1800-1840's stays

I haven’t done much sewing during this summer at all as you may have noticed since this blog has been rather dead. This is also because I have never been much of a “look at me” type or boaster about what I do, I tend to forget to put things up in other places than facebook since I of course enjoy sharing things I do with friends, but are in no need to expand my viewers. Not that I don’t find it very flattering people want to see my work, it’s just that I expect no one will care so why bother, there are hundreds of other blogs to read right, and I am no Michelangelo of costuming heavens know, but for now lets make a little post for those who are interested.

I have done one quite big thing, and that is a pair of stays for approximately the first half of the 19^th century. I know the stays change styles during this long period but the overall look of them is quite the same and since I hate making undergarments I wanted to do a neutral pair that works for different styles of dresses but without fail. I ended up using Norah Waugh’s pattern for a late 1820’s pair of stays(or corset or whatever it was called, don’t remember when you are supposed to start saying corset instead of stays, haha) as a base, and then did some changes here and there, like for example I made a straight back instead of a little bend and so on.

They ended up very well I must say, and I am sooooo proud of myself for not cheating out early like I usually do with these things! I made all the decoration all the way and hand sewn eyelets(!), I even made a proper lining for the whole thing!

They became a little too big though over the hips but I find that not so disturbing and a minimum problem since it don’t affect the acquired figure at all. And perhaps the bust cups ended up a bit to low and small, but it still works, the shift does the rest of the work of supporting. So overall I am very very pleased!

The busk of juniper is made by my talented dad, by hand, of a tree that stood on our own back yard before. It smells really nice, and works a bit as perfume in the garment, we will have to see for how long though the smell will stay.

The inside before lining and binding. It is made out of creame coloured cotton satin for the outer layer,  two layers of light linen and the lining is plain cotton.