Boning a Bodice

Boning holds a fitted bodice or corset rigid enough that it keeps its shape independent of the body underneath — the whole reason a well-boned bodice doesn't wrinkle or collapse the way an unboned one would under the same fit. The bones themselves sit inside sewn fabric channels (casings), usually placed along seamlines and darts where the garment is already being pulled taut, rather than scattered arbitrarily across the fabric.

The channel has to be sized exactly to the boning, not roughly — too loose and the bone shifts and pokes through the fabric at the ends; too tight and you can't get it in at all, or it distorts the seam. I always finish the top and bottom of every channel with a bias-bound edge or a fold, and I round or cap every bone end before it goes in. A flat-cut steel bone end will, without fail, eventually work its way through fabric and skin both if you skip that step.

How I do it:

1. Sew boning channels along the seam allowances and dart legs of the bodice, sized to the width of the boning being used.
2. Finish the raw top and bottom edges of each channel so they won't fray once the garment is worn and washed.
3. Cut boning to length, leaving a small margin below the finished channel length, and cap or round every cut end.
4. Insert each bone into its channel and close the open end of the channel to hold it in place.