Tag: ribbon

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Where to Buy Ribbon Cinchers

Note that this post is a copy of the same one under the “Research Corset Brands –> Guided Galleries” menu. It is part of a collection of articles to help corset enthusiasts shop more wisely.

While ribbon cinchers are not the best choice for waist training, they are lightweight, fun, and when constructed correctly they can give considerable waist reduction! Some historical sources mention that ribbon cinchers can be used during sleep or while horse riding. Today they can still be used for the same purposes, or worn over clothing as a great statement piece.

Madame Sher mesh ribbon-style cincher, $220

Madame Sher has many gorgeous ribbon-style cinchers to choose from. Most of the styles are not genuine ribbon but rather made from horizontal strips of satin, denim, leather or mesh (shown above, on yours truly). Since they can be made from nearly any material, there is incredible room for creativity here. My review of Madame Sher’s mesh cincher can be found here.

Pop Antique Vixen ribbon underbust, from $329

Pop Antique makes some of the curviest ribbon cinchers I’ve ever seen. The corsetiere, Marianne, includes a waist tape on the underside which is almost never seen in other ribbon cinchers; it helps to strengthen the corset where it takes the most tension – at the waistline. These corsets are made from double-faced satin ribbon, which is strong, non-stretch and come in a bevy of colours.

Ribbon cincher from Orchid Corsetry

Orchid Corsetry also makes strong custom-measured ribbon corsets from double-faced satin ribbon, and can be patterned to give gentle curves (above) or to give almost a wasp-waist effect. Bethan can make these cinchers curved (above) or pointed, multi-tone or single-colour, simple or embellished with crystals or other details as you see here.

Silvia Alphard Couture Victorian Steampunk ribbon corset, $305

Silvia Aphard Couture is an Italian corsetiere who primarily sells through Etsy. Her gorgeous ribbon corsets are also made with wide double-faced satin ribbon and coutil. Silvia’s corsets are made-to-measure and available in several colours.

sin_and_satin_ribbon
Sin and Satin standard ribbon cincher

Sin and Satin from NYC makes some of the most unique and gorgeous ribbon cinchers in standard sizes 18″ – 36″. They’re different in that they have no vertical side panel, which means uninterrupted contouring from front to back. They can be styled to your liking using petersham or satin ribbon (or even adding eyelash lace, seen above right) and they’re cut for devastating curves, boasting 11″ hip spring and 8″ room for the ribs.

Kiran-Lee Swing Hook Rainbow Patchwork Corset, $290

Kiran-Lee is another underestimated corsetiere on Etsy, based in London, England. Her ribbon-style corsets are fun and different, like this patchwork design made from recycled fabrics and old saris. Each of Kiran-Lee’s designs are one-of-a-kind.

Axfords C210 ribbon underbust, £95

Axfords Corsets offers an affordable standard-sized ribbon corset (style C210) in white, black or two-tone (seen here). It’s made from Petersham ribbon (also quite strong) with satin vertical panels, and a flap to hide the busk loops.

Vollers “Storm” ribbon cincher (shown in leather), £195

Vollers Corsets also has a standard sized ribbon cincher called the “Storm” (style number V50) which is available in various shades of petersham ribbon. They also offer leather ribbon (shown above) which is interesting! This corset can also be upgraded made-t0-measure for a fee.

Versatile Corsets Ribbon underbust (shown in purple glitter PVC) $158

Versatile Corsets also makes interesting ribbon cinchers in standard sizes or made-to-measure. They specialize in funky PVC ribbon, with almost any satin or brocade you like for the vertical (boned) panels. If you prefer a little less rigidity with the same look, Versatile can also make these cinchers with elastic strapping.

Ms. Martha’s Geometric underbust, $175

Ms. Martha’s Corset Shoppe offers this “Geometric” ribbon-style cincher in leather and in silk, with several two-tone selections: black/brown, black/red or black/white. These cinchers are standard sized for natural waists 18″ up to 52″. My review of the Geometric cincher is here.

