How To Use Lacing Tape

Our lacing tape is made of a strip of interfaced woven nylon that has eyelets set in it, the tape is very stable and strong. The eyelets are evenly spaced and uniformly set but they are not set with washers. This limits their strength and over time they can begin to pull free from the fabric. I have used the lacing tape in a corset I wear for demonstration and the eyelets are beginning to pull away from the fabric on the inside, the damage is not great and the corset can still be used without concern. It has been worn on maybe a dozen occasions and I do lace it very snuggly and wear it all day.

Lacing tape can be used instead of setting grommets in bodices and even corsets that will see only light wear such as for eveningwear or bridal use. Lacing tape is not for "tight lacing". Lacing tape is a great time saver when making corset mock-ups. Baste it into the mock-up so that you can lace it up to check the fit. Simply remove the lacing tape from the mock-up when you are done and you can use it for another mock-up later. A mock-up is a practice garment made from scrap fabric and one should always be made to test fit a corset before cutting into the real fabric. Doing this will greatly limit potentially costly mistakes.

The end result of using lacing tape should look much like this.

The bone casing is "sandwiched" in between the two layers of coutil down the center back seam (or whatever other seam you are using it in).

To accomplish this you need to stitch the lacing tape to one layer of the coutil first.

Notice how the lacing tape is placed on the the coutil seam edge. The holes are facing inwards and the open edge runs parallel with the raw edge of seam (center back.). You will want to be sure that the front side of the holes is laying against the right side of the outside layer of fabric. The front of the holes has a nicer finish and this is the side you want exposed.

Stitch the lacing tape to the right side of one layer of fabric using a zipper foot to get close to the holes. There is stitching on the lacing tape and you can use this as a guide if you wish.

Take your second piece of fabric and with right sides together stitch along the same line, still using a zipper foot. The will secure your lacing tape between the two layers of fabric.

Press the fabric away from the lacing tape to expose it. This will also get the lacing tape into the desired position.

This is what the end will look like

Stitch all layers into place, about 3/8" (10mm) away from the seam. You should be catching all layers and this will further secure the lacing tape in place. The distance of this stitching from the seam is important as it creates a channel for a bone to be slid into. This bone helps to stabilize the eyelets when under pressure due to lacing. You now have three rows of stitching securing the lacing tape.

You may need to pry an eyelet off in order to finish the bottom or top edge, this can be done with needle nose pliers. The end of the lacing tape should be even with the end of the fabric and it will get bound along with the edge of the garment.