the official 1780 stays photograph

While I sort out the elastic issues for the corselet I thought I'd use the time to take better pictures of the garments I've made. Here is a much (much!) better photograph of Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines 1780 stays. 

Even I can find nothing to complain about. 

1780 stays properly laced

Here they are! 

Look at how the neckline becomes square when the stays are properly laced. Neat. The shoulder straps stayed in place, though they meet the back of the stays at an awkward angle.

The center back edges are pretty parallel, which makes me happy. The back armscye is a bit snug, which does not. The top back edge could have been a bit lower, and the shoulder straps a bit shorter. But now I have something more accurate to go on for the next pair of stays, rather than just guessing by flopping the straps back and looking over my shoulder in a mirror. Here's a view from the side.

Not bad. 

For the record, I felt very secure in these stays. I wore them for about 7 hours, and other than my ribs becoming sore at my back near the end of that time, there were no problems. I couldn't lift my arms, but way-back-when a lady wearing stays like this would have had servants doing the lifting for her. And I could not take a deep breath, there will be no desert hikes in these stays. To roughly approximate (very roughly) the late 18th century silhouette I wore the stays over a wide-hipped dress, and under that I wore a 1950's crinoline. Not a square dance shaped one, but a long Dior-esque one that's flatter across the front, with the fullness on the sides. A friend laced me in, we took these pictures, then went to lunch. So I wouldn't be a spectacle, I tossed an embroidered tank top on over the stays. As we were walking home a man stepped out of a thrift store, pointed at me, and said, "Eighteenth century! European!"  so I guess the rough approximation worked. 

the need for servants

It's impossible to lace these stays up alone! The spiral lacing at the back can not be tied by oneself, neither can the back tying shoulder straps. Live and learn. Here's a photo of the stays being worn, albeit with the shoulder straps loose and the back laced as much as I could by twisting and looking in a mirror while pulling the ribbon.

Not bad. I could use some panniers to even out the hips, but that project will have to wait. I'll take side and back views, and give a full fit report, when I wrangle a friend into properly lacing me in. My biggest thought is thank goodness I bumped the neckline up 1 1/2 inches.

1780 stays done!

The last stitch was taken and knotted at 6 pm yesterday evening. 

And here they are from the inside.

I thought I shaped the seam allowances so all the ends would have been tucked under the binding, like they are along the top edge, but clearly I wasn't as precise as I should have been. But I do like the converging stitch lines on the center panel. I'll lace it up an photograph it on this weekend. In the meantime, the statistics. 

2/3 yard - cotton Toile

2/3 yard - lightweight denim

2/3 yard - cotton batiste

3 1/2 spools - thread

32 - 3/16" grommets

15 2/3 yards - 2.5mm basket reed

10 2/3 yards - 1" bias trim

7 yards - 1/4" cotton satin ribbon

number of seams picked out - 6

almost there

This is the last picture of the in stays in progress.

The next post they'll be finished. I swear.

in the tabs

I was overly optimistic. There was no crazy weekend sewing, just a steady three additional hours. 

I'm still sewing the front of the binding on, then stitching the back side down separately. On the front of the stays the width of the binding around the edge is roughly the same as the width of the binding along the seams. It's wider in the back. If I was going to attach both at one time I would have to make them the same width. Next time. 

one weekend more?

I may be a bit optimistic in thinking that if I stitch like crazy I can finish the binding this weekend. 

I have to stay optimistic. I have been working on these stays for almost three months. Three months. I reminded myself that in 1780 a servant would have been sewing in a cold room with crummy light so I really shouldn't complain. Just keep stitching.

small stitches

Still working on the binding. I hit the tabs, and after sewing the binding around one I decided I'm only going around each of those things once. My pseudo backstitching the bias to the stays, then stitching it down separately on the other side, is probably the most labor intensive way of finishing. So I'm leaving the tabs for now and started sewing the other side of the binding down. Here's the inside view.

That looks so sloppy to me. No matter. Here it is from the right side. 

And here you can see the binding pinned in place and the reed I added at the center back poking out near the top.

The center back trim is finished. The reed feels secure in the bias, it only wiggled a bit at one spot, so I think it will add the strength intended. I would have much more completed if I hadn't taken an evening off to pattern a dress. I had to though. I was going blind focusing on those tiny stitches. 

skull & crossbones

Two more hours of hand sewing binding and I've arrived at the tabs. Progress, but not photo worthy progress. Did I mention it was slow going? In the meantime I thought I'd show you the happiest skull and crossbones ever.

My son wanted to join in on embroidery fun so I gave him a piece of leftover adia cloth from the summer corset and told him to draw something to stitch. I never would have come up with something so cool. 

3 hours, 45 minutes of progress

It's slow going.

I keep telling myself they way to get better, and quicker, at hand sewing, is to hand sew.

a plan for strengthening the back edge

Who am I kidding? A single reed down the center back is going to give, I don't really need to try the stays on the stays to find that out. So the binding that will run around the edges will also go along the center back, and I'll lay another reed in there to strengthen that edge. I placed the 1 inch bias trim along the edge on the face of the stays and stitched it down right against the reed in the center back channel.

