1776 Half-Boned Stays!

Last week I finally finished stitching in the lining on my stays and now they are done!

And then - try on time. While I did make a few mock ups before cutting out the final stays, you never really know for sure how a corset will fit until it is all done and you can lace it up for real.

I was quite amazed at how much shaping these give, considering there only four pieces to the torso (two fronts and two backs). The direction of the boning certainly aids enormously in molding the torso to the proper shape. If I would make these again I'd go for a bit more waist reduction as these do not reduce all that much, but they are a vast improvement over my last stays.

Here is a view of the back. I did not have a cord that was long enough so the last few eyelets are unlaced.

The binding job did not come out very well. I think a thinner material and narrower binding would have helped give a neater appearance. But overall, I am really pleased with how these turned out. Now if only I had everything else I need to finish off a late 18th century impression. . .I think I should start with a proper shift! And petticoats. But I may wait til after the new baby is born before starting on that.

In the meantime I can work on a hobbit outfit for the next movie coming out in December. Though my son Judah did tell me that "you look like a Hobbit, Mommy" when I tried on the stays. The costumes from the The Hobbit do seem to reflect more of an 18th century look than the ones from Lord of the Rings.

Love,
Sarah

1776 Stays Progress - Boning and Binding

Not much new to report. I am very close to finishing the stays. I have all the vertical boning in and have started sewing on the binding. Before putting on the binding I tried the stays on and was dismayed to see there wasn't much lacing gap in the back. I picked apart the side seams, shaved off some width, and resewed them. Now there will be more of a gap and if the stays stretch a bit after wear, it won't be so big of a deal.

I made my binding of some plain blue cotton cloth. I contemplated using strips of leather cut from automotive cloths, as per the suggestion in Mara Riley's stay sewing booklet, but I decided I'd rather use something washable. The binding on the tabs has not gone smoothly, but it gets the job done.

Once I finish the binding all that is left to do is to add the horizontal bones, whip in the lining, and make the eyelets for the shoulder straps. It won't take long at all, but I'm just not motivated at the moment. We'll see how much I get done tomorrow.

Love,
Sarah

1776 Stays Progress - Sewing the Shell

Over the weekend I was able to get all the boning channels marked and sewn, the eyelets worked and the pieces sewn together. I was unsure whether or not I ought to cut the tabs at the bottom, but finally decided to do so since when I try these on, once the boning is in, the tabs will be necessary in order to flare out over the hips. The stays simply do not fit if the tabs are not cut. For now the bottom of the tabs are loosely whip stitched together to prevent them from fraying. Hopefully they will stay intact well enough until the binding is put on!

I first sewed the backs, following the original boning diagram as closely as possible. The horizontal bone will be put in later and attached to the inside of the stays before the lining is put in. I used a basic running stitch, as small as I could manage, to sew the channels.

Then I sewed the two front pieces together. This was the first time I made a seam like this and at first I was really worried about it pulling apart. But this resulted in a quite a sturdy, strong seam that I think will hold up very nicely! The seam allowances were pressed under, then the two pieces laid on top of each other and whip stitched together. Later I will whip stitch the seam allowances down to the interlining to keep them flat, before I sew in the lining.

Then I marked and sewed the channels in the front. This only took a little over a day to do, though my fingers were quite sore by the time the last channel was sewn in! As for the back I followed the boning diagram as closely as I could, though I did omit a few bones just because I did not have enough room to put them in. A bone will go down into each tab and most of the tabs will also have a short bone through the center. This will prevent the stays from digging in at the waist. There will also be two horizontal bones across the chest. One just below the neckline and the other going from armpit to armpit. These will be sewn in after the vertical bones are put in.

I then sewed the backs to the front using the same seam as I used for the center front, and here they are so far! Finally starting to look like stays!

The next thing to do is to cut the neckline down a tad (it seems stays of this era were quite low-cut, though the backs remained cut high) and put in the bones. Then try on the stays and fit the shoulder straps, sew them on, then binding. And finally, sewing and putting in the lining. Will they be done by the 30th? I hope so! I think I can do it!