I tried my own hand at a few ribbon corsets and found them rather fun to make! Although I don’t take commissions for ribbon corsets, I’ve shared some tips and tricks on how these were created. Click the photos below to see my case studies on how I constructed them.

*Please note that I have not personally tried every corset brand in this list, nor do I necessarily endorse every company in these guided galleries. This is for informational purposes only.

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Madame Sher Mesh underbust corset Review

This post is a summary of the Madame Sher black mesh cincher Review, which you can watch on Youtube if you prefer:

Fit, length Front is about 11 inches long, from the shortest part (close to the side seam) is 8.5 inches long. The top and bottom edges in front and back are slightly pointed, as many ribbon cincher styles seem to be. I consider this a “modern” hourglass shape (cupped ribs and cupped hips) although some may consider it a wasp waist silhouette. I submitted my measurements to Madame Sher, so this corset was custom made for my figure.
Material 1 main layer: it’s mostly a black soft mesh, which feels like cotton (it feels similar to cross-stich canvas). It has a small amount of stretch, but still strong. Vertical panels (in front, side and back) is black cotton twill.
Construction 13 literal panels, but technically you can consider it a 5 panel pattern. The horizontal “ribbon” panels are assembled with a flat-felled seam, then are sandwiched between the twill vertical panels (which are also double-stitched).
Binding Black binding made from bias strips of matching black twill. Machine stitched on outside and inside (Madame Sher mentions that it’s stronger this way).
Waist tape Most ribbon cinchers don’t incorporate a waist tape usually, but the center “ribbon” panels closest to the waist are also lined in black twill, which helps reinforce this area. Although it might stretch a little bit, the corset itself still gives me a great silhouette.
Modesty panel Interesting modesty panel – fully boned (the bones going vertically) and covered in black twill. My corset came with 2 panels (one was 6″ wide, one was 8″ wide) and they are removable/ interchangeable using small ribbons and grommets. Also, this has an unstiffened modesty placket under the busk.
Busk Sturdy special busk, about 3/4″ wide about 10.5″ long (5 pins). The busk is cut on an angle, and te binding is sewn only a couple of millimeters away from the end of the busk! Madame Sher commissions a local jeweller to make her busks, which are easily recognisable from the square loops!
Boning 8 total bones not including busk. On each side there are two 1/2″ wide heavy spiral steel bones. On the back by the grommets there are two pairs  On each side they are double boned on the seams (1/4″ wide), 2 sturdier flat-steel bones sandwiching the grommets which are closer to 1/4″ wide.
Grommets 24 grommets total, size #00 two-part grommets with small flange; set equidistantly, no wear/fraying/pulling out of grommets, but many splits. However they don’t seem to catch on the laces much.
Laces Very thin (less than 1/8″ wide) nylon rat-tail laces, very strong, glides through the grommets quite well.
Price At the time that I’m writing, it is $220 USD on Madame Sher’s website in the Tight Comfort section.
Madame Sher mesh ribbon-style cincher

Final Thoughts:

I adore this corset. It is one of my least expensive custom fit corsets that I own, yet it is one of the most comfortable. When I’m having a “lazy” or comfortable day, or if it feels too hot to wear a full cotton corset, then I’ll wear this mesh piece. It feels breezy and looks wonderful under dresses as well.

There is only one small thing to note about wearing this corset under clothing – because the cincher has horizontal “ribbon” panels, then the lines or bulges under a dress is not vertical (as would be usual, due to boning channels, mostly) but rather in this case the cincher creates horizontal bulges. Depending on who you are and what your BMI is, you may find that it looks a little bit like a ribcage under your dress. However, I do find that this corset is MUCH less conspicuous under clothing compared to some other corsets! Another perk is that this corset is so soft and lightweight that it’s one of the few that I feel comfortable directly next to my skin, if I want to wear stealth on hot days. Because it came with two modesty panels that can be quickly and easily switched out, it means I can have one in the wash and one to wear.

