Sabrina

I think I finally have a workable pattern for my Regency stays. I changed out the bust cup for gussets on one side of my stays and made the bust cup smaller, then I looked in the mirror a lot to compare. The gussets definitely have a lot more lift. With the cups, you just sort of sit in it, while the gussets push things up. It was visibly different. I wanted to take pictures, but I couldn't get the centre front to stay supported with the boning I had masking taped in there and having that support CF really makes a difference. I totally just guesstimated the size and shape of the bust gussets and they worked fine. (The joys of experience!) Each gusset has one straight side and one more rounded side. All I need to change is to make the top of the gusset slightly narrower (just a hair) and to move them a little more toward the centre. I'm going to try and get the stays cut out today and maybe get the slits for the gussets cut and ironed. Then it will be some days in hand-sewing land for me!

Yesterday I patterned up my Regency stays using my 1790 stays as a guide. I traced the outline of my stays on paper using where the tabs begin as the waistline. I then used the Bernhardt diagram to make the changes. I lengthened the bottom, curving low over the front then higher over the hips and back down again a bit at the back (like Fig. C at top right). I also changed the one big outline into two pieces, a back and a front-side, with the break curving in at the waist (like Fig. E, bottom middle). I marked a spot for the hip gusset under the arm and made an underbust curve starting at the strap and ending just before the centre front. I also made a hip gusset: a triangle the depth of the slash and 2.5 inches at the base. I checked the corset's underbust, waist, and hip measurement to make sure that they approximated my own, minus about 3-4 inches for a lacing gap.


Today I made a mock-up using one layer of poly-cotton broadcloth. I figured that I'd try a really light mock-up because I could always add thickness later. Turns out, one flimsy layer was almost totally sufficient, so I will definitely be going with the sateen-broadcloth combo on the finished product. It also only had centre back bones, though I think I will need to add boning to the centre front. This only adds credence to the claim that it is the cut of the corset that does the work and that thicker is not always better. I cut the front on a slight bias and cut the back with the centre on grain. It felt supportive and comfortable.

One of the benefits of using a corset that already fits to make a new one is that most of the fitting is already done. The body pieces fit quite well. I can probably add just a touch to the hip gusset. The only thing that needs any real alteration is the underbust curve. I need to move the curve farther to the side and raise and bone the centre front to get that iconic Regency "lift and separate" look. I also need to figure out the cup part which I did not include in my mock-up. I patterned a sort of half oval, but I'm thinking I may need to make the top edge curved. No pictures, because an underbust corset worn only with a thin shift isn't the most modest look! ;p

I totally missed the HSF due date on this one, so not I'm taking my time instead of trying to rush through. (A good thing because it gives me more time to read. I have a lot of reading to do before I meet with my thesis advisor in late July.) After taking yesterday off, I got back to it and set the sleeves in today. They have three little pleats on top, although I had originally wanted no pleats, but I don't really mind them. They're not that noticeable when the gown is on. I think I also figured out the elbow wonkiness, so that was good. I just needed to change the half seam on that side of the sleeve so that it went farther up the sleeve in a curve over the outside of the elbow. Now all that's left is hemming the neckline, wrists, and skirt.

I've also been doing lots of thinking and planning for my next HSF project. The challenge is Shape and Support and I want to make a pair of Regency stays. Initially interested in the Short Stays Studies at Kleidug um 1800, I did some further investigation into the J.S. Bernhardt book that Sabine references and found the page that has all the stays diagrams.

There is, of course, text that describes how these stays are made. Unfortunately I do not read German and the free, online translator I used was only moderately helpful. I was interested in Fig. E (bottom middle). It seems to have elastics/springs in the front piece and shallow cups. There is a similar, though shorter, set of stays in the Met collection. After looking at this picture of stays from 1813 from nuranar's Flickr, I decided that I wanted to make a sort of mash-up of Fig. E and Fig. C. It'll be mostly Fig. E, with the shaped pieces, single hip gusset (I hate putting in gussets), and shallow cups, but like Fig. C at the bottom, longer and curvy. Also, no springs in the front. I think this should give me a set of stays that will be suitable for a pretty good range, say 1805 - 1815ish. I think that closer to 1820 bust gussets are the prevailing thing. I'm hoping that I can build a pattern off my 1790s stays using these diagrams as a guide. I'm also hoping I don't stall over sewing the eyelets. :p