Easy Crochet Underbust Corset

I've recently gotten into learning how to crochet after finding a few crochet hooks at the bottom of a misc. knitting bundle. I'm still very much a beginner, I definitely don't everything yet, but I know how to do a basic double crochet stitch and a blanket stitch, which is the only thing really needed for this project.

This is my second underbust corset so far, the first being of the gif above.

~ Patience

~ 1 (5mm) crochet hook

~ Yarn sewing needle

~ Bobby pins instead of sewing pins to position the bands

~ ribbon or extra yarn

~ Acrylic Yarn with your colour or colours of choice. ~ At least 300 yards of yarn or more to be safe if you're a big gal like me. (I thought Id be fine with just 230 yards but as you'll see with my lighter blue section in the back I ran out towards the end and had to undo half my stitches and add that in it. I would recommend accidently buying to much yarn then not enough in the color you need. I was using old yarn I bought years ago so I had to make do.)

The wonderful thing about this corset is that its pretty straight forward, if you're just making it for yourself its easily adjustable. If you want your corset to be shorter just start off with less stitches. For mine I made 30 slip knot stitch chain and then double crocheted the last two stitches into the hole of the 28 stitch that way each row should have 28 double stitches. now all you need to do for the belt is continue until you it can almost wrap around your waist. Make sure to count every few rows to make sure your rows have a consistency of 28 double stiches. The yarn will stretch a bit so it does not need to fully wrap around your waist naturally. With ought being fully stretched it should have two to three inches in-between the two ends of the corset depending on how tight you wish it to be. To make sure you like the tightness stretch the two ends of the corset to touch before you secure the open end of the crochet to a close.

VERY IMPORTANT ALWAYS when securing the end a crochet or adding on a second ball of yarn leave at least 3 to 4 inches of yarn at the end to be weaved into the last row before trimming. This corset should be Hand washed in cold water to avoid stretching but you still don't want those ends to start unraveling your whole project. This waist corset wont synch your waist like a normal corset with boning but it should be tight enough to show of your curves.

I'm a size 12-14 so my waist will most likely have a different mount of rows than yours but my corset had 54 rows. My waist/stomach being 41 inches wide and the corset completely un-stretched being 36 inches. For this project I wouldn't rely on exact number measurements though as it all depends on the stretch and your own preferences and testing it with you own body.

For the bands you'll want to start off with 9 crochet stiches double stitching the 8th and 9th into the 7th stitch like we did before with the corset. You should have 7 doubles stitches for each row. Keep crocheting until you've reached a desired length with the the band stretched criss-crossed across the back to where you prefer the front portion to positioned. Finish them off and weave the ends of the yarn into the edges.

gather your supplies for the next part .

This part is optional but it helps clean up the edge and adds a little pizazz. For this part you need to thread an enormous amount of your chosen yarn into your yarn needle and begin making a continuous blanket stitch along the edge. The blanket stitch will take awhile but its worth it. You may need to rethread your needle to continue the stitch as it requires a very long string.

This part probably the easiest part as all you need to is thread your ribbon or yarn through the natural openings in which ever pattern you prefer, I just used a simple shoelace criss-cross method.

I didn't have the color ribbon on hand that I wanted so for now I'm using the color yarn I used for the edge and looping a long chain of slip knot stiches around 1.5 meters.

To attach the bands I recomment positioning them before sewing with bobby pins so you can try it on and see if you like where the bands sit and them simply slip stich them on your corset and weave the ends into the edges again.

Now you're done and you can go show off your creation. I made this corset specifically for a nerdy pirate character I was working on.