1780 Rose Wool Stays
Jan. 18th, 2014 07:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
atherleisureI’ve never been quite thrilled with my Simplicity 18th century stays and have wanted a new pair for some time now. Since I want a 1780’s dress for the George Washington Ball in Williamsburg in March, 1780’s stays seemed appropriate.
Materials:
½ yd rose medium-weight wool (from Fabric.com)
¾ yd white cotton twill (from JoAnn’s)
½ yd bleached muslin (from JoAnn’s)
11 ¼ yd cable ties for boning (from Lowe’s)
6 3/8 yd ¼” cotton tape (from Burnley & Trowbridge)
1 yd 1/8” cotton tape (from Burnley & Trowbridge)
Patterns:
I used the pattern for c. 1780 stays on page 42 of Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh. Each seam line was taken in about 1/16”. The pattern was otherwise unaltered.
Construction:
These stays are not entirely hand-sewn, but they’re close. Only the boning channels and the seams in the lining are machine-sewn. Everything else was done by hand. The construction techniques are those outlined on Katherine’s Dress Page where she made a pair of stays from the same pattern.
The outer fabric is a medium-weight wool twill, the interlining is a medium-weight cotton twill, and the lining is bleached muslin. I had originally planned to bind the stays with ½” tape but in the end decided to go with bias tape made of the twill. I might have done better to find a lighter weight fabric for the binding, but I think it will be fine. I wanted something the bones wouldn’t rub through, even though I did stitch along the edges of the neck and waist edges before binding the stays. Because the stays are mostly sewn by hand, I used silk thread for a combination of strength and how nice it is to sew with…as long as the tail on the thread doesn’t start to ravel and knot around the rest of the thread. The cable ties seem like they’ll do well as boning – this was my first time using them – but I’ve read good things about them and have reasonably high expectations.
Making the stays was not too difficult, though somewhat time-consuming, until I came to the binding. Stitching the binding on the outside of the stays was rather difficult, and I wound up over-working something in my hand that made me have to stop sewing for a couple of days. I took it easier after that and, while the binding took a good deal longer than I had anticipated, I eventually finished.
Materials:
½ yd rose medium-weight wool (from Fabric.com)
¾ yd white cotton twill (from JoAnn’s)
½ yd bleached muslin (from JoAnn’s)
11 ¼ yd cable ties for boning (from Lowe’s)
6 3/8 yd ¼” cotton tape (from Burnley & Trowbridge)
1 yd 1/8” cotton tape (from Burnley & Trowbridge)
Patterns:
I used the pattern for c. 1780 stays on page 42 of Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh. Each seam line was taken in about 1/16”. The pattern was otherwise unaltered.
Construction:
These stays are not entirely hand-sewn, but they’re close. Only the boning channels and the seams in the lining are machine-sewn. Everything else was done by hand. The construction techniques are those outlined on Katherine’s Dress Page where she made a pair of stays from the same pattern.
The outer fabric is a medium-weight wool twill, the interlining is a medium-weight cotton twill, and the lining is bleached muslin. I had originally planned to bind the stays with ½” tape but in the end decided to go with bias tape made of the twill. I might have done better to find a lighter weight fabric for the binding, but I think it will be fine. I wanted something the bones wouldn’t rub through, even though I did stitch along the edges of the neck and waist edges before binding the stays. Because the stays are mostly sewn by hand, I used silk thread for a combination of strength and how nice it is to sew with…as long as the tail on the thread doesn’t start to ravel and knot around the rest of the thread. The cable ties seem like they’ll do well as boning – this was my first time using them – but I’ve read good things about them and have reasonably high expectations.
Making the stays was not too difficult, though somewhat time-consuming, until I came to the binding. Stitching the binding on the outside of the stays was rather difficult, and I wound up over-working something in my hand that made me have to stop sewing for a couple of days. I took it easier after that and, while the binding took a good deal longer than I had anticipated, I eventually finished.
