A Quick Guide to Lacing Your Corset

You should know most corsets come with their laces already tied and with instructions on how to wear attached to it. This informs you how to maintain your piece, and of course, how to use it. So, you read the instructions, try it on and start wearing it happily forever and ever. Until your perfect world is shattered when you come back to reality and realize you will need to wash it. Things get complicated at once.

Washing may not be your only concern. Depending on what you do with them or your waist training method, sometimes you may even need to replace the laces. But fear not, help is here. *wink*

While several methods out there can help you get those laces back in place, this one seems to be the easiest. The first thing you should do is not to get intimidated. It might be hard to imagine how you will manage to get those laces back in the right place, but rest assured, it is possible… after all, stranger things have happened wink*

Before you wear your corset for the first time, remember to make sure the two sides of the garment match. This might sound silly, but sometimes corsets can have irregular eyelets so they lose symmetry. As you can probably imagine, this is not a good thing. Moreover, it is a manufacturing defect and you will need to ask for a replacement piece as soon as you realize the problem.

While it might also sound absurd, you should also know the top and the bottom of your piece. After all your hard work, you don’t want to suddenly realize the whole thing is on upside down. It can happen, even to the best of us.

When it comes to re-lacing, obviously, the first thing to do is remove the old laces. Don’t cut the laces. It is better to untie and pull them out. Next, place the corset on top of a table with the outer panels facing up. The top of the garment should be away from you, while the back portion is facing towards you. The edges with the eyelets need to be at the center about 2” apart.

Start by threading the lace (through the back) in the 2 eyelets at the top. Be careful about pulling the ends towards you as they should have the same length on each side. Keep the ends about 2-3 inches away from one another to make sure the corset is even.

Afterward, grab both ends and cross them over then downward to the second eyelet on the opposite side. When you are done with both sides, the first cross is completed (congratulations!) You now have laces on the underside; cross over each end up to the third eyelet, down and through all the way to the front. You should continue to thread over and under; when you are doing it, mark the eyelets on each side to match the center part of the garment. Stop right there.

At about the halfway point, the threaded laces should be under and through the eyelet above the pair at the midway. But this time, do not cross them over. Instead, thread it directly to the eyelet located below each side. It is best if you pull about 12 inches of the lacing on every side so you can have a loop on every side. The loops are important because you will need it to put the corset on.

You can now continue to crisscross the laces until the last eyelet. The ends of the laces should be about the same length. If this is not the case, just adjust them. Afterward, tie a knot on the ends (as close as you can) of the laces. Remember, the knots should be tight enough so they don’t fall apart when you cinch the garment… no doubt, you have some experience with knots wink*