Late 18th Century Stays

So, like much of my costume wardrobe, my 18th century stays aren't fitting so well these days, so I decided to make a new pair. I've never tried making a later 18th century pair of stays, so I thought I'd try out JP Ryan's new half-boned stays' pattern (pictured above).

Unlike her fully boned stays, I've experienced some fitting issues with this pattern. I usually really like JP Ryan's patterns, but I've had some frustrations with this pattern. It might have actually been the same amount of work to scale up a pattern from one of my costume books. I had to redraft the pattern, shortening it by 2.5 inches, adding 4 inches in the bust, and shrinking the waist by 2 inches. I had to make two mock-ups - my edits made the pattern the correct proportions, but it was too large. Here's my first mock-up (clearly too big)
I forget sometimes that I'm very squishy. Here's the second mock-up...apparently still too big, even if my dress dummy fooled me:Luckily, I didn't want to make these stays meet in the back as the pattern is designed to do, so I just took the excess out of the final back pattern piece and was back in business.
Now I have to redraw all of the boning lines. This was painstaking work that took over an hour to get right, so I'm slightly frustrated. I'm also thinking the straps might be too short, but that's an easy fix and I have enough left-over fabric. You can barely make out the penciled in boning lines in the photo below:

Yes, I'm Still here, and Still Sewing

Just a quick update to let you know that I AM still sewing, but preparations for my sister's wedding have slowed my progress somewhat, and I had to get my sewing machine serviced which put me out of commission for two weeks. The day I got my sewing machine back I finished Caly's Halloween costume (yes, it is sickeningly adorable when she puts it on, and no, Caly does not like wearing it). No pictures of her in the outfit until Halloween though!
I am currently working on a new set of 18th century side hoops. As I mentioned in my last post, the reeds in my panniers broke. Rather than repair the old set, I'm remaking them out of a stronger and period accurate cotton ticking. I have the fabric cut out, and all the pattern markings have been transferred. I just need to sew them up and order hoop steel tips. I'm using the same pattern since I really do like the shape they give my dresses. I highly recommend JP Ryan's pattern.

Nips and Tucks

Just doing a bit more house-keeping while I have down time. Today, I shortened my fully boned 18th century corset so that it will be more comfortable. It provides a bit more of a firm conical shape then the blue satin corset that I've been using to fit my Robe Francaise. It was always too long after I finished it, so I opened up the top bias tape, measured down 1.5 inches, and then just cut the excess off and rebound it. I can't actually lace myself into this corset, but it looks like it's going to fit much better. You can see the original fit here.

18 Century Satin Corset

Here are pictures of my new and improved satin corset. The corset doesn't really constrict my waist - it just pushes my bust upwards and makes the front profile of the 18th century. It sits a bit high on the waist, but I can forsee wearing this corset a bit more then my JP Ryan corset. I think the JP Ryan corset needs to be shortened a bit...and the thought right now of taking off the hand-sew bias strip and removing all the bones from the corset is just a bit too daunting.

Another feature I like about this corset is the wooden busk in the front, and the fact that I can get in and out of it by myself. My JP Ryan corset is definitely a two person job!

Completed 18th Century Undergarments

Completed Stays and pocket hoops

I used JP Ryan's strapless stays and pocket hoops patter for these undergarments. I borrowed a victorian evening chemise from my civil war collection to go underneath everything. The stays were a true labor of love and took hours to complete: it is 100% boned. I used a combination of steel boning and wood reed. The eyelets were sewn by hand (through 3 very thick layers of fabric). You definitely will need a friend (or in my case a husband) to lace you into these very stiff stays.

A victorian corset (or a corset from any other era, for that matter) will NOT be a good substitute for this corset. My victorian corset creates curves at the waist. These stays flatten the torso into a trianular shape (and push the bust up). A word of caution: 18th century stays do not seem to be created with comfort in mind. Do not lace your stays up too tightly or your back will be hurting in less then ten minutes. 18th century stays were not meant to contract your waist or body in any way.

The pocket hoops were a much simpler project, and probably only took me about 2 hours. Very simple, and I LOVE the fact that they actually have pockets in them for carrying around a wallet, fan, etc. I can never figure out where to hide my wallet when I'm in costume, but that will not be a problem with this outfit.