New Transitional Stays

While doing research for my ensemble for the 1790s Tea, I was inspired by Festive Attyre's 1790s Transitional Stays, and decided to set about making my own.  First I needed a copy of Jill Salen's Corsets, which I ordered on Amazon.  Now that I have the book, I'm amazed that I've gone this long without it!  I can tell that it is going to be an invaluable resource, and I'm looking forward to delving into it even deeper.  

But I was on a deadline, so I got right into my planned project.  I wasn't confident in my ability to properly scale up the pattern, and I didn't really have time to mess around with trial and error.  So I took my copy of the book to Office Max and got them to enlarge it for me.  I added my seam allowances and cut out the pattern pieces.  Then I used one of Jill Salen's tips, which was to make a mockup out of felt.  I taped the bones (zip ties) in place with wide masking tape, to give me an idea of the support they would provide:  

I sewed some grommet tape to the center front pieces, along the line of the eyelets on the pattern.  Then I tried it on:

I was fully expecting to have to make significant alterations to make it fit me properly, but it was nearly perfect as-is!  The only thing I thought might be an issue was the fact that the front edges laced entirely closed.  I decided to take slightly larger seam allowances on each seam, to give myself a bit of space in the front.  Otherwise I kept the pattern unchanged.

I used some lightweight but firm cotton muslin from my stash that, honestly I don't know where I got it.  I think it was given to me, but I don't remember when or by whom.

I overlocked the raw edges and washed it in hot water to get any shrinkage out of the way.  It's a slightly different texture than the muslin I'm used to working with, but I thought it would work fine for this application.  It's thin, but still opaque, and has no stretch.

Because I simply copy/enlarged the pattern instead of drawing it to scale myself, I ran into one small problem when adding the seam allowances:

Two of the pieces overlapped, so I had to do some creative cutting and subsequent piecing to maintain the proper seam allowances:

I should note that I traced my seam allowances at 1/2" instead of my usual 5/8" - not on purpose.  I couldn't find my clear ruler, so I cut a section of the excess gridded paper at 5 spaces wide and used it to draw in my seam allowances, not realizing that it was marked in 10ths of an inch instead of 8ths.  I figured out my mistake in time (it just didn't look right - I have a pretty good eye for 5/8" by now) but I decided to keep it that way.  I marked all the pieces to indicate 1/2" seam allowance, so I don't forget in the future.

I used my favorite fabric marker to trace the stitching lines for the lower tabs:

And mark the eyelets:

Because the eyelets are supposed to be offset for spiral lacing, but only one side of the pattern is included, I marked only the top and bottom eyelets on the left side:

Then I flipped the pattern piece over and aligned the top and bottom eyelets with the ones I'd just marked, but upside down:

Then marked the middle ones.  It's not a huge difference, but since there aren't many eyelets I figured it could make a significant impact on they way it sits.

I cut out and assembled two layers of the same cotton muslin, and put them right sides together.  Because I wanted to give myself a slight gap at the front lacing, I stitched all the seams (except the shoulder straps) at 5/8" instead of the 1/2" seam allowance that was traced.  Adding up the extra 1/4" this would give me at each seam, I expected to end up with a 1" gap when finished.

I did all this sewing by machine, mainly to expedite things, but also because I'm much better at keeping an even seam allowance on the machine!  And I wanted to be really precise.

I stitched around the top and bottom edges, leaving the center front edges open as instructed in the book.

I did end up shortening the shoulder straps by 2", which was a suggestion from another costumer after I posted pictures of my mockup in a Facebook group for underbust transitional stays.

I turned the whole thing right side out and pressed it really well before prick-stitching along the outer edges by hand.  I also sewed all of the boning channels by hand, inserting them as I went from center back to center front.  I didn't really follow the instructions in the book, though I did read them!  And I think my end result is close enough to the original.  I used 100% cotton thread in a shade quite a bit darker than my fabric, but I didn't want to use white on the unbleached muslin.  It blended in really well on the tiny prickstitches, but became much more prominent on the eyelets:

But I'm happy with the look, overall.  Shockingly, I finished ALL of the hand-sewing on these before the event!  I had stopped stitching the edges about halfway through, in favor of getting all of the boning channels and eyelets done so it was wearable.  But I still had time after getting the rest of my ensemble done, so I was able to finish!  A real first for me.

I still need to iron away all of the fabric marker lines, but that's no big deal.

I haven't gotten pictures of me wearing them yet, so I'll do a separate post later.  I do have some pattern notes, for anyone who might be interested in making these.

1. The seams on the Side pieces are mislabeled.  I used the match points instead of going by what was printed on the gridded pattern.  Same with the shoulder straps.

2. The instructions given include all hand-sewing techniques, so if you want to be as historically accurate as possible you can follow them rigidly.  However, it's very easy to do the basic construction by machine, as I did, and still do the finishing work by hand to give the right "look."  Either way, this is a project that does not take very long!  At least, compared to other stays.

3. I did not leave my boning channels open at the top like the original, because I have no intention of removing them.  I used heavy-duty zip ties, which worked well and mimics whalebone.  I would not recommend using reed for these stays, as the bones are all spaced far apart from each other and therefore could easily break.  In my experience, reed boning is best for full-boned stays where there is quite literally strength in numbers.

