【 Ukrainian Corset 】
The beautiful pleats on the back are eye-catching.
Ukrainian national costume from the early 1900s.
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| 【 Mille-feuille pleats 】 |
The pleats at the hem, folded in multiple layers, sway as you walk.
Surprisingly, these pleats are cut extending from the upper body.
Instead of dividing at the waist, the pleats are tailored using a luxurious amount of fabric.
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| 【 Original early 20th century 】 |
This Ukrainian corset is sleeveless.
The fabric has a beautiful, intricate jacquard weave pattern in a mixture of purple and yellow.
To me, as a Japanese, it is hard to believe that this is a folk costume from over 100 years ago.
It was as if it had an urban and mode impression.
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| Liudmyla Starytska-Cherniakhivska, 1882 |
This girl is wearing a sleeveless Ukrainian corset.
The Ukrainian corset was worn over a traditional Ukrainian shirt called a "vyshyvanka".
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| 【 Garment specimen 】 |
When we took it apart, we discovered many things.
The most surprising was the amount of flare at the hem, which was much larger than we had imagined.
The total length was 150inch (380cm).
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| 【 sample 】 Produced with stiff wool |
I have made a Ukrainian corset with sleeves.
The pattern for the sleeves is also included in the pattern for sale.
Please make it without sleeves or with sleeves, whichever you prefer.
The above dimensions are the finished dimensions of the pattern.
Garments made more than 100 years ago were made with smaller shoulder widths.
If you look at the measurements alone, you may be surprised at how small they are.
I recommend choosing based on "bust" rather than shoulder width.
You should choose a size around +12-14cm (4.7-5.5 in) from your bust nude measurement.
For example, if your nude measurement is 101cm (40 inches), a size 5 or 6 would be a perfect fit.
Size 1 or 2 for 82.5cm(32.5 inches)
Size 3 or 4 for 91.5cm(36 inches)
Please take a look.
The woman in the video is 5 ft. 0.24 in. (153cm)
slender female.
Please also see the images of the trial fitting.
5 ft. 0.24 in.
153cm
slender female
Wearing 【size 0】
it fits perfectly.
I find this back style very beautiful.
The perfect balance of not too sweet and not too pretty is probably only possible with antique construction.
Next is a picture of a try-on with sleeves.
The model is the same as before.
She wears a size 0.
The fabric is made of thick wool.
The contrast between the boxy front silhouette and the fitted back style is interesting and beautiful.
The different silhouettes of the front and back of the Ukrainian corset are also attractive.
The Ukrainian corset is expressive and attractive with its swaying pleats.
For this reason, we believe that watching a video will convey the charm of the corset better than viewing still images.
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| Poltava region. End of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. |
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| Group of girls and married women in festive clothes. Ukrainians. Poltava Province. Late 19th - early 20th centuries |
【 Ukrainian corset with sleeves original 】
Probably from Poltava Oblast, Ukraine.
It was made from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.
The pattern sewn in velvet is a very powerful piece of clothing.
The pattern sewn in velvet is a very powerful piece of clothing.
Because of its long length, it is quite heavy.
I was able to catch a glimpse of the tremendous handiwork of the Ukrainians.
The fabric is also thick, so it must have been difficult to sew.
The pleats on the back are also tailored in a single piece.
This design is probably a convention for Ukrainian corsets.
But, surprisingly, there are additional pleats within the pleats.
The flare is created by double pleating, using an unbelievable amount of fabric.
This is also why it is so heavy when held in the hand.
The lining is a work of art.
The stitch marks are like a painting.
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| Razsvit, Kiev, Ukraine - Postcard printed in 1916 |
Now let's also introduce the "vyshyvanka" shirt to be worn inside the Ukrainian corset.
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| vyshyvanka in the early 20th century |
The vyshyvanka I own is one with modest embroidery.
In the great ones, there are also vyshyvanka with embroidery hammered into the sleeves to the point that they become hard.
The construction of the pattern is a simple design consisting of a perfect square of fabric sewn together.
It is gathered at the neck to fit the body.
The flowing gathers down the back are very beautiful.
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| Rustic and cute floral embroidery. |
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| Postcard of the "Little Russian Types" series No. 49 by Scherer, Nabholz & Co 1917 |
The woman in this photo is wearing a vyshyvanka with a floral pattern similar to the one I own.
