So over the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed that our regular herringbone cotton coutil fabric feels a bit different - a bit softer, a lot softer actually.

First of all PANIC NOT!  This is not a bad thing. The thread count and quality of the fabric is still the same. The sizing has changed - what is 'sizing'? I hear you ask...

Size is the glue product which is put onto the coutil fabric during the finishing process to make the material stiff and therefore suitable for corsetry.  In the past, to be honest, I think the fabric has been oversized which has resulted in a really cardboard like feel to the fabric.  However, this over-sizing did have benefits too  because it meant that you could dye the white herringbone with ease and the fabric would remain firm even after several washing cycles. 

Now, we have a softer product but no less strong and certainly still the best fabric to use for making a corset.

If you do wish to dye the coutil, you can still do so but will need to use starch in order to get a crisp result. 

The new softer herringbone corsetry coutil allows you much more flexibility especially when it comes to fusing other fabrics to it (ie: silk);  before you would end up with a really stiff and bulky cardboard like fabric which would permenantly crease if you weren't careful.  With the softer base, this will not happen.

For tips on fusing, click HERE