I was intrigues with Madame Sher’s corsets because of her unique construction and materials: I have never had a soft summer mesh corset like this before (I had owned the Contour Corsets summer mesh corset, but that one is very heavy duty!), and also have relatively little experience with ribbon cinchers. The modesty panel’s full horizontal boning and attachment are also unique, as is the special square busk, and even the rat-tail lacing! This is a beautiful example of ingenuity, and it goes to show that not all corsets have to be created the same way.

If I were to go back and order another mesh corset from Madame Sher, I would likely spend the $50 more to try out the full mesh underbust (both to try something different, and also because I think it would be more sturdy due to more boning and satin waist tape). I have no complaints about the cincher, but I think I might prefer the full underbust in the future. Although this corset is so unique that I cannot really compare it to anything else, I would say it’s excellent for the value.

You can find the summer mesh cincher and other styles on Madame Sher’s website here.

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“Disco Armadillo” PVC Ribbon Cincher Case Study

This entry is a summary of the video “‘DISCO ARMADILLO’ PVC Ribbon Corset”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

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This was my first attempt at sewing a corset from vinyl. I have to thank Marta “Snowblack” for her wonderful  Foundations Revealed tutorial on sewing leather and vinyl corsetry. Just a few things that I have learned about handling vinyl:

  • The material stretches (so you must back it with coutil) however it does not drape like most other fabrics.
  • It is also not a self-healing fabric, and will show all pinpricks. Therefore you should pin your panels only in the seam allowances.
  • Using a teflon foot (or a piece of tissue between the vinyl and the presser foot) will help the vinyl to feed smoothly without dragging or sticking to the presser foot.
  • Lastly, feed dogs will leave permanent marks into the bottom of the vinyl, especially if it has a metallic foil finish. Putting tissue or masking tape on the underside of your fabric (where your seam line will be) will protect your fabric from the feed dogs digging in.
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Here is the overview of my Disco Armadillo, in typical review form:

Fit, length Center front is 10.5″ high, and I drafted this corset to be very curvy: underbust about 32″, closed waist 24″ and hips 34″.
Material Just two layers; the outer PVC ribbon and the inner coutil.
Construction 5-panel pattern – three vertical panels at front/side/back to hold the bones, and two ribbon panels. I learned how to draft a ribbon corset from Sidney Eileen’s ribbon corset sewing tutorial. The coutil panels aren’t “ribboned” like the outer pieces; rather they are in one piece. Most seams are topstitched as I was afraid that lockstitching would cause the PVC to become too perforated and tear apart. However at the busk, seams were lockstitched nonetheless as it looked better. Some edges of the ribbon were left raw, as folding those edges under would be too bulky.
Binding There is binding at the top and bottom of the vertical panels only; the ribbon panels do not have binding. I also left the inside edge of the binding raw – this is normal with binding made out of leathers or vinyls.
Waist tape Ribbon corsets typically don’t have a waist tape; a horizontal piece of ribbon running around the waist will act like a waist tape anyway.
Modesty panel I didn’t make a modesty panel for this corset because I designed it to close completely at the back.
Busk A standard flexible busk, 1/2” wide on each side, with 5 pins, 9.5″ long. Although it is quite flexible, having 3 layers of PVC ribbon surrounding the busk makes the front panel quite stiff and sturdy.
Boning Only 8 bones total in this corset (not including the busk), only boned on the vertical panels. There are two spring steel bones sandwiching each row of grommets at the back, and an additional two bones on each side panel, all 3/8″ wide.
Grommets There are 20 2-part size #00 grommets (10 on each side). I used self-piercing grommets and a new press to insert these, and they work very well with the PVC. I placed a layer of heavy canvas in the grommet panel to give the grommets more to “grab onto” and to prevent the PVC from stretching. There are no splits and the grommets are holding up quite well with regular use.
Laces I used some 100% nylon purple paracord – it’s extremely strong (holds tension up to 500 lbs) and has no stretch, is resistant to fraying but has a tendancy to twist. You will definitely need a square knot or bow (not a round one) to keep your corset securely tied at the back.
Price Ribbon corsets in general are not particularly difficult but they are time-consuming and require a bit of pre-planning. I would most likely place a typical satin-and-coutil ribbon corset at around $150. However, because the PVC ribbon is extremely challenging to work with and also quite expensive ($10/meter when not on sale, and this corset used 9 meters), I wouldn’t remake this corset for less than $250.
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Baby Blue Ribbon Cincher Case Study

