Battle of the Stays: Contestant #3 Late 18th Century

I started with this pair as I was waiting for both the synthetic whalebone and the JP Ryan stays pattern to arrive in the mail.  This pattern only has 5 pieces total – one front, two sides, two backs.  For 18th century stays that is very minimal.  Only 4 seams!  I decided to leave the seam allowances in and bone each piece before sewing together by machine.  Here is the front with boning channels drawn in, similar to the picture on the pattern envelope:

Front with boning channels drawn in - ready for (annoying) sewing stint.

Front with boning channels drawn in – ready for (annoying) sewing stint.

I have not done horizontal boning channels this way before but I read about it on other blogs, and it worked very well for me.  Instead of adding the horizontal bones in a third layer of fabric, you just don’t sew over the little square areas where the bones overlap.  Then you can insert both the vertical and horizontal bones between the two pieces of fabric.  It does make for a lot of starting and stopping though.  Here is the front with the boning channels sewn.  See all of the loose thread ends from stopping and starting?

Front with boning channels sewn and bones inserted.

Front with boning channels sewn and bones inserted.

No worries – those threads will be hidden by the silk cover, which gets basted on right before assembly.

Now for the sides.  It is very important to make sure there is at least one bone extending into each tab:

Sides

The back has to be done in a different sequence since the center back seam on each side is sewn and turned.  I sandwiched the silk cover between the 2 canvas pieces and seamed them together, turned, and pressed with the silk cover on the outside.  The two center back boning channels with the lacing eyelets between will be sewn through the cover fabric as well.  I flipped the cover up to so the one channel next to the side back seam though.

Backs - inside out to show the side back boning channel.

Backs – inside out to show the side back boning channel.

At this point I basted the silk cover pieces to the sides and front, and then seamed them all together.  I did a quick try on and they do fit!  However I didn’t reinforce the seams before I tried it on, and one seam started to rip, so I didn’t get any pictures.  I will not try them on again until I finish binding them.  But here are the stays assembled with the top binding of petersham ribbon applied:

Late 18th Century Stays - front and back

Late 18th Century Stays – front and back

Note: the metal eyelets are NOT period correct.  To be 100% accurate it should have hand bound eyelets.  I decided to use them in this case, since I do not expect to ever wear these stays without a gown or jacket over them.

The Battle of the Stays: The Battle Plan

OK to make a long story short, I have quit dieting.  So it is now necessary to make a new 18th century wardrobe that fits me at my current size, which will (hopefully) be the size I will remain for the foreseeable future.

Also since I now do a lot of costuming events that are NOT music related, I don’t need to wear stays with elastic in the sides all the time.  I have a great pair of modified stays I made a couple years ago using the JP Ryan fully boned strapless stays pattern.

JP Ryan Strapless Stays Pattern

JP Ryan Strapless Stays Pattern

I used power net for one of the side back panels.  When I play flute or sing with our musical groups I cannot get enough air in regular stays so I developed these expanding ones for that application.  Believe it or not I still get a 2 inch waist reduction!

I have also purchased a couple ready made modern corsets and have learned a lot through this adventure.  The corset makers seem to agree that a four inch waist reduction is about the maximum you can get with the 18th century design.  If I can pull that off, I can still squeeze into a couple of my older gowns with some slight alterations.

I seem to be on an endless quest for better corsets and stays, so I decided to do something crazy: make FOUR pairs of stays to see how the various patterns available on the market work for me.  Keep in mind that some of these styles may work better for some figure types than others, so this is not the final verdict on any of these patterns.  I am a US size 12-14 and somewhat apple shaped so it really is only useful as a study for this figure type.  Here are the competitors:

Larkin and Smith Front and Back Lacing Stays

Larkin and Smith Front and Back Lacing Stays

Larkin and Smith Front and Back Lacing Stays

Contestant # 1  I have to admit I am really excited about this pattern.  It comes with a large booklet with extremely detailed instructions on how to assemble them in an authentic fashion.  The pattern comes with separate pieces for the left and right side, which I didn’t use as I didn’t feel like making the same alterations to each pattern piece twice.  You just have to remember to flip over each piece so you end up with both sides (as it turns out, it didn’t need much in the way of alterations anyway).  I can see how the separate left and right pieces would be useful for someone who hasn’t made 18th century stays before.  I am going to follow her method and see how it works.  The other thing I like about this pattern is that the side seams are curved near the waistline just above where the tabs begin – I think this will result in a better overall shape and less stress on the tabs.  The separate stomacher means these stays have much more adaptability in terms of fit.  This pair will be covered in red silk taffeta, bound in the same fabric and laced with black satin ribbon.  I am not sure what I will use to cover the seams.  Maybe self fabric, or maybe black ribbon or braid.

I am going to experiment with a new boning material – synthetic whalebone.  I have not personally had great results with cane – it just adds too much thickness. Steel boning on a fully boned stay is VERY HEAVY.  Plastic zip ties are also a bit thick and tend to meld into one shape and stay that way forevermore, which is great if that happens to be the shape you want, and not so great otherwise.  This new product says it can be reshaped with heat.  So we’ll see how it does!

