I wanted to test boning as a way of adding a structural element to my garments; I brought 2 metres of covered and non-covered boning to experiment with to see what effects I could create. I did these tests over the Easter holidays, as I didn’t have my mannequin stand I wanted to do very quick tests to figure out how the boning works.

Fabric Choice

I tested using the covered boning and pinning it onto a piece of thick cotton fabric to create a tube shape, I experimented with wrapping it around which created an almost helter skelter look. The covered boning is easy to use because it has the fabric around the edge so you can sew or pin it directly onto the garment you are working on, I also found it strong enough to hold the shape but also flexible enough to be able to manipulate it into the shape you want. It worked well with this fabric because it was thick enough to be able to handle the weight of the boning, it didn’t pull or drag the fabric down at all. I also tested this boning method on a striped chiffon style material, this worked very differently than the previous one because the fabric is lightweight, therefore the boning didn’t produce a defined shape.  From these tests I can conclude that I can’t use light fabrics with the boning because it won’t be supportive enough.  

Another fabric I used with the boning was a ruffled stretch fabric; I created a simple ring in both ends of the fabric using the different types of boning. As soon as I started this test I knew it wasn’t going to work because of the stretch in the fabric, because of this the boning was weighing down the fabric and making it bouncy rather than creating a sturdy structure.

Channel or not Channel

My next test was using the non covered boning, when using this you have to sew a channel that the boning can then be pushed into. I pinned this in place and threaded the boning through to see how it works, I found it very effective. The channel created hides the boning, therefore disguising the structural support, this could be very useful when creating my final outcome as I could make something appear like it is supporting itself but unknown to others the boning is the support system inside. Also when comparing the covered and non covered boning I found the one without the fabric casing was stronger, it was harder to work with because it wanted to move against the shape I was trying to create, however once it was in place it held the shape very well.

I will definitely be including boning in my upcoming design ideas as I think it’s a really good from of adding structure to a fashion piece, I also like the look of leaving the boning exposed because it links to the look of the structural metal rods and lines that hold up the big top tent.