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The Corsetry Retreat

The Corsetry Retreat events are held at the beautiful Skendleby Hall in Lincolnshire. Our upcoming events include a full schedule of workshops with experienced tutors, chance to examine original garments, as well as time to relax in the historic surroundings, meet with like-minded people, and unwind in the hall’s hot tub and sauna or in the games rooms.

Bookings now open for 4th to 8th November 2024. 14th to 18th March is Fully Booked.

Who Would Enjoy This?

Our retreats are aimed at people who have some experience of making corsets and want to develop their skills further, or people who are competent with clothes-making on a sewing machine and want to start to learn corsetry or stays making techniques. We will cover everything you need to know to leave The Corsetry Retreat equipped with all of the skills and techniques required to make a beautifully fitting corset. From measuring and drafting to perfect fit and finishing. 

Those of you who are more experienced may find that they want to start making a corset alongside the workshops, if you think this might be the case then please bring along the supplies and fashion fabric you would need. 

There will be 2 tutors on hand throughout the day support your learning and to help troubleshoot your existing projects so please bring along your problem children if you’d like advice on what’s gone wrong (don’t worry they don’t judge). 

A person wearing a blood red Stay and matching skirt. She has bright red eye makeup and short blonde hair.

“A fantastic weekend! Emma and Jenni were such knowledgeable and helpful tutors, and Niki and Chris made sure everything ran without a hitch. It was great to be around other creatives who were all engaged and excited with the course content.”

Heather head-shot. A Black and white image, with her looking towards the camera and smiling.

Heather, Graphic Designer

What’s Included.

Included in the price will be your room with a private bathroom, four evening meals, two experienced tutors on hand for guidance, and a swap table for the exchange of materials and embellishments. 

New for 2024, we will have Sarah Nicol, curator from The Symington Archive: held by Leicestershire Museum Collections, bringing us original corsets extant stays from their collections for you to examine up close as well as answer and of your questions on how they might have been constructed. 

You’ll also have use of the hall’s spa facilities 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. 

At the March 2023 Corsetry Retreat. A table with pattern drafting drawn on paper on it, and some scissors and glue.

Room Availability

  • The Penthouse at Skendleby Hall. A huge room at the front of the house with super-king sized four-poster bed and antique furniture.

    The Penthouse - Premium

    A huge room at the front of the house with super-king sized four-poster bed and antique furniture.

    The Penthouse details
  • The Guest Room at Skendleby Hall. A large twin room with Pink wallpaper and red sheets, antique furniture and great views outside of the double window.

    The Guest Room - Premium

    A large twin room with stunning views over the front garden to the countryside beyond.

    The Guest Room details
  • The Chapel bedroom at Skendleby Hall. The photograph shows a large double bedroom with four-poster bed as the main focus point in the room.

    The Chapel - Premium

    A large double in the old chapel of the main house, with stained glass windows and four-poster bed.

    The Chapel details
  • The Rose Room at Skendleby Hall. A beautiful cosy bedroom with a comfortable antique double bed and cream and dark green walls.

    The Rose Room - Premium

    A beautiful cosy bedroom in the main part of the house with a comfortable antique double bed.

    The Rose Room details
  • The Victorian Room at Skendleby Hall. A bright and airy double bedroom with king-sized bed and light green walls.

    The Victorian Room - Premium

    A bright and airy double bedroom on the ground floor with a king-sized bed.

    The Victorian Room details
  • The New Room at Skendleby Hall. A light and comfortable twin room not far from the main parlour. The wallpaper is very William Morris and is a light brown colour.

    The New Room - Premium

    A light and comfortable twin room with ensuite shower room, not far from the main parlour.

    The New Room details
  • Clocktower Bedroom 1 at Skendleby Hall. A large twin room with two single beds facing windows. The room has white walls with a brown strip at the top, and the bedsheets are also white. Curtains have thin flowers on them, as do the pillows.