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| Postcard. Ukrainian formation 1917 |
This one is abundantly embroidered in cross-stitch.
It suits her very well.
Now let me introduce you to the Ukrainian corset I sewed.
The front is decorated with a buffalo toggle as a one-point design.
The vintage tape that holds the toggle in place is daringly hung long and designed to sway in the same way as the pleats on the back.
The opening and closing from the toggle down is done with hook buttons.
In this way, the toggle is made to stand out.
The back style is a faithful reproduction of the real thing.
The pleats were made in one continuous piece without dividing the cloth.
Since there is a lot of fabric volume, the look will vary greatly depending on the material used.
I think a material with moderate bounce would look prettier with the pleats spreading out.
The sleeves are arranged in a Demi Deconstruction Pattern.
I added more volume to the sleeves than the original, and provided slits at the cuffs.
I felt that this would be a better balance with the body.
The reason is that the original has surprisingly thin sleeves.
To me, the long, narrow sleeves seemed unbalanced with the voluminous body.
I made a very cute sleeve pattern, so if you are interested in purchasing the pattern, please look forward to it.
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| Body pockets |
In most cases, the Ukrainian corset has a pocket positioned about between the belly button and the chest.
They are placed a little higher.
I felt that this would not be convenient for modern use, so I have designed it in a slightly lower position.
You can adjust the position to your liking.
This sample is lined only on the sleeves and back.
However, the pattern to be sold is "fully lined".
Please arrange the lining as you like.
And a "waist belt" is sewn on the waist portion.
When worn with this belt fastened, the silhouette will look much better.
The waist belt is a standard detail of women's clothing in the 19th century, and is also attached to the Ukrainian corset, a folk costume.
The pleats on the hips should be poured into the back lining.
That is the easiest way to make it.
Here is a look at Ukrainian corsets made in the early 20th century.
The flared silhouette that spreads out in an A-line is very cute.
The waist position is set quite high, which is one of the characteristics of Ukrainian corsets.
It hides the stomach area.
The front has resin buttons decorated with a floral pattern, but these are decorative.
In reality, it is attached and detached with hooks.
By the way, this intricate jacquard fabric is very powerful.
I never get tired of looking at it.
The pleats fall from a high waist position, making the design more swaying.
Walking around in a Ukranian corset is sure to be fun.
Resin buttons are also attached at the waist position on the back.
They are probably attached for decorative purposes or as reinforcement to support the pleats.
This back button is also a standard design of Ukrainian corsets.
It is very stylish.
What buttons would you put on it?
The luxurious fabric pleats still have folds even after being lifted up to this level.
You can see that a considerable amount of fabric was used.
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| 【 Pleat structure 】 |
As you can see in this picture, the trapezoidal pleats were cut in succession from the narrow back parts.
Each back part has a different shape, but the shape of the pleated part was almost the same for all of them.
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| 【 Lining seams 】 |
You can see that the front side is cut by continuing to cut the parts, but the lining is cut separately.
Considering the process of sewing the lining, it is easier to sew the lining if it is cut into separate pieces at the waist.
And it also saves fabric.
The appearance of the front side and the efficiency of the lining.
You can see that the design is well thought out for both.
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| 【 Seams for design 】 |
The front side is finely divided into eight parts on the back.
However, the lining side has only two pieces.
In other words, all the parts on the front side are seams for design.
They are not seams for modeling.
To my surprise, the back was just a flat surface.
I had thought that the back was divided into 8 pieces to fit, but I was very wrong.
As proof, when I looked at the lining side, I could see no seams, just stitches. (Arrowheads)
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| 【 View Lining 】 |
The lining is a cotton fabric with a light purplish gingham check pattern.
It is a pretty fabric that gives a very different impression from the mode-impression Jacquard weave fabric on the front side.
This gap is interesting.
The waist lining has a tape in place like this.
By tying it, the fit of the back can be adjusted and the silhouette can be changed significantly.
This concludes my introduction to Ukranian corsets.
Thank you for reading to the end.
I hope you all try making Ukranian corsets with your favorite fabrics.
They are really cute and I highly recommend them.
And if you want to know more about Ukrainian folk costumes, I recommend this video.
You can see how they wear various kinds of Ukrainian corsets and vyshyvanka.