Here is an original stay that represents the shape I think this pair will have:

Philadelphia Museum of Art - Stays 1725 -1750

Philadelphia Museum of Art – Stays 1725 -1750

Reconstructing History Front and Back Lacing Stays

RH Stays_

Contestant #2: is the pair in the upper left corner in red – a front lacing stay with shoulder straps.  While admittedly it is similar to the Larkin and Smith pattern, the pattern pieces are somewhat different in shape.  I will admit I laid awake half a night trying to decide if I should make these lace over the stomacher or lace up the middle.  In the end I went with the stomacher due to the ease of adjusting the fit that this design offers.  They will be covered in pink silk taffeta and bound in white petersham ribbon, and will lace in the front with white satin ribbon.  Seams will be covered in narrow white grosgrain ribbon.  I will construct this pair in the same manner as the Larkin & Smith pattern and make it fully boned with the same synthetic whalebone.  If it turns out looking anything like this (only with fewer tabs) I will weep with joy:

Metropolitan Museum of Art Corset, 1770s

Metropolitan Museum of Art Corset, 1770s

I lengthened the entire pattern to create more of this shape.

I have not heard much about Reconstructing History in general, but they offer a lot of neat stuff you can’t find anywhere else (like mantuas).  This stay pattern has many different options – you can do this pair of stays as lacing over the stomacher, lacing closed in front, or lacing in the back only.  Also there are the wide front options, which brings me to contestant number three:

Reconstructing History Wide Front Stays

RH Stays_

Contestant #3: Now I’m looking at the pink stays in the lower left side of this pattern.  This option comes with the tabs or without, and is supposed to create a wider front to go with 1780’s and 1790’s styles, which I could really use!  I will definitely use the shoulder straps as this style seems to need the extra support.  This style is very different from the other three – in addition to having the wide front, it only has 3 pieces: the front, the side, and the back.  The historical notes (which are aplenty and very good) explain that late in the century they figured out that the shaping comes more from the direction of the boning and less from how many pieces are used, so the pattern complexity decreased.  I had to do a fair amount of altering on both Reconstructing History patterns but the styles are so cool looking I have high hopes!  This stay will be covered in white silk and bound with white petersham ribbon – indeed if they turn out good, I will be wearing them under my white chemise a la reine.  Since there are only 3 pieces on each side, I left the seam allowance in and will sew them together after the individual pieces are boned.  Since it is half boned the bones will be 1/4″ steel.  Here is an original stays that appear to have this wide front:

Mccord Museums, Costume, 18Th Century, Catevix Corsetri, 1785 1790

Mccord Museums, Costume, 18Th Century, Catevix Corsetri, 1785 1790

JP Ryan Half Boned Stays

JP Ryan Half Boned Stays

JP Ryan Half Boned Stays

Contestant #4: A relative newcomer to the market, I really like the looks of these stays.  They will be back fastening only since I want to keep the horizontal boning unaltered.  As this is a good candidate for wearing under late 18th century gowns that tend to be made from lighter fabrics, they will be made from white domestic coutil and boned with 1/4″ steel boning, 1/4″ spiral steel if any of those channels end up curved.  The binding will be 3/4″ white petersham ribbon (coutil is too tough to make decent binding).  Here is an original with the shape I am hoping for:

 

English Stays (1770-1790), made from red silk damask, Victoria and Albert Museum.

English Stays (1770-1790), made from red silk damask, Victoria and Albert Museum.

I can’t help but notice the similarity between this pair and Contestant 3.  I have found the drawing on the front of the pattern is not always an accurate representation of how they turn out.  Hence the need to have a battle in the first place!

Pink Thing Debut and Postmortem

Pink Thing had a debut at Tavern Night at the Depreciation Lands Museum, and I wore it again to Fort Ligonier Days.  Overall I think it turned out great.

Postmortem analysis: add a strip of boning down the inside center front to keep it smoothly fastened and deflate the Georgian bum pad by about 1/3.

Inside the tavern at Tavern Night, Depreciation Lands Museum, Hampton Township, PA

Inside the tavern at Tavern Night, Depreciation Lands Museum, Hampton Township, PA

The back of Pink Thing, in the Tavern at DLM. My curls have fallen out and I think I need to deflate this bum pad just a tad.

The back of Pink Thing, in the Tavern at DLM. My curls have fallen out and I think I need to deflate this bum pad just a tad.

In the garden at Depreciation Lands Museum, Hampton Township PA with my husband Bill in his silver brocade waistcoat.

In the garden at Depreciation Lands Museum, Hampton Township PA with my husband Bill in his silver brocade waistcoat.

Pink Thing, with a better cap, in Bill's teaching room before I left for Fort Ligonier Days.

Pink Thing, with a better cap, in Bill’s teaching room before I left for Fort Ligonier Days.

Pink Round Gown Front

The original I copied for comparison.

18th Century Round Gown: Pink Thing Construction

I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized – to my horror – that the DLM Tavern Night event is THIS WEEKEND.  As in, 2 days from now.  Ahhhhhh!  So last night I pulled a marathon and got Pink Thing sewn together.

