Gusset

For engineering gussets, see gusset plate.

In sewing, a gusset is a triangular or square piece of fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress from tight-fitting clothing. Gussets were used at the shoulders, underarms, and hems of traditional shirts and chemises made of rectangular lengths of linen to shape the garments to the body.^[1]^[2]

Gussets are used in manufacturing of modern tights or pantyhose to add breadth at the crotch seam; these gussets are often made of breathable fabrics for hygiene when wearing pantyhose without panties.

The term "don't bust a gusset" comes from this sewing term; a gusset in this context was usually a piece of fabric sewn between two others to increase mobility or increase the size of the pant waist, the latter being more common in the early 1900s.

Gusset is also an alternate spelling of gousset, a component of late Medieval armor which functions similarly.

The term 'gusset' seems to have fallen into disuse in some quarters in recent times due to a perception that the word may contain sexual connotations. Thus the gusset on pantyhose was changed to the 'butterfly' as to represent the join of one side of the fabric to the other.

References

^ Burnham, Dorothy, Cut My Cote, Royal Ontario Museum, 1973.
^ Sturm, Mary Mark (1973). Guide to modern clothing. Webster Division, McGraw-Hill. {{cite book}}: Check |authorlink= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); External link in |authorlink= (help)

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[1] Burnham, Dorothy, Cut My Cote, Royal Ontario Museum, 1973.

[modernsewing-2] Sturm, Mary Mark (1973). Guide to modern clothing. Webster Division, McGraw-Hill. {{cite book}}: Check |authorlink= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); External link in |authorlink= (help)

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