I have been wearing a long back brace which looks suspiciously like a Victorian Underbust.
I just got a new back brace which is solid plastic about 1/4 inch thick, wraps around my torso like one of those child's rings and is fastened with Velcro straps. It is so hot I want to go back to a cloth Corset. Do you suppose I could use the plastic one as a form?
Gwen
Best ask the orthopod for one of the old style, telling him/her what the problem is.
If a doctor prescribed it for a medical condition there may be a reason he wants you to wear the solid plastic. Were you comfortable in the old one? Was it doing what it was supposed to do for you? Do you feel less pain with the new one despite feeling over heated? Talk to your doctor before making changes. As to making a new corset/back brace.... the medical grade ones use much sturdier materials than what you are going to be able to find in a regular sewing store or even mail order specialty catalogs. I don't think you can use the new plastic one as a pattern for a fabric one, but you might be able to use your old fabric one as a pattern for a new fabric one...if you can find the right boning, or if you recycle the boning from the old one.
Rebecca
Have you thought about making a cotton lining to wear under the medical one?
Well, putting the back brace on your dress form while working on clothes to be worn over the back brace would definitely be a good idea, if you have a dress form, if you make clothes to be worn over the back brace, and if you can sew without your back brace on.
In response to the question asked, i.e. how to make a brace:
All depends, of course, on *why* you are wearing a back brace; I'm assuming that you know whether or not a given brace will have the desired effect. I presume that a fabric brace that you wear will do more good than a plastic brace in the closet.
As a stopgap, can you wear the brace over a linen shift, as re-enactors do? Those women cringe at stays made of cotton instead of linen -- I can't even *imagine* plastic!
If you can find a group of 18th-century re-enactors, they can give you a lot of help in designing a back brace -- I've often read comments that the "stays" of that era serve as back braces. And their primary purpose is supporting the breasts, so you also get out of wearing a polyester bra.
Wandering off on a tangent: I started making my own pull-over bras because I can't stand polyester next to the skin.
The good news is that with a cotton-interlock bra, I don't have wear a bra-rag to soak up my sweat.
The bad news is that a cotton bra gets wet just as fast as the bra-rags used to, so three bras are no longer enough -- and a garment that is, in essence, a double-front sleeveless T-shirt made of heavy interlock takes up a *lot* more space in a suitcase than a 16" unhemmed square of well-washed sheeting. For the first time, a suit of my underwear takes up more space than a suit of DH's underwear. And I think it would still be so if he hadn't given up undershirts -- the wide elastic at the bottom doesn't fold at all flat. If I have a little time after making new slacks for the trip, perhaps I'll try using three or four pieces of 1/4" elastic instead.
Joy Beeson
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.