So I guess this counts as another Stay Study post! But I’ve decided to drop that title since I failed miserably at keeping up with that series. It was supposed to be a study of stay patterns …
In preparation for making your Simplicity 8162 18th c. stays, you may wish to re-draw the boning pattern. The pattern comes with an accurate layout for half-boned stays. If you would like to deviate from this, perhaps to add more support or change to a fully
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View B of the Cassandra Stays has front & back lacing for maximum flexibility. However, it's very easy to make View B front-laced only.
Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my absence. Going back for my final year of university means I have almost no free time - let alone time to sew large, time consuming relics of the past! I will make an effort to start sewing again in a month or so, when my schedule is less hectic. In the meantime, I have a couple of finished pieces I still haven't gotten around to sharing! If you can recall from my construction post, I hated making these stockings. Knit fabric, a fiddly pattern and terrible embroidery does not make a happy Victoria. When I first tried them on I was terrified something would come apart or stretch in the wrong place and all my work would be ruined. I'm very pleased to say that they are quite robust, and despite the thin fabric they're warm too. The toes are cut on a slight angle, so there is a left stocking and a right stocking. I'm not sure how accurate this is, I haven't seen or found any sources talking about it. Since shoes weren't made with a left and a right, I would make an educated guess that stockings wouldn't have been either. If you have any more information on this don't hesitate to tell me! The fit is quite good, the measurements seem to be accurate even if the toe area wasn't when I was making them. Having a fitted ankle felt very different from the stretchy tubes of fabric we call stockings nowadays. My one fit complaint is that the tops are to big. My garters are great at holding them up, but the tops of the stockings ended up too big and sag down to my knees. I'll probably cheat and add some elastic to the inside to keep them up, as it's very annoying when you're trying to walk. The embroidered clocks are a pretty touch, although they go so far up I doubt you'd see a flash of them underneath all my petticoats. Maybe if I make a walking length dress in the future they'll have their time to shine. Either way i'm not going to stop monogramming various pieces of underwear. Despite how horrible these were to make, i'm happy I have them. It's the little details like this that I enjoy adding to my wardrobe, and I can avoid the classic costumer panic of "But what am I going to wear on my feet?!". I have all the things I need to bleach the remaining knit fabric and make one or two white pairs, which will hopefully be finished faster and with less tears than these. Speaking of footwear, i'll also be posting my finished 1770's cream shoes sometime in the near future, so keep checking back!
From the seller: Impressive ecru linen ladies stay or corset dating to the last half of the 18thc. Finely sewn tracks giving the silhouette a barrel front form, with leather trimmings. Back lacings and lined in linen. As found with wear to back edges and some loose stitching of the linen in the interior. Essential under garment for period dress, excellent candidate for collection. Measures 28" across mid section lying flat, stand 14" at the back and 12" in front. From Me: My guess is 1760's based on the style and the length of the stays.
Robe à la Française | c. 1760 This is a typical Rococo period women's dress, "robe à la française". The ensemble shown here consists of a gown, the petticoat much like what we would call a skirt...
Today I got the privilege to see the new exhibition at Nordiska Museet here in Stockholm. The exhibition is the museum's new, permanent installation of historical fashion. I have longed to see it for quite some time now, and was very excited now when the big day had arrived! I had understood that the exhibition was arranged so that rather than being a time-line of fashion, it would more or less pin-point three decades of fashion - the 1780's, the 1860's and the 1960's. This disappointed me a little (no high-waisted era?!?) but bits and pieces of other eras were included after all, so I decided to only enjoy myself, and to love what I saw! I really liked that they included clothing of the common people as well as the fashionable since it's not very documented, it added some depth. But enough talking - we want pictures, don't we? I'm afraid you have to accept them as they are; it's not easy to snap pictures through glass, especially not when there's a pesky blue light that's reflected in the glass on all the display cases along one certain wall! But here we go! Stays! One pair of child's stays and another pair for a woman. By pressing my face to the glass, I managed to study the stitches for the channels more closely, and suddenly I don't feel so bad about my own stitching any more! You may be able to see the stitches on the child's stays pretty well if you enlarge the photo, but the other pair didn't have the smallest, tightest stitches either! The stitches on these pocket hoops are terrible! Yay for lazy seamstresses from all ages! A lonely stomacher! Where did it's gown go? A well-off farmer with his pipe. A servant girl in rural clothing. A dozed-off Scanian peasant woman in her finest bling (see Anna's comment for some interesting bits)! This mannequin depicted a country clergyman's wife, who set the fashion example in rural areas. Buttons, buttons... With miniature paintings! A quilted garment, probably imported from France. Some assembly required. This gown was lovely in salmon pink. When you watched closely, the silk really resembled what we refer to as silk dupioni! A smooth one, but nevertheless. The man's suit in patterned velvet was fun to see, because I've only seen it in a B-W photo until now. People of the common classes in the late 18th century, dancing away... It was hard to get a good picture of this lovely gown... ...and even harder still to get good pictures of this gentleman. He's wearing the National Habit, or Swedish Habit. I love how this jacket has an asymmetrical, wrap-style closing! And the fabric! *** This was by no means a huge exhibition, but I only showed the 18th century stuff now. I has moar pictures. By the way, I have not forgotten about the give-away; there just hasn't been much time for working on it! When I can show some proof, the winner will be announced (but I don't know who it is yet myself!)
