcake]

I'm in the process of begging Rat and Sjaantze to make one for meeeeee. I am teh suck at corsetry and really want to win a lot of awards at Arisia and CostumeCon this year.

I am pretty decent with sewn corsets, but I dunno about metal worked corsets.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

I'd say that this was a bit more time consuming than a cloth corset, but mostly due to us flying by the seat of our pants on the design. It required some 3d thinking to redesign the pattern based on fitting them side-by-side, rather than right sides facing and stitching.

Otherwise it's just cutting, punching holes and hammering rivets... quick rivets would have made it much easier.