When we look at a finished corset, it's easy to focus on the silhouette. What often goes unnoticed is the incredible amount of engineering hidden beneath the surface. For centuries, makers have searched for ways to create garments that were both supportive and wearable. Early stays relied on reed, cane and layers of stiffened fabric. Later, baleen (commonly known as whalebone) revolutionised structured garments by offering flexibility alongside strength. The Industrial Revolution introduced steel busks and steel boning, transforming corsetry yet again and paving the way for many of the techniques we still use today. Modern corset makers now have access to an extraordinary range of materials: ✨ Flat steel ✨ Spiral steel ✨ Plastic boning ✨ Coutil ✨ Cotton drill ✨ Mesh foundations ✨ Modern support fabrics and findings Yet despite all these changes, the fundamental components remain remarkably similar: • Panels that create shape • Boning that provides support • Busks that add stability • Lacing systems that allow adjustment • Waist tape that reinforces the garment • Binding and finishing that ensure longevity The materials may evolve, but the principles of structure, fit and craftsmanship remain at the heart of corsetry. I'd love to hear from our members: 🪡 Have you ever made a corset, stay or structured bodice? 🪡 What boning materials have you worked with? 🪡 If you were making your first corset today, what materials would you choose and why? 🪡 Is there a particular historical corset period that fascinates you? Share your thoughts, experiences, photographs and questions below. Let's learn from one another and explore the hidden architecture of dress together. Claire Amelia 🪄🧵

In May, we discussed each week what sewing projects we've been working on. Time to divulge, keep us guys updated and share your projects. Let's hear what you have all been up to; @Valerie The French Sewing Bee you discussed making swimming costumes, did you complete and get the pictures sent off? @Debra Verrall has been busy with her own skool sewing group preparing sew a longs, how did they go Debra? Would love to hear. @Jane Harbison busy filming sewing grandpa shirts, did you complete the filming? If so, please do share with the other sewers in the group 'Discipline Deep Dives'. @Nancy Poekert has been sewing with fleece, how did the repairs and jackets come along? @Christy Steiger dared to play with bias cut, relining and altering. Was your daughter happy with the outcome? @Jan Appleton did you manage to get on your sewing machine in the month of May? Please share your wins. A small snippet of some of the fabulous sewers in The Atelier Hub. To all hub members, let's hear how your sewing has gone the past month of May, before I enquire what you're up to next 🪡 Sending smiles, Claire Amelia 🧵🥰

✨ Welcome to Corsetry Month in The Atelier Hub ✨ This month, we're exploring the fascinating world of corsetry, the hidden architecture behind some of fashion's most beautiful silhouettes. From historical stays and Victorian corsets to bridal foundations, couture construction and modern structured garments, we'll be uncovering the techniques, materials and craftsmanship that give garments their shape, support and strength. Whether you're a dressmaker, tailor, costumer, bridal maker, alterations specialist, or simply curious about how structure transforms a design, there's something here for you. Throughout the month we'll be exploring: 🪡 The foundations of corset construction 🪡 Boning, support fabrics and materials 🪡 Fitting and shaping techniques 🪡 Internal garment architecture 🪡 Historical and contemporary corsetry 🪡 Structured garments across every discipline As always, our community spaces will be open for sharing, learning and collaboration: ✨ The Studio Wall – Share your makes, works in progress and discoveries ✨ Creative Crisis Desk – Bring your fitting and construction challenges ✨ The Little Black Book – Discover trusted suppliers, tools and resources ✨ Community Notice Board – Updates, opportunities and events Whether you've made dozens of corsets or you've never inserted a single piece of boning, you're warmly invited to join the conversation. Tell me below, what are you most excited to learn about corsetry? 👇 Sending smiles on this wet Yorkshire day, Claire Amelia 🧵🪄

I've been tinkering around in the background, whilst building The Atelier Hub in real time, and I can't believe how fast the time is going and what I have been learning, building and imagining. This space is for all sewing disciplines, and last month we touched on Historical Fashion, June has a new discipline coming !! (announcing that next woo woo) For now, the classroom is hidden as I build lots of lovely learnings for all us lovely sewers. So, I thought, to ask, is there 1 sewing discipline you would LOVE to deep dive into in the near future? Drop your sewing discipline in comments, what you would love to engage with and learn more about 🪡👇

In just five decades, silhouettes softened, corsets disappeared, waists dropped, shoulders sharpened, skirts widened again… and clothing began reflecting freedom, war, rebellion, glamour, practicality, and identity in completely different ways. And honestly? You can still feel traces of every one of these eras in modern sewing today. The bias cut of the 1930s. The structure of the 1940s. The femininity of the 1950s. This is why I love studying historical dress so much, fashion is never just clothing. It tells us what society valued, what people longed for, and how makers solved problems with nothing but fabric, structure, and skill with the changing times within our societies. So now I want to know… 🪡 Which decade pulls you in most, and why? 🪡 If you could sew ONE garment from these decades, what would it be? 🪡 And which period do you think had the most beautiful construction techniques? I've been a busy bee in the background, clearing my storage, designs, costumes and much more, ready to start uploading and sharing next right here in The Atelier Hub, very exciting! I'm building the group in real time, and grateful you're here, sharing this space of sewers 🪡 🥰 So, tell the hub what you think of the 50 years fashion journey 1900-1950's. Drop your thoughts below in comments 👇 Claire Amelia 🌞