Let's talk garment structuring theory
I'm making a pleated skirt today. What does this look like and why? Since this is a blog about binders, I understand if this feels like an irrelevant post for you, but if you comfortably can, stick with me on this one.
For starters, I have already knit an elastic waistband.
Something I like about doing this (and perhaps this says more about the tension I use while knitting than specific properties of the waistband) is that when I cast off thin bands like this, they tend to curve like I would need a waist band to in order to sit properly at the waist. It also adds a little give for gathered tops and bottoms, allowing me to be intentional about shaping different parts of the body.
Pleated skirts are all about creating volume. You fold the pleats deeper or shallower to build more fabric and fullness into it, allowing people to create the impression of a narrow waist and wide hips, regardless of the presence of such.
This is because when you want to make something appear smaller (in the case of a skirt, perhaps the waistline) then you don't restrict that area. You add to the places immediately above and below. In doing so, you create the impression of smallness.
So how does this play into binder construction? Well, our goal in this moment is to make the chest look smaller and flatter. Compression is an obvious way to do this, but on its own, it is less likely to visibly "rescale" or "reshape" the area as well as if, for example, one "added volume" to the shoulders and waist, and "reduced volume" at the hips. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, reducing the visible impact of breast tissue may go better when you are highlighting compression of the breast and hip/belly tissue while "padding out" the shoulders and waist. This is sort of the inverse of how you create the impression of an hourglass figure! Compress the waist, add volume to the bust and hip.
The most interesting experiment, for me, will be learning how to add volume to the waist, as this can't just be done with looser clothes, it will need to be structured in, and the waist isn't necessarily a common place people do this, so I may need to play around more with pattern drafting and construction to find the abdominal equivalent of 80s shoulder pads lol