Wearing notes:  These stays are incredibly comfortable!  And they would work great for maternity and/or nursing, which is great news if I end up having another kid!  (IF)

And with that, I'm crossing off "New Short Stays" from my To-Do list of the past three years!  :D

A New Bodiced Petticoat

I've been meaning to make a bright pink bodiced petticoat for over two years now, but I'm actually glad I waited this long.  My first two bodiced petticoats are fine, but they get uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time because the armscyes are too small.  I could probably fix this issue at some point in the future, but it may not be worth the trouble.  The other problem with these two is that they both fasten in the back, necessitating someone to help me get dressed.  Since my most-often-worn dress these days is a drawstring closure, this becomes annoying.  I have practiced enough that I can get into my stays all by myself, and the dress is super easy, so needing assistance for just the middle layer can be frustrating!

So I set out to find a pattern for a front-closing bodiced petticoat.  I didn't find one.  I searched Pinterest to see if such a thing even existed, and found this:

National Trust Collections

Good enough for me!

It looks like it functions as the interior of a bib-front or apron-front gown.  Should be easy enough to re-create.

I set about drafting a pattern.

I wish I had taken pictures of the draping process, but I wasn't thinking ahead.  Basically I put my first drawstring dress on my dress form, draped some muslin scraps over it, and drew the lines I wanted the bodice to have.  I gave it a much smaller center back piece than the original:

My back is slightly twisted here because I'm holding the camera over my shoulder. 

I really like the look of the tiny diamond back that you see in some Regency dresses, and I wanted to make a pattern that could also work for one in the future.  I'll have to figure out sleeves then, but that's a problem for another day.

After sewing together my mockup and trying it on for fit, I found that the armscye was gaping in the front on both sides.  (You can't really see it in the pictures.)  I consulted the reference image again, and saw that the shoulder strap was a separate piece that attached to the bodice at the front and back.  So I marked where the seam should go, and wrote notes on my mockup:

I cut the muslin in two at this line, and took the whole thing apart and traced it onto tissue paper.  I added a seam allowance at the neckline edge, tapered to nothing at the armscye to account for the gaping caused by excess fabric at this edge:

When I had all my pieces traced, I cut them from sturdy polished cotton.

I assembled the pieces and tried them on again.

This seam juncture is going to be tricky...

I was happy with the fit, so I went ahead and cut them again from my Pepto-pink cotton.  I assembled those pieces, but kept them apart at the side back seams.  I also unpicked the same seams on the white bodice, and put the two layers together right sides together.  Then I stitched around the neck edge and armscyes:

Looks super weird like this, I know.

After pressing, clipping seams, turning right side out, and pressing again, I completed the side back seams by clipping the seam allowances on the back pieces:

Turning them inside and pressing:

And inserting the side seam allowances in between the inner and outer layers:

I pinned these seams through all layers:

Then I prick-stitched through all layers by hand:

Stopping about an inch and a half from the lower edge, and stitching the white and pink layers separately from there to the bottom:

I cut the remainder of my fabric - about 2 2/3 yards - into two panels for the skirt.  The selvedge hadn't shrunk at all from washing, so I knew I could leave it as-is and not worry about finishing the long skirt seams.  However, I did cut one of the panels in two for the center front of the skirt.  So I did have to finish that one seam allowance.  I thought about just cutting a slit down from the top where I wanted the opening to be, but I like this way is easier to finish by machine.

I pleated the skirt back:

There was a LOT of width to take in at the top, so I stacked the pleats:

I actually followed the pleating diagram for one of the Regency dresses in the book An Agreeable Tyrant, and I love how it turned out!  I'll definitely use this pleating method again on a future gown.

I basted the pleats down with two rows of stitching, to keep them secure while attaching the skirt to the bodice:

There was a time when I would have skipped this "unnecessary" step, but I've learned that it gives me a much lower chance of having to redo parts of the seam.  And it's way fewer pins to potentially sew over:

As you can see, I attached the skirt to just the outer fabric of the bodice. 

After I'd attached the skirt back and sides, I hemmed the 14"-long slits in the skirt where the skirt front is attached.  The front panel itself is 22" wide at the hem, tapered to 18" wide at the top above the slit.  I tried on the petticoat at this point to check how the skirt was hanging.

The side front needed to come up a bit, which is unsurprising.  The skirt was cut and assembled as a straight tube, and the bodice was draped to fit my body.  So some small adjustments would naturally need to be made.

I folded up the top edge and pinned it in place to mark where it needed to sit.  I unpicked the seam for a few inches, and re-stitched it: 

Now I could finish the bodice!  I stitched the center front and bottom edge up to where the skirt starts by machine: 

After I turned these front tabs right side out, I turned up the rest of the lower edge of the lining and whipped it to the skirt seam allowance by hand. 

I also adjusted the front skirt panel so that it would hang level with the rest of the skirt: 

I turned the top edge down and pinned it where it looked right. 

Bonus shot of the finished back: 

I don't have good photos of this, but the top front edge is curved slightly so that it dips down in the center.  I turned in the raw edge and stitched it down by machine, tucking 1/4"-wide twill tape ties in at the same time.  Here's the finished petticoat on my dress form - it's wrinkled because it's been worn once and washed, but not ironed: 

I put two 1" tucks in the skirt, about four inches from the bottom. 

It's super comfortable to wear because of the large armscyes, and I love how full the skirt is at the back.

I didn't add any kind of fasteners to the front bodice.  I just pinned it closed when I wore it, and that's probably all I'll ever do.  

I just love how tiny the bodice back looks. 

And it's so easy to get into and out of!  

Overall, I'm very happy with the pattern, and I'm planning to make more!  In fact, I have a blue one in the works already. 

I don't have any photos of me in just the finished petticoat, but here are a couple where I'm wearing it under my Sheer Striped Gown: 

It's not supposed to be longer than my gown skirt, so I need to correct this.  But I like the way the pink softly shines through the sheer fabric.  Especially when the sun hits it: