Maternity Stays Done

 All done!  I suppose I could find something better to lace them with, but I needed to make sure they fit.  It's hard to believe I'm nearly half way through already.

The side slits are adjustable enough that I think I will be able to wear these stays through the spring, and beyond.

The linen is quite stretchy, and the fit is good.  They are weirdly comfortable.

Maternity Stays

Inspired in party by an article I read on Hyaline Prosaic I've been away from blogging for a bit, largely because I wasn't quite ready to announce the baby to the world.  I used the same pattern that I used on my pink silk stays, but with a few modifications.

I knew the heavy, 7.1 oz linen canvas from Fabrics-store.com would stretch, so I made sure the opening in the back would be a little wider than on the pink stays.  Also, after wearing the pink stays a few times, I realized I needed to cut down the armholes considerably.  This project benefited directly from mistakes made on the pink stays.

They are also much more flexible, as  I used the 1/4 inch wide cable ties for boning as opposed to the thicker ones on the pink stays.  Really, I just need something to shape the bust for this set.

My one serious regret here is the binding.  I used a cotton  twill that in retrospect, I just too thick.  I was worried about the bones poking through the binding if I used linen, but next time, I'm just using something thinner.

The first test-run for these stays will be the Midwinter Ball on January 31.  Hopefully it works.

Cutting Down the Armholes on 18th Century Stays

I kind of guessed and free-handed a pattern for my new set of 18th century stays from an older pair that didn't fit so well.  What I came out of it with was a general design that worked pretty well, but when I laced it up, I couldn't lower my arms all the way.  Oops.  Time to pick out the stitches on the top binding, re-cut a few bones, and fix the problem.

The bones are cable ties from Home Depot, and I like to melt the ends of them to keep them from wearing through the fabric on the stays.

There are a couple of decent articles out there on alternatives for boning.  Whale bone is obviously out of the question, and I find that cable ties are a cost effective, durable, and good-looking option.

Mode Hisorique has a good one: http://www.modehistorique.com/research/boningdescriptions.pdf

Jenny LaFleur goes into some detail on the wear here: http://www.jennylafleur.com/study/boning.htm

And a really cool article I found written by an author who has tried actual baleen, and was able to compare it to other options out there.  Her conclusion:  reproduction baleen is not the answer: http://stay-ingalive.blogspot.com/2011/05/battle-of-boning.html

After reading these, I feel a bit better about "cheating" and using cable ties.

Here we have a set of before and after shots.I cut out about an inch from the armhole.  Now to find some more of that pink silk to extend the binding.

Stays Update

Binding: All of the tabs had to be done by hand. This was tedious, time consuming and hard on my hands, but I still have not figured out how to do it on a sewing machine. I don't really consider this a commentary on my lack of skill. It's more 'authentic' this way. Yeah. That's it.

Buttonholes: Since her audience will likely see her stays during the educational show, I figured metal grommets would be a bit too anachronistic, so I went with the next best compromise: small machine stitched buttonholes. Hand bound lacing holes would take too much time for the price to stay reasonable.

June 16, 2010: After hours of painful hand binding, we have arrived at our long anticipated conclusion (of this part). Now I am ready to fit the jacket over the stays and linen shift. The shift is made of a heaver linen than I might have liked, but it's for a range of characters, some of whom are less than upper class.

I will be adapting the pattern from Reconstructing History for a 1630s look.

Linen Stays

What's light on one side, dark on the the other and holds the universe together? No, not the Force. Duct tape!

I was hired by a friend to make a 17th century wardrobe for a one woman show on witchcraft. Figuring I needed to stat from the foundation up, I started on a pair of stays that could work for both the 17th and 18th centuries out of natural un-dyed linen. To make a patter, I wrapped her and an old tshirt in duct tape.

This allowed me to get a great approximate shape of her torso and the position and length of the straps without actual pattern drafting skills. After I had the general shape I wanted, I stuck pins in to mark the natural waist and other landmarks, and cut it off of her. I then used this duct tape exoskeleton (combined with a bit of reference from the Simplicity 18th century underpinnings pattern) to make the actual stays.

Visit arachneattire.com/ginny.html for all the pictures!