Love,
Sarah

Starting my 1770's Stays

Well, it's not much, but it's a start! I finalized my pattern from my mock up, have the top 3 layers of my stays cut out and basted together and am ready to start sewing boning channels.

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. Homeschooling two 1st grade boys and doing pre-K with Malachi requires so much dedication, planning, patience and flexibility and has been so tiring lately. It is fun - delightful at times! - yet at other times it is frustrating and I feel like packing them all off to public school. This week has been a low point. It's a constant effort at times to just persevere and get through the daily school schedule, especially now, with being rather sick and very tired due to early pregnancy, and also caring for an absolutely delightful, beautiful and strong willed 14 month old baby girl who has decided lately that she must be held almost constantly and she has to empty the bookshelves, tear apart workbooks and eat crayons whenever I am not looking.

the pieces look a bit distorted because the trunk they are on has ridges on top.  They will look much better once boned and sewn together! The tabs will not be cut until after the boning is in and the edge is ready for binding.

So though I do not have much to show yet with these stays, I am very happy with what I have been able to do. Research and sewing is refreshing and helps me relax and refocus after an intense day with my children.

The pattern is the 1776 stays from Corsets and Crinolines. They are incredible simple in shape - just a front piece and a back piece, and a shoulder strap - and the boning gives the shape to the finished stays. I used my old pattern as a starting point but had to drastically change it to get the right look. These stays will have a much lower waistline (my last ones tabbed out at about rib level!) and a narrower torso with a more conical shape.

I decided to hand stitch these and to make visible boning channels. There are several extant examples of half boned stays with visible channels and I am considering quilting or doing some sort of fancy stitch in between the bones. I would really like to cord the empty spaces between the bones for additional support but I haven't been able to find an original example from this time period that combines both boning and cording - does anyone know if such a thing was done?

The inside two layers are white cotton/linen blend fabric repurposed from some curtains my mom gave me and the outer layer a dull green cotton with a woven stripe. Not fancy and perhaps not the best/most authentic fabric choice but I want to use what I already have and not have to purchase new materials. Since these are, after all, just for fun.

Next up is marking and sewing the boning channels. That may take awhile, though I am hopeful I can make good progress in the next few evenings. We are rewatching the PBS show Colonial House and its nice to have handwork to do while watching something on tv.

I really really really want to get these done by the 30th, but we'll see! Hopefully I will still fit into them by then! ;)

Love,
Sarah

J.P. Ryan 18th Century Strapless Stays

I found myself in nearly immediate need of a new set of 18th century stays. I furiously started cutting and sewing last night, after supper, and this afternoon finished these pink linen stays that I hope will suffice for our outing this weekend.

Since I was crunched for time, I whipped them up in the same manner of construction I use when making 1860's corsets. There are three layers; an outer layer of pink cotton (cut down from a skirt from Goodwill), an inner layer of white cotton sateen and a lining of canvas ticking. I ought to have used the canvas ticking for the inner layer, but oh well. The binding is of bias cut white cotton sateen. They are boned with zip ties.

These are made exactly to the J.P. Ryan pattern, with no changes whatsoever to the pattern pieces. I did make a mock up last night and pinned it together in the back. The length seemed fine, but it was a little big (I like a big gap in the back) but I figured that with 3 layers of fabric and boning in the final version, it would be a little smaller than the mock up anyway.

The finished version seems to fit. . .okay. . .but it is really not flattering in the least. It makes my waist bigger and my bust smaller. Is this really the look that I am going for? The pattern did say that this was a working garment, made for flexibility of movement and that the waist measure when wearing the stays will probably be larger than the waist measure without the stays. But it doesn't give at tidy trim waist and support the bosom in a high rounded shape like I am used to. In fact it seems to smush the bosom together for a monoboob effect. I am so used to gussets or shaped seams creating "cups" for the bust this is very strange to me and I don't know if I am doing something wrong, or if this is just the way it is supposed to be. Any 18th century experts have any advice or opinions?