Yep, the binding will all be sewn on by hand. I don't want to chance snapping reeds when wrestling the stays under the sewing machine needle. I thought I was using a back stitch, but realized I'm not. The diagram in my copy of The Complete Book of Embroidery and Embroidery Stitches, by Catherine Christopher, written in 1948,  clearly shows the needle goes back into a spot it earlier came out of. 

Oops. I think my stitch will still be strong enough though. Here are the stitches from the other side.

The reed will be laid in like this.

When I fold the bias over and stitch it down it should look like this.

The binding needs to cover every edge around the stays. I'm going to time how long it takes to do this. The first leg, starting at the bottom cornet of the center back and going just around the top corner, took about an hour and a half. Let's hope I pick up speed. 

reed in

The reeds are in. 

The bowed shape magically happened when the horizontal boning was inserted. Here is a view of the neckline from another angle.

The center front is almost 4 inches out from the seam at the underarm. That really helps make that nice conical shape. Here's a shot from above.

The channels along the seams with the blue bias binding have one reed in them, as do the horizontal ones across the bust. With both mock-ups I had difficulty getting the horizontal boning in as the fabric tightened with the curve, and decided I wasn't going to fight it with the finished piece. The channels at the center back also have one reed each. I didn't calculate the space the seam allowance would take up and I kept breaking them there. Eventually, I gave up trying to force two in. I'll have to try the stays on and lace them up to see if they'll be strong enough. If they warp too much, or snap, I'll have to use something else for boning. All other channels have two reeds per channel. They were all straightened, except for the ones running horizontally across the bust, those were left curved. 

Time to start binding the edges. 

seams finished and more grommets

The seams have all been covered and the basting removed.

Before the reeds go back in I realized the grommets for the shoulder straps needed to be inserted. After looking at the grommet setter I thought I had figured out why the grommets where coming out all torn up. The base was ratty, so I purchased a new grommet setting kit. The base on the left is the old one, on the right is the new.

And here are the grommets set with the new equipment.

Still ragged! Filing the edges won't take that long, but it's disheartening. And I still have the last couple to put on the straps. I have to find a better grommet solution before the next corset.

continuing with seam reinforcement

Back to work on the stays. Once the thin binding strips were basted straddling the seam lines I sewed right up against the edge of the trim.

Then the demin seam allowance was trimmed.

Here's a close up of the finished seam from the inside.

And from the outside.

Now back to inserting the reeds. Again.

seam reinforcement

I hate having to undo work. But I realized that I need to reinforce the plain seams so they don't rip out under stress, and I that it should be done before the reeds go in. So I pulled out the reeds near the seams, pressed the seam allowances open, made thin bias tape, and am basting it along the seams.

Once it's all basted on I'll sew down each side and the tape will help take the stress of the seam. I love how when making corsets, and stays, things that at first appear decorative are really structural. Like thin ribbon along seams.

reed prep

Before the reeds are inserted they are straightened by steaming with an iron.

Then the ends are sanded to remove sharp edges.

Here is a before and after shot.

Does that image remind anyone else of Constructivist art? The Museum of Modern Art has a great online exhibit, The Russian Avant-Garde Book 1910-1934, that has some cool Constructivist graphic design. I'm no Rodchenko, but maybe you can see what I'm talking about.

reed breaking solved

Steam! That the trick! Steaming the stays relaxes the fabric just enough so the reeds slide in easier. It's still snug, but I can slide them all the way to the last 1/4 inch, then guide that last bit in by pushing with my trusty needle nose pliers.

I don't grab the end, just butt the pliers up against it and carefully push, applying pressure with my fingers to guide it in. The reeds are all measured and trimmed so there is just over 1/4 inch space at the edge to allow for binding.

I'm so happy. I'd hit that point that comes in every project where momentum is lost and it seems it will take forever to complete. The reed situation was not helping. I feel like I'm back on track though. Hooray.

mundane stay making tasks

The loose threads are all being tucked away while I avoid dealing with the reeds. I just threaded them through a needle and pulled them into the nearest channel so the thread goes in the same direction the reeds will go when inserted. I don't want to chance the reeds catching on the threads and pulling them, or jamming them in the channel where there are several knotted ends tucked.

Here's a bit from the interior.

Now back to the stupid reeds.

this is what it sounds like when doves cry

I've had nothing but reed problems. 

While mulling over the tucking in of the threads now or later, I thought I'd start inserting the reeds. I'm having trouble, they keep snapping. I'll get a reed almost all of the way in, then snap it with just over a half inch to go. It's getting very frustrating.

starting to look like stays

All the grommets are filed and the pieces are together.

There are channels right against the seam lines on all the pieces. When I sewed those channels I sewed the side next to the seam just inside the 3/8 seam allowance line, then when I sewed the seams connecting the pieces I put the needle just outside that outer channel.

I guess I could have just sewn the pieces together and then sewn those channels, but I didn't. Now the question is do I insert boning then tuck the threads away, or do I tuck them away before I slide the reed in? Maybe it doesn't make a difference, but I'm sure it does. Anyone with more experience know if it's preferable to do one before the other?