1830's Day Dress: Stays
It is time for a pair of stays!
From the research I've done and talking to people online, it seems that during the 1830's the words 'stays' and 'corset' were used pretty interchangeably. I've decided to say stays for the pair I've made as they more closely resemble stays from previous decades compared to corsets from future decades.
I was quite excited to make these stays as for Christmas my mum had gotten me 'Stays & Corsets: Historical Patterns Translated for the Modern Body' by Mandy Barrington. This book has stays and corset pattern drafting instructions from 1735 to 1890. I followed the instructions to make the 1820's stays. From what I could see from some research I had done, the stays in the book look very similar to stays from the 1830s so I just decided to stick with the book.
I started out by drafting a basic female block using my measurements. The book is very in-depth with its measuring process which really helped to find the exact measurements required. Once you have a basic block, you use this to create any pair of stays or corset in this book. There's a lot of math that goes into drafting these patterns so have a calculator with you. It did take me about a day to draft the stays pattern. The book doesn't give you any instruction on plotting the boning channels and cording onto the patterns. I measured what they had on their pattern and tried my best to translate it onto my pattern. On their stays, they have some decorative stitching which I left off mine as I wasn't sure how they did it and didn't have enough fabric to remake the front panels if I messed it up.
The book doesn't give instruction on how to actually construct the garments, but luckily the Black Snail pattern that I used for the chemise also had instruction on stay construction. First was the bust and hip gussets. I have a growing secret love for gussets. They can be fiddly to put in sometimes but I love how they look and the functionality they offer. I then sewed the front panel to the back panels before joining the lining to the exterior fabric. I used the same fabric from both inside and outside. It's a soft cotton that I got some time last year and I have wanted to use it for an undergarment.
I deviated from the instructions when it came to the busk pocket. In the 1830s they used a thin piece of wood at the front of their stays which was removable. Many documents and surviving busks have engravements on them. These engravings ranging from flowers to landscapes to names. Whatever the owner wanted, they could have. I got a curved wooden busk from Red Threaded as I'm not very skilled in woodwork.
Anyway, back to the busk pocket. In the instructions, they want the busk pocket to open from the bottom and eyelets visible from the exterior of the garment. I wasn't so keen on this. As a fan of the Gentleman Jack intro, Anne Lister inserts her wooden busk from the top and has no visible exterior eyelets so I wanted mine to be the same. I flipped their instructions for the opening to be at the top but waited on doing the eyelets just yet.
Then came the cording. This was my first time ever using cording and it was definitely an adventure. I had invested in getting a cording foot for my sewing machine. This helped a ton to make sure I was sewing straight. The biggest issue I was having was that my machine was jamming. I did a lot of googling and asking other people I knew for help. The biggest response was that it was a tension issue. However, even after adjusting the tension as advised, it was still jamming. Luckily, my mum has a pretty fancy sewing machine so I started using her machine instead. I do think that I've figured out the issue and it is that my machine isn't winding the bobbin correctly so it gets caught on itself.
Sewing the shoulder straps, I was very concerned. The shoulder straps were very long and I was worried that I had measured them incorrectly. However, since wearing them, I find that while they are loose on my shoulders, it is a good thing as the gown sits right on the edge of my shoulders so I have to push the straps off my shoulders anyway. If the straps were tighter then I wouldn't have as much arm flexibility as they would hold my arms down when I moved them.
Metal eyelets were patented in 1823 so to save myself time, I ran with this and used them for the back closing. I did 16 eyelets on each side with each being roughly an inch apart. Eyelets are kind of awkward to put in but I think with each time I do them, I am getting better at it.
I covered the bottom edge with twill tape. I then inserted boning at the center back channels on either side of the eyelets. The top edge has drawstrings attached to make the bust fitting adjustable. I sewed these on before coving half the top edge with twill tape. I used my awl and hand sewed two eyelets for the drawstrings to come out of before covering the other half of the top edge with twill tape. I then made eyelets for the shoulder straps.
I found that the wooden busk popped out of the busk pocket when I moved. I later went back and did another hand-sewn eyelet at the top of the busk channel. I use the bust drawstrings through that hole to secure the wooden busk.
I quite enjoyed making these stays. While pattern drafting took a while, it was a really rewarding feeling knowing that this was made specifically for me. I think the fit is pretty good. If I did it again, I would probably reduce the center back as I don't have a space between the lacing. This could be because I might be a bit more squishy than the model the book uses or I miss read the back panel measurements or a number of other things. On the bright side, when it is fulled lace, even though the back panel's touch, it fits very well and is very comfortable. I find these stays much more comfortable than my 18th century stays. This is most likely due to the use of cording over boning.
I'll talk to you soon. Have a swell day!
-Maysie
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