Stays

[sakka]

Has anyone made stays? Is it difficult... easy? (I wish!) What pattern did you use? I'm wanting to get started on my 18th century wardrobe, so of course I need the basic foundations.. :) Thanks!

Comments

[lady_kathryn_r]

I have just finished my fifth pair of stays. I have been using the JP Ryan pattern for the my 18th century ones.
And to add my boning choices, I use round reed for the bones and have been quite pleased with them as they breath.

[sakka]

Thanks for the tip! I've heard so many different opinions on boning, so it's good to always have a first hand recommendation. :)

[revwarlass1776]

Though I have not made them( I'm a serious newbie to 18th C reenacting who is STILL trying to overcome her sewing dislike !lol) women in my unit who HAVE made them swear by the JP Ryan pattern

I'm probably going to purchase my first pair...
Has anyone gotten theirs from Silly Sisters? A number of women in my unit swear by them.

[sakka]

A friend of mine, an authentic Civil War reenactor, also does 18th century and has purchased her stays from Silly Sisters. She's a stickler for quality, so they must be good.

[colev]

I'm in the process of building my second pair by hand and I think I've made at least 4 pairs at work so far (fixed dozens of them). I highly recommend the pattern found in Costume Close-up, but I also hear that JP Ryans is good (similar style). That type tends to fit a large range of body shapes. If you're mainly going to use them for summer outdoor events, I'd look for a half-boned pattern. I know Waisted Efforts has some good patterns for that.
When it comes to supplies, I like flat reeds, but they don't work as well in half-boned. For the pair I'm working on now I'm using a combo of ash splints and spring steel. To my knowledge Silly Sisters makes very good stays. There still is no substitute for a individually fitted pair though. My blog was already mentioned above, but hopefully I'm going to get some new stay posts very soon. I'm working on the channeling right now!

[sakka]

Your site is so inspirational! I just love that cutaway gown -- gorgeous!! :)
I've requested Costume Closeup from my library as an inter library loan... we'll see if I'll get it. It looks like a great book. Thanks for your tips!

[justawench]

I highly recommend oval reed for boning. It's nice and stiff, but can be cut with heavy scissors.

I did the same thing you're doing, and began with stays. I ended up drawing my own pattern and it's just a miracle it fit as well as it did. You can read my adventure here: http://justawench.livejournal.com/tag/stays

[hohenstein]

The easiest & best fitting 18th century stays I've made (over & over & over) are from a book by Jean Hunnisett. I think the title is "Period clothing for Stage & Screen 1500-1800". I'm big busted, so I made the "large ladies stays" which were taken from a circa 1780's original.

A.