General Notes on Bodice Making

• The bodice DOES NOT stop at the waist line. EVER. Extend it a minimum of one inch below the waist. The reason for this is, if for nothing else, to cover the waistband of the skirt.
   
• Don't think using a heavy fabric means you don't have to bone the hell out of the bodice. Fabric, regardless of the weight, does not do what boning does, and that is provide rigid shaping without rolling up the body.
   
• By the same token, don't get cheap with the boning. Make sure the boning you're using, if plastic, is SOLID, not thin strands held together with a polyester fibre. If the wearer is very heavy busted, don't even bother with plastic. Use metal corset stays.
   
• Unless there is a serious reason for doing so, do not try to compress the ribs and waist for "authenticity's" sake. The twentieth century woman, whose body has not been conditioned since early childhood to accept this sort of deformation, could be injured by doing so. Tight? Yes, of necessity. When I make a bodice, I draft the pattern subtracting 2" from the bust and waist, no more. Ideally, the subject should still be able to take a diaphramatic breath without straining.
   
• Don't think you're going to be able to achieve cleavage on someone A-cup or smaller. B-cup is hard enough. I've seen some costumers who proudly proclaim their ability to do so, but it's never flattering, if you'll pardon the pun.