Adding/Remove Bones

The word "bones" comes from the whalebone stays that were used in corsets many years ago. Bones of today are flexible spiral-wire (shown), or plastic-coated flat metal, or plain plastic devices that are attached to the girdle to keep the garment from rolling. Bones occupy long, narrow pouches or "Bone Casings" sewn to the inside of the girdle. Girdles that do not have a wide waistband MUST have bones installed strategically around the top edge to keep it from rolling. The improvement is dramatic. The left photo clearly shows the girdle rolling at the top because there are no bones in the back; there are two on the sides and two in the front but none in the back. The photo to the right was taken after bones were installed on the backside; need I point out the improvement? This is the same girdle that you will see below in the demonstration Adding Bones. Which type of bone to use? Use any type of bone you like in a zippered girdles, but use only spiral-wire bones in a pull-down girdle. The reason is simple, i.e. when you go to the bathroom to urinate, most men simply roll the girdle down to do their thing. Spiral-wire bones bend easily and facilitate this activity, however flat steel bones are very stiff and hardly bend at all. Trying to roll the girdle down with this type of bone could damage the girdle. Flat steel bones are best used in zippered girdles when more stiffness is desired.

Adding Bones

Adding bones to a girdle that does not have a waistband is one of the best things you can do for that girdle, and you can add as many bones as you like. This process is so easy and inexpensive that I removed the section Adding a Waistband, because the process of adding a waistband is complex and takes far more skill than adding a bone or two. In fact, Frishman's doesn't even offer that alteration which would be expensive if they did.

Supplies: You can use bones from your old girdles, or you can purchase them from a supplier. And for the casing, you can purchase single-fold Bias Tape from your local sewing/material shop, or you can buy Bone Casing from a supplier (preferred). Do not use Twill Tape. The best place that I've found (so far) to purchase bones and bone casing is the Corset Making Supplies web site. This place will sell you a few bones or a dozen bones, whereas, other places will only sell a dozen at a time. They will also sell you one or two yards of casing, while other places will only sell you 50 yards at a time: http://store.corsetmaking.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=CMS

Installing bones is relatively easy. My previous installment of this page spoke to the contrary, but that was due to my lack of experience with this alteration. I have since figured out the procedure and will share with you. The instructions and the photos are numbered and should correspond one to the other. I used white bone casing for the sake of visibility.

1. Turn the girdle inside out, lay it flat, then place the bone in position. Mark the bone position on the girdle (not shown).
2. Cut a piece of bone casing at least 3 inches longer than the bone you will be installing.
   
3. Turn the bone casing back on itself to form a pocket at the bottom.
4. Using a straight stitch, sew the casing in place so that the actual bone will rest about 1/4th of an inch down from the top of the girdle. Leave the top of the casing open. Hint: If you like, you can pin the casing in place before you start sewing, then remove the pins as you progress. You need a steady hand to run a straight stitch about 1/8th of an inch from the edge, hence a 3/4" casing is recommended.
5. Insert the bone in the casing and push it all the way down into the pocket you made. Now fold the top of the casing back on itself to form a pocket at the top, then sew the top shut. If this was done correctly, the bone should have about 1/4" of free space in the casing.

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Removing Bones

In some locations, such as on the outside of your hips, bones may be unnecessary, and they can be removed. All you have to do is make an incision at the very top of the bone's casing with a razor blade or very sharp knife, then slip the bone out.

Make sure you make the slit at the extreme top of the casing, because you may want to reinstall the bone at a later time. If you make the incision properly, it is a simple matter to reinsert the bone and then sew up the slit. If the slit is not at the very top, this process is difficult.

Bone casings	Small incision	Extract bone