When you buy a continuous roll of boning you have the freedom to cut your pieces of boning to exactly the right length, as opposed to just rounding to the nearest half inch.You can work on your project according to your own time frame, you don’t have to know ahead of time exactly what sizes you will be using. If you make alterations in your patterns, you can cut the boning to the right size as you need it. You can also use smaller or longer pieces than are available pre-cut and tipped.
Cutting spiral steel boning: You will need a to use a specialty boning cutter. The blade is short, so it applies enough torque to go through the multiple steel strands in the spiral. There is a safety clasp to keep your cutters tidy in your tool bin.
Use a marker to write directly on the spiral steel boning, or wrap a piece of scotch or masking tape around the boning and mark the length. The blade for the cutters is short, so you may need to cut it from both directions to get all the way through at the right length. Once you have cut the boning you will need to apply boning tips or dip the cut edges in Plasti-Dip. *If you don’t tip the edges you will increase your risk of the sharp steel weakening your casings and fabrics. The ends could push through the fabric and be dangerous.
There is a complete tutorial here on tipping your newly cut boning.
~Happy Corseting, Amy Delicious
