Here’s a few photos of what I’ve been up to every evening now for the last week-
I’m making two sets of half-boned 18th century stays. Without them, you just don’t get the correct “look” in the clothing. Full-boned stays would have meant no space between the canes, I left about 1/2 inch between these.
The canes used to “bone” the stays can be seen poking out on either end of the top and bottom since they have to be fitted again before I make their final trimming. They came rolled up so they still have a curve to them. I’m “pressing” them flat as time goes by with a lot of weight piled on when I’m not working on them. Here’s the underside showing the boning tunnels and the inner lining of canvas.
Here’s the same stays looking at the front. You can barely see the hand worked lacing holes along the edge. They didn’t use metal grommets back then, but worked each hole with thread-kinda like a button hole.
Now, here’s my stays- made from brown linen. They will be visible when I’m wearing this garb. I have not worked the lacing holes yet on mine, or finished the edges.
Here’s my “sark” that will be worn under the stays. Ribbons will lace the cuffs together. You can see the pile of stuff pressing the stays on the ironing board behind the door.
This is the front bodice lining/mock-up of the Robe a l’Anglaise gown I’m making for a friend.
And here’s the back, it has really pretty lines, I think. She will have to try this on, so I can make any needed adjustments before I cut out the
actual fabric.
So that’s it up to tonight. I don’t work Veteran’s Day or the day after so I’m hoping to really make a dint in the plie of material in my sewing room soon.
No. It will be fitted again and I’ll trim off any “bones” that are not comfortable to a length at is comfortable. I wouldn’t wear it if it was painful. The women of the day worked in these stays so they could not be too confining. Unlike Victorian corsets, they were not designed to compress the waist.
Real bones? What kind of bones?
Whale baleen was one of the materials used originally for stays/corsets.Obviously that is no longer an option I’m glad to say. During my research, I also found that even broom straw or reed were tied together in little bundles and shoved into the boning channels to stiffen the stays. Another material was cane like I am using. It’s much easier to work with than the steel bones I used on the Victorian garb last year. I also discovered that plastic cable ties are a great substitute when very light boning is required.
Oh, and country folk did not consider stays to be “underwear”.
The 18th century Robe a’l’Anglaise is done! Yaaayyyyy. A week before deadline. I am happy. Now I get to work on my own garb…
I finished the bodice last night.
Today I pleated the skirt- wow that was a lot of material. This shows one-half pleated and one not just to visualize how much material this thing had in it. It had to pleat down to 30" in length.
Then I had to take out part of the stitching on the bodice lower edge to attach the skirt.
Here’s the finished front-
and back-
This will be worn over the chemise, stays, and a rust colored petticoat(skirt) which will show in front. The neckline will be filled in with a scarf since this is for church and not formal evening wear.
I’ll get pictures of her in this get-up on the day of the whoop-ee- a week from tomorrow. She’s taken this stuff home now to do the hemming and edging her stays.
I just finished making the holes in my stays to tie on the straps of mine.
It is done except I’ll have to do some adjustments to these straps I’m sure.
Those bones are sharp and quiet painful- could easily be a great weapon…
