Bodices are an easy addition to any Renaissance faire costume. They work well with everything from dresses, to tops and skirts. There’s a wide variety of options in terms of styles you can create. That’s why I wanted to show you how to make a Renaissance faire bodice in the many different styles. Creating these are quite simple since it just requires some basic sewing and boning. These can also often be done with fabric remnants or scraps since they require very little material. I can often make these with less than a yard of fabric and still have materials left over.
Most of these come from existing Renaissance costume sewing patterns I had.
How to Make a Renaissance Faire Bodice
Before diving into fancy styles that incorporate more advanced techniques, let’s look at some of the more basic bodices you can create.
Overbust Bodice
This bodice typically lays on top of your bust. It’s laced up in the front and uses ribbon to tie the straps to the front of the bodice as well. This gives it a perfect level of adjustment if you’re like me with a weight that fluctuates often. I was able to create this with just a yard of fabric, lacing and ribbons, grommets, boning and bias tape.
Underbust Bodice
This type of bodice will typically have the bodice be placed below the breasts. It’s in some ways similar to the overbust with just the reduced fabric at the top. I opted not to use bias tape for this specific bodice but you can use it at your discretion. It also doesn’t have ribbon ties.
Waist Cincher
This one may not seem like a bodice but it does slim the waist and hoists up the girls similar to one. Thus, I felt it’s also a common staple and worth discussing. This is an excellent project for scrap fabric as a yard or less is often enough.
Reversible Bodice
This is still a simple overbust bodice, however you can make them to be reversible and it doesn’t require much additional skills or materials besides fabric. It is somewhat different from the overbust I originally talked about since it doesn’t have ribbon ties for the straps.
How to Make a Renaissance Faire Styled Bodice
If you’re not satisfied in learning how to make a Renaissance faire bodice, try some of these more advanced styles. Be aware they will require more niche sewing patterns to create them due to the very unique styles.
Bodice with Ruffles
This uses the same overbust pattern from the reversible bodice but adds ruffles around the bottom to give it additional flair.
Cottagecore Bodice
This may not be as suited for the Renaissance faire, but it was too cute of a style to ignore.
Cropped Bodice with Tails
This specific bodice was also made to be reversible but the steps will not cover how I did that and instead focuses on strictly making a cropped bodice with tails.