Frank's Dinner Corset

It's easier to tackle if you break it down into 3 main elements; the corset, the chiffon blouse, and the overlay.

The corset:

Using the method described in my duct-tape pattern tutorial you can easily draft your own, custom corset pattern.  Once the torso is wrapped simply draw on your corset lines with the appropriate dip in the center front and the rounded off bottom.  Draw your intended seams and if you like, where the boning channels are.  When you prepare your pattern from these pieces don't forget to add a seam allowance on all of your pieces.  At some point I will try to post my actual pattern, but only in limited  sizes.

Velvets are flimsy and slippery to work with.  I recommend flat-lining your fabric  with cotton (or whatever you prefer) to stiffen the fabric.  I literally just spray-glue the back side of the fabric and lay it down on the lining fabric, thereafter treating the fabrics as one.

My seam allowances are stitched down to form channels for the boning, and the rest of the channels are created with single-fold bias tape.  The top and bottom edges are also finished with single-fold bias tape, hand stitched to the inside.  I opted for a side zipper - which won't change your seam allowance, but just be sure not to close up both side seams.  Also, you won't want to put boning against the zipper, but I do have boning on both sides of the eyelets in back.

The blouse:
You might get lucky on eBay or a thrift store, otherwise you can use any simple tunic pattern.  Simply adjust the neck hole to be an oval and have the blouse open in back.  I bind off my neck opening with narrow double-fold bias tape for  a clean edge.   Chiffon is another flimsy, pain-in-the-ass fabrics to work with.  For the back opening I just wrapped a 1" strip of the embroidered tulle around the edges.  I stitched down the soutache loops about 1" apart, catching them twice with the edge stitching on the tulle.

If you have a hard time finding black shoulder pads, just cover white ones with black fabric.

The hardest part is attaching the blouse to the corset - you'll definitely need a person or a dress form to get it lined up all the way around.  I pinned mine together about every 3" inches, then I hand-sewed it together from the inside along the top edge of the corset - right into the bias tape.

The overlay:
I've sometimes found silver on black lace at the store which works well, and I also sell the overlay as a separate piece.  If you're really dedicated you could actually hoop some tulle and sew the flowers yourself with metallic silver thread.

Like the blouse, it will be easier to line it up if it's on a person or dress form.  I apply it with a simple running stitch by hand all around the edge.  You could also secure it with a few discreet dabs of fabric glue - careful not to let the glue bleed through other layers below.

The 9-patch rhinestone buttons are fairly easy to find, but the 6-pointed stars and black-leaf sequins continue to elude me.  The rest of the rhinestones  I just apply with Jewel-glue.

Frank's Dinner Corset (Research)

The Anal Retentive Costume Site has posted amazing photos of the actual dinner corset they procured at the 25th anniversary convention in Vegas (hey, I was there!).  For the longest time  it was generally assumed the corset was black.  Turns out it's a dark purple paisley print - but the velvet doesn't reflect much light.  If you are going to use a paisley print, the darker the better.  Otherwise, black will still look nice on stage, and is much easier to find!

The corset looks to be 8 panels; 2 center front pieces, 2 side front, 2 side back and 2 center  back. The boning across the front is incorporated into the seams and supplemented in a fan-pattern across the four front panels.  The top has subtle curving with a slight dip in middle and a more pronounced dip across the bottom.

The back part  of the corset has 4 panels with boning in the seams, and an extra bone on the side back pieces at an angle.  8 sets of eyelets, flanked by more boning on each side of the eyelet channels.  The lacing looks pretty much like black shoelaces knotted at the bottom and tied at the top.

The blouse is chiffon with a wide, rounded neckline.  It has black shoulder pads and rips in the armpits and the left elbow.  You could probably modify a store-bought top for this purpose.

The back part of the chiffon blouse has, by my count, 11 small 2-hole clear buttons.  The button plackets are treated with the same embroidered mesh as the floral overlay.  The button loops are black  soutache, but elastic cording will also work (and fray less).  At the end of the scene it looks like the chiffon has ripped away from the  button placket.

The overlay is a series of large flowers embroidered with silver metallic thread.   The overlay begins over the right shoulder, crosses down the chest and ends under his left breast.

Scattered around the entire top (mostly the chiffon blouse) are rhinestones, 9-patch rhinestone  beads, some black "leaf shaped" sequins (hard to see, look on his right breast), and some 6-pointed star rhinestones (I have yet to ever find these).

Dinner Corset Overlay

This was commissioned, but I'll soon have just the embroidered overlay for Frank's dinner corset to purchase separately.  I used metallic silver thread on black tulle.  Because tulle is so holey I used a black tear-away stabilizer that is still visible under the petals, but once it's laid over the black dinner blouse & corset it will be completely invisible.  I recommend just whip-stitching it to the blouse by hand.

Frank's Dinner Corset

Parts of this are pretty straight forward, but I had to custom-design the embroidered overlay and corset which turned out to be a pretty extensive task!  I'm considering selling the overlay separate for people who want to use it on their existing dinner tops.

The chiffon base has shoulder pads and the is neck trimmed with narrow double-fold bias tape. The back opening has a tulle overlay before adding the buttons and corresponding elastic loops. The armpits and left elbow are "torn" (okay, I used scissors).

The embroidered overlay is metallic silver thread on black tulle, which was then applied to the bodice with spray adhesive and then tacked down by hand.

The corset was custom-drafted. It laces up the back but also features a side zipper. I cannibalized a velvet skirt for the fabric and flat-lined it with muslin. The eyelets in back were painted black.

Frank Embroidery

Here is the progress I've made on the embroidered piece of Frank's dinner corset. It's an overlay of netting, which as it turns out is not easy to embroider on. I've tried a variety of stabilizers and metallic thread combinations. The flower (chrysanthemum?) has 9 petals, and my design was copied from the flower located on the center front of the corset, where the velvet ends and the chiffon top begins. The Anal Retentive Costume List has some amazing photos of the corset for research.