On to draping the dress. . .hmmm. . .thinking about it now that I see these photos, I wonder if making a few more eyelets towards the bottom of the stays will help draw the waist in more, and make my bust feel more supported, since the stays would be pushing up off the hips more so then they are doing now?

Sarah

18th Century Stays

My project the last few weeks has been my first set of 18th century style stays. For those of you who follow my Historical Clothing blog, you may have read a bit about these on my dress diary page. I finally finished these on Saturday. I tried them on but wasn't quite sure if the fit was right so I asked a few experienced and knowledgeable ladies their opinions. As a result, I learned these will be best suitable for the late 18th century (which is what I wanted - yay!) since they are shorter in the waist than earlier 18th century stays. I also was encouraged to take in the front width a little. My original stays did not have a center front seam, but I was able to take in the width by slashing down the center front of all layers, removing the middle two bones and thus create a seam down the middle. This took in the width about 1 and 1/4" and the fit is much better now. On my next stays, I think I will make the back longer and maybe the sides a tad longer but I think these will work well for what I want to use them for now. They are very comfortable and supportive. In these pictures the colors show up a lot lighter than they really are, but it was the only way I could get them to show any detail.

They are made with instructions and tips being taken from all sorts of places - the Marquise instructions on making 18th century stays, Mara Riley's instructions on making 18th century stays, Cherry Dawsons stay making notes, JP Ryans strapless stays pattern instructions and illustrations and descriptions of extant stays in Nancy Bradfield's Costume in Detail.

They are made of two middle layers of cotton canvas, an outer layer of plum colored wool, a lining layer of pink linen and are bound all around with a golden brown colored taffeta. They are boned in the half-boned style, which, although using less bones than fully boned stays, are still much stiffer and unyielding than the most highly-boned Victorian corset that I've ever made!

The back lacing is made for spiral lacing which uses a single lace. The eyelets match at the top and bottom but are offset all the way down. This is different than the cross lacing I'm used to with Victorian style corsets but - I like it!

These pictures were taken last night of my adjusted stays - I don't really care to show the pictures of them before I created the center seam since they were so awful! :) I'm sorry they are blurry and dark, but I didn't feel like taking new pictures today and having to lace up those stays all by myself. That will take some getting used to! They are shown with my regency chemise since I haven't made a proper shift yet. I will be making my shift using the instructions in the JP Ryan Basic Women's Wardrobe pattern except I think I'll make a small cuff instead of using a drawstring in the sleeve. I particularly want to make three gowns to wear with these stays. One is a Caraco Jacket and petticoat from Janet Arnolds pattern, dated 1775-1785. The second is a round gown based on Janet Arnolds pattern for a polonaise, dated 1770-1785. I plan to use the bodice pieces but will make the skirt closed with a fall front opening instead of an open skirt.
The third is a chemise a la reine, which probably won't take place for a while since wearing white is just impractical for me at this point in my life. (children think Mommy's skirt is an always-available and accomodating napkin) But still, eventually I want to make one since I've wanted one for a long time. I'm thinking it would make a nice Easter dress. I don't have a picture of it, but you can see a beautiful reproduction that first inspired me to make one at Katherine's Dress Site.

Now, since the stays are done I really need to get out of the 18th century for a little while and focus on sewing for our upcoming Civil War reenactment season. What's more - I'm even in the mood for a little mid-19th century sewing. Next up is a wool underpetticoat for me, a civilian sack coat for David and some new trousers and a new hoop skirt since my old one has bit the dust. This time I'm making a covered hoop instead of a cage. The cage was nice but it just didn't hold up to heavy wear like I needed it to plus it was a tad bigger than I wanted (my new one will be in the 90's-ish range at the bottom). It lasted me about five or six seasons so I think I got my money's worth out of it. I would like to make a new corset too but it is not as necessary as some of the other things I need to make. The older two boys need new clothes since they have outgrown last years things, but Malachi can wear Judah's gowns and petticoats from last year. I don't want to make the boys things until just before the season starts since I don't know how much they may grow between then and now. Our first event is in Keokuk, Iowa at the end of April. Not really that far away if you think about it!

So much to do!

Love,

Sarah