    Clocktower Bedroom 1 - Premium

    A large twin room in the clocktower, with a shared kitchen and sitting room.

    Clocktower Bedroom 1 details
  • Clocktower Bedroom 2 at Skendleby Hall. A large double is in the middle of the room. It has a huge Oak headboard and ducks flying wallpaper.

    Clocktower Bedroom 2

    A double bedroom in the clocktower, with a shared kitchen and sitting room.

    Clocktower Bedroom 2 details
  • The Dressing Room at Skendleby Hall. A nicely appointed double room in the main house with a huge wall to wall wardrobe. The walls are cream and the bed has a Victorian style bottom to it.

    The Dressing Room

    A nicely appointed double room in the main house with adjacent private-use shower room.

    The Dressing Room details
  • The Loft Room at Skendleby Hall. A large room in the eaves, with a large double bed. The walls and sheets are white and cream.

    The Loft Room

    A large room on the second floor at the top of the old house with adjoining living room.

    The Loft Room details
  • The Triple Room at Skendleby Hall. A long room with three single beds in it next to each other. The beds have purple covers on them and there is a bright light in the ceiling.

    The Triple Room

    A long room with 3 single beds, located on the second floor in the eaves of the old house.

    The Triple Room details
  • The Yellow Room at Skendleby Hall. Disability-friendly room on the ground floor with king-sized bed and yellow walls, with a large painting of a dark night with stars out above the bed.

    The Yellow Room

    Disability-friendly room on the ground floor with king-sized bed and views toward Norman church.

    The Yellow Room details

Tutors - Emma Brackenbury - All Events

Emma Brackenbury is a highly experienced costume maker in the film and theatre industry specialising in technical and structured clothing including corsetry. Her film credits include Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Fantastic Beasts, Tulip Fever, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Currently she is a construction lecturer on the Costume with Textiles BA at Huddersfield University.

Emma Brackenbury looking to the left, wearing a black jumper. She is white with black hair that has a white streak at the front.

Tutors - Jennifer Garside - March & Nov '23

Jennifer Garside is a professional corset maker with over 25 years experience, 12 of those running her own specialist corsetry company, Wyte Phantom. She is particularly adept at creating corsets for the more curvy figure and has made corsets for opera singers, burlesque performers and models as well as private clients and weddings.

Jennifer Garside looking towards the camera. She is white with brown hair worn in two buns decorated with purple flowers, she is wearing purple beads around her forehead and neck.

Tutors - Elizabeth Moody - March '24

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.

Beth Moody looking to her right through a window and smiling. They are wearing a cream and lace dress and stood next to a cream curtain.

Tutors - Ruth Watkin - Nov '24 "Stays Edition"

Ruth has been working as a costume maker for over a decade, after training in Theatre Design at Nottingham Trent University. Where she has since frequently returned to, to teach on their Costume Design and Construction course as a principal lecturer. As a freelancer, she has been lucky enough to have had the chance to make costumes for many places including West End theatre shows and film productions for Netflix, HBO and Amazon Prime.

Ruth Watkin smiling at the camera. She is wearing a red bowtie in her black hair.

“Corsetry has always been my Mount Everest of crafting. Emma and Jenny went through every step clearly explaining the process and different skills to make a beautiful garment. The course was both technical and creative and held in such a beautiful setting. 10/10”

Dexter looking towards the camera with a grin. Black and white photo and they are wearing a black striped T-shirt.

Dexter Kidd, Social Worker / Drag Queen

Want to ask about booking, or just got a question?

Just drop us a message below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

    “I consider myself reasonably competent at Sewing, but never having made a corset before I decided to go to the retreat and pick up some new skills. I was not disappointed! I left the two-day retreat, understanding the basics of garment, drafting and construction with enough supplies to finish my own first corset.”

    Drea Lynch. A black and white image of her looking upwards towards the camera.

    Drea Lynch, Chartered Engineer

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