bone casings. Seams that are pressed open are a bit of a hot topic in corsetry, but for a piece that cinches only gently, they work fine (and I have also seen them work brilliantly on tight-lacing corsets). Figure 11: The seams are pressed open, either as you go along or once they are all stitched. Stitch all remaining seams in the same manner. Figure 12 shows the corset from the inside with all of the seams stitched except the right-hand CB panel. You can see the waist-tape (currently unattached) running into the left-hand CB seam. This allows for a tidy finish to the interior of the corset. Figure 12: All seams but one stitched, showing the placement of the waist-tape. At this stage I like to stitch the seam allowances down (figure 13), catching the waist tape as I go. Figure 13: Stitching the seam allowances open and anchoring the waist-tape simultaneously. Once the waist-tape is anchored at each seam, you can stitch the final CB panel in place. Simply catch the waist-tape between the layers as you stitch the seam (figure 14), press it open, and stitch the allowances down as previously (figure 15). Figure 16 shows the interior at this stage. Exterior casings We have stitched our seams to the outside and now we need to create and attach casings for the bones to slip into. Firstly, I cut a couple of strips of broche out of my leftovers "on the bias" (ie diagonally to the edges