This entry is a summary of the review video “Homemade Blue Ribbon Corset”. If you would like more complete information and side notes about the corset, you can watch the video on YouTube here:

Fit, length Short cincher about 12″ high in the center front, comes up high on the hips. Pointed in the front and in back.
Material Almost entirely 2.25″ wide double faced satin ribbon, with coutil flatlined to the ribbon on the vertical panels in front, side and back.
Construction Pattern is from page 88 of the book Corsets and Crinolines. The horizontal ribbons were draped into the correct shape and tacked on the sides, then sandwiched between two pieces of coutil-flatlined-to-ribbon vertical panels which were then topstitched. The bones sandwiched in the vertical panels only.
Binding There is only binding at the top and bottom of the vertical panels, also made with blue ribbon.
Waist tape None (ribbon corsets generally don’t have waist tapes).
Modesty panel None.
Busk Standard flexible busk, about 9.5″ long with 5 clasps.
Boning 14 bones in this corset; 8 bones on the side panels (4 on each side), 2 flats on either side of the busk and another 4 in the back sandwiching the grommets.
Grommets 26 gold #X00 2-part grommets (13 on each side). Gold was the only colour I had at the time.
Laces Simple white round shoe-lace style cord, about 7 meters.
Price Cost in materials was close to $35. A standard ribbon cincher is often sold for about $150-$200 depending on the maker. Custom fit ribbon cinchers often are more expensive.
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Princess Tamina Corset Case Study

This entry is a summary of my videos for the Princess Tamina costume. If you would like more  information and side notes about the corset and costume, you can watch the videos on YouTube here:

 

 

Fit, length Self-drafted underbust corset with a peaked front top and bottom edge. Stops just at the hips, and features a high back (7″ above waist). Made to close at 21″ at the waist. I took 3 horizontal measurements and 5 vertical measurements to draft this.
Material 4 layers of material; fashion fabric is a very stretchy gold-on-beige lamé, two layers of down-proof cotton ticking (labelled “coutil” in French) as strength layer, and ivory satin lining.
Construction Drafted from a 5-panel pattern. Lining was flatlined to ticking and lockstitched between the seams, then joined to another layer of ticking (wrong sides together) via the sandwich method. Sandwiched boning channels were sewn through those 3 layers, then the fashion fabric was redesigned to look like a ribbon corset and was tacked down at center front and back seams; floating in all other places. Embellishment was hand-sewn.
Binding Made from bias strips of lamé and machine stitched on both front and back. Back of binding was not folded under but left raw; as it’s a knit it doesn’t fray.
Waist tape 1-inch wide waist tape, invisibly stitched between the two layers of ticking.
Modesty panel None.
Busk None; closed front.
Boning Only 12 bones including center front; all half-inch wide steels. Two at center front and one on each seam between panels; only a bone on the outer edge of the grommets, not the inner edge.
Grommets There are 22, 2-part size #X00 grommets (11 on each side), finished in gold to match the rest of the corset. This corset being the first time I hammered in grommets, the back of some of them are rough and catch a bit on the laces.
Laces Round nylon utility cord made for outdoor/sports use. It was loosely woven, frayed easily, slippery and didn’t hold bows very well.
Price The cost for materials was close to $70 because the only store that supplied steel bones near me charged me an arm and a leg for them. Otherwise this corset would have been closer to $35-$40 in supplies. If I were to remake this corset today and sell it, it would cost around $315 USD.
($225 underbust corset + $15 half-inch boning upgrade (I’d use spiral at seams) + $20 double (proper) coutil strength layer upgrade + $40 pattern modification + $15 hand-sewn embellishments)