Included in the price will be your room in the manor with ensuite bathroom, three meals a day including home cooked evening meals, and light refreshments. There will be a full schedule of workshops from two experienced tutors who will be on hand for guidance throughout the day, a gallery of corsetry and a swap table for the exchange of materials and embellishments.

New for January 2025 as part of our XL event we will also have a selection of exciting guest speakers offering a range of talks and demonstrations, from Victorian mourning fashions to fan lacing and much more.

You’ll also have use of the manor’s hot tub, extensive gardens and the communal areas for socialising.

In addition, we will provide all materials needed for the workshops including coutil, boning and busks, flossing threads and eyelets.

Emma is an experienced costume maker for film and theatre, working on productions such as Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Fantastic Beasts, Tulip Fever, and Artemis Fowl.

She trained at Huddersfield University studying her BA in costume with textiles and later her MA in creative pattern cutting.

Having a specific interest in structured garments and technical details including corsetry, she is happiest when lost in making beautiful creations. Her current hobbies include devising drafting methods for corsetry stays and cups, these hobbies then feed into the retreat syllabus.

Alongside her freelance work she works as a visiting lecturer at a variety of universities.

Elizabeth (Beth) Moody has over 14 years of corset making experience. She developed a love of period fashion as a child, playing with her mum’s Victorian dress collection, and was introduced to corsetry by fellow Corset Retreat organiser Niki. A hobby soon became an obsession with Beth turning professional in 2012. Since then, Beth has developed particular skills in plus size and fuller bust corsetry.

Michelle Barker has been studying 18th century costume since 2012, plotting patterns, recording sewing techniques and sampling replicas through a reproductive practice, all to gain a better understanding of how 18th century clothing worked. Understanding the layers behind the classic images found in portraiture is key and none more so than understanding stays. In her study of stays, Michelle has recorded patterns and construction techniques of over 30 pairs to date and has taken part in reproductive projects which focus on the silhouettes created by various types of stays.