The bodice went together quickly since I invested a lot of time in fitting the pattern mockup:

Pink Thing's bodice on the dressform, which is too small for it.

Pink Thing’s bodice on the dress form, which is too small.  It is too small because I am too fat.

Next pleat the skirt.  I had to piece it together somewhat from the larger parts of its previous incarnation’s skirt.  It proved to be an advantage in the front, as it conveniently left me two seams to use to make the drop front.  The drop front allows you to put the gown on.  The ties on the drop front are wrapped around back and tied in front, holding the apron front up.  Then the bodice is fasted closed which hides the apron front:

Put On 1 Put On

The ties are tucked under the waistband, but I left them out in the photo to show how the whole thing works.  The image on top shows how the apron front is attached to the rest of the skirt.

Fastened Closed

Fastened closed with ties tucked inside waistband

At this point I have to stop and thank one of my favorite vintage sewing tools, the Clinton Pleat Maker:

The Clinton Pleat Maker

The Clinton Pleat Maker

This awesome tool allows you to make lots of even pleats quickly – just stick it in the fabric, turn, and viola!  Pleat!  The legs are adjustable to allow you to set the pleat depth, and there is a measuring gauge so you can keep the space between the pleats consistent.  They are usually available on Ebay.  They have been out of production for a long time so look under vintage sewing tools.  Every time someone blogs about them there is a run on the bank, so to speak, so be patient.

The pleat maker in action

The pleat maker in action

Given that the event is days away, I don’t have time to make a new fichu and sleeve ruffles.  So I will wear a cotton net fichu I already have.  For the sleeves I turned to my stash of cheap-ass but decent looking lace.  I have not had good experiences using antique lace and fine fabrics for decorative elements than hang from sleeves.  It gets caught on things and dragged through the guacamole in the buffet line.  Some jobs are just better suited for cheap lace.

So here it is, ready to go – as much as it is going to be:

Ready for Saturday

Ready for Saturday

Too Small Dummy is wearing correct underpinnings to help the skirt stand out – a Georgian bum, a corded petticoat, and a silk over petticoat.  In the 18th century there was a large market for fake rumps!

The Georgian Bum Shop

The Georgian Bum Shop

 

I like big butts and I cannot lie!

I like big butts and I cannot lie!

I used this example as a model to copy, from Two Nerdy History Girls:

Reproduction of late 18th century bum pads.

Reproduction of late 18th century bum pads.

Stay tuned for the event report, complete with root cause analysis of any wardrobe malfunctions!

Late 18th Century Round Gown: Pink Thing Planning

Since this year’s goal is to shrink the UFO (UnFinished Outfit) pile, I thought I needed to do something with the pink damask.  I bought it on Ebay years ago and began to cut it out into a robe a la francaise.  Problem #1: I was thin back then.  I tried to alter it – not!  It was so small it wouldn’t even fit across the back!  Time to re-cut this into something else.  There is not enough fabric for a robe and petticoat, as I discovered back then.  Why not make a round gown!  Round gowns were made with a continuous skirt with an apron front instead of the robe and petticoat worn throughout most of the 18th century.  On my Pinterest board I’d saved two damask round gowns from various museum collections.  This green one is my favorite, but unfortunately I have not been able to find any silk damask in this color:

Green Round Gown from Met Museum

Green Round Gown from Met Museum

There is also a pink one from Museum at FIT, which is a good choice given I have pink damask piled on the cutting board:

Pink Round Gown Front

Pink Round Gown Back

And here is another one that once belonged to Martha Washington.  It is part of the First Ladies display at the Smithsonian.  I have seen this display in person twice and it is wonderful:

Martha Washington's Pink Damask Gown Circa 1780

Martha Washington’s Pink Damask Gown Circa 1780

The pink FIT is the primary design, although I am not crazy about those white undersleeves.  I prefer Martha Washington’s, so I will use those as a guide for the sleeve trim and fichu.

Once I got cutting I found I had plenty of fabric to recut as a round gown.  I used the JP Ryan robe a l’anglaise pattern.  Fitting it was much harder than I remember, but after a couple nights of swearing and re-cutting I had it fitted, and copied the mockup onto Pattern Ease for future use.

Looking at this fabric again I am glad I am not using it with a design that is earlier in the 18th century, as is the case with the JP Ryan Pet-en-l’air pattern I started back in my skinny days.  This fabric is very neoclassical and much better suited to late 18th century.

Pink Damask fabric with neoclassical motifs

Pink Damask fabric with neoclassical motifs

Since I bought it so long ago and it is was old then, I don’t know the exact fiber content.  I did a burn test on it and there are no synthetics.  I suspect it is a blend of linen and silk, with a small chance of rayon so this will definitely need dress shields (old rayon reacts in very bad ways with sweat).  I can iron it on the highest setting and it is perfectly happy, although it smells a bit dusty when heated.

Pink Thing is now cut out – will try to get it together to wear to Tavern Night at the Depreciation Lands Museum.