This set of stays is from an Italian collector of clothing from many time periods. Follow the link and you will see a number of items of interest from the 18th century onwards. These are some of the best photographs that I have seen online of an 1780s style pair of stays. Abiti Antichi The back is not laced properly, but you can still see the offset lacing holes and the very high back of this style of stays. She is an Italian collector, but we can't assume that these are Italian, but we can probably assume they are European. This side view gives a really good look at how those slanted channels and curved side seams shape the body. What you don't see is how narrow these boning channels actually are, having looked at many similar, I would estimate that the bones are no more than 5mm and could actually be less. Once again in this time period the outer fashion fabric is a plain shade of beige/brown cotton. The leather binding of the stays is now being replaced by linen or cotton tape. The fingers/tabs are more tooth like and less rounded than in earlier stays. The partial front lacing allows for some accommodation to round out the shape. There are two sets of lacing holes, one to actually draw in the stays and another for a decorative ribbon. The front is very narrow with the boning pattern drawing the bust in and the shoulder straps providing support. This is a very nice pair of later stays.
Cage crinoline of spring-steel hoops covered in linen, England, 1871
When it comes to costume making, it's been really quiet over here for the last couple of months. To be honest, I've lost motivation for creating anything but I tend to have these periods every now and then and they usually pass in some time so no worries, I'm just about to get back to sewing any time soon. Plans and patterns have been made but nothing much else, except for a ruffly cap. I also never got around to post pictures of my new pocket hoops and petticoats as promised after taking quick photos of them in December so I thought to post them up now - maybe blogging will give me the little boost of inspiration that I need to get back on sewing. So, here we have the pocket hoops. I actually had pocket hoops before these, too, but since they were made a long time ago as I was just starting with 18th century and sewing in general, the pockets were terrible: they would clung to my thighs and were made out of a too sheer fabric which caused the ends of the hoop steel to tear the fabric even if I had rounded the edges. As you can imagine, they were really uncomfortable. Anyway, these are the new pocket hoops. And then, the first petticoat. It turned out to be shorter than I intended but it does the job so I don't mind. And second petticoat which was made a year ago from an earlier garment... It seems the beginning of this post is almost a repetition from the post linked. I didn't remember I had just the same motivation issue in January 2012... And the next one would be the actual petticoat. I really like the width of these pocket hoops and the voluminousness they give to the petticoats.
Man's drawers of linen, France, 1750-75; 'TL' laundry mark in dark pink thread
Underclothes, mid 1700s
c.1770
From the seller: This elegant one piece silk gown dates to the late 1860’s, shortly after the Civil War. The fabric is a reversible or changeable silk taffeta in gold/light blue. Even after almost 150 years, it is still a head turner! The bodice is a mix of hand and treadle machine sewing and is fully lined with both white and brown polished cottons which are holding up well. The bodice retains the 8 original cream color silk/net buttons which close the center front. The sleeves feature shoulder caps of gathered silk and have been decorated at the cuffs with silk lace. The back is adorned with a large same silk bow at the waist which has been edged with cream color silk trim. The skirt section is almost entirely hand sewn and is lined at the hem with a band of polished cotton which goes up about 15 inches. All in all, a very striking piece which is in very solid condition, both silk and lining. There are no rips or tears and NO splitting or shattering of the silk. Sadly however there are some areas of discoloration which look to have been caused by water; these can be seen in our photos. There are about 6-7 of these areas which range in size from an inch in diameter to about 7” for the largest. The worst areas are near the hem. Despite these flaws, this gown still displays beautifully as can be seen in our photos and is a nice example of the transition period of the late 1860’s-early 1870’s. Please note that we do not endorse any attempt to wear garments of this great age and therefore provide the following measurements for reference purposes only. Bust 30”, Waist 24”, Front Length 53”, Back Length 69” and Hem Circumference of 176”. We are always happy to answer questions so please ask them before bidding. From Me: I think it's probably earlier than the seller claims. The sleeve style was popular during the Civil War. Probably more around 1863/1864. Also, if it were later, you'd expect to see the raised waistline.
From the seller: A gorgeous antique Victorian corset cover / pantaloons slip that's made on a lightweight white linen and beautifully detailed with wide scallop lace cuffs and a lace bodice. The waist has wide open eyelets to thread a ribbon thru to cinch the waist. I imagine that the bodice once had a drawstring around the neckline to hold it in place but there's none there now. There's tiny pearl button closures in the back. VINTAGE ~ ~ Victorian LABEL ~ ~~ ~ FABRIC ~ ~~ linen MEASUREMENTS ~ ~~ 32" length, 37" bust, free waist now CONDITION ~ ~ Excellent antique condition. From Me: I think the top would have had ribbon straps to hold it in place rather than a drawstring. This combinations is from the mid Edwardian era.
Woman's stays 1780s, British; Crimson silk damask, partially boned, back lacing
