Regency Project: Making Stays!

Fair warning: this was a huge project and there are LOTS of pictures in this post lol. This project honestly put a big snag in my regular posting because just writing this post felt like such a big undertaking. But today is the day! Let's break this project down, shall we?

Back in July I decided to officially take the plunge into historical sewing and begin a Regency era project. This took a lot of mental fortitude since I knew it would be a much bigger undertaking than I had ever done before simply because I had to start from the underwear and work my way out. The corset (actually called stays at this time) was the most daunting, but I had already purchased the supplies months before and just needed a pattern, which was easily obtained, so I eliminated all my usual excuses. I knew this was going to need a toile, so I just grabbed a random fabric I had on hand that I liked the idea of. I was given a big pile of 1 yard cuts of this canvas with a toile design printed on it, and I just loved the idea of making a toile toile, lol. I thought it was hilarious. So this was my outer fabric. I decided to go with the Laughing Moon Regency and Romantic Era Corset pattern because I had heard good things about it, it has historical and theatrical options, it has long and short options, it includes a chemise, it was inexpensive, and it was easily available to print out. There are other patterns out there, but they don't have the versatility of this one for the price. So I printed it out and traced off by my measurements. I traced a size 20 at the bust and a angled to a 22 at the waist.

Since I had so much of this toile fabric, I used it for my initial mock up of my mock up, lol. The frustrating thing about making stays of any kind is that you can't just tissue fit it to yourself. You really don't know how it will fit until it is essentially made and it requires boning and everything to get an accurate idea. I knew I needed to practice the techniques anyway, so I just started making it as instructed by the pattern. I went with the long historical option to get a smooth abdomen since that is my most self conscious area and an empire waist dress does nothing to hide that. For my lining, I grabbed a blue cotton broadcloth left over from my failed shirt I was making to use my Irish crochet pieces. It was just enough and coordinated well with the blue in the toile print. 

I started off with the back pieces. Since this was to be the lining of a mock up, I traced the cording lines on the fabric using yellow wax paper which does not come off (*foreshadowing*). I stitched the lines, which was very enjoyable, actually. As I started the top stitching, I realized that I included an extra seam allowance in the front center that the pattern had for a different version of the pattern, so I had to sew  seam there to make it the right width. I top stitched the seam allowance down so that the busk wouldn't get hung up on the fabric, and this all worked out just fine. When I saw how cool the lines looked on the blue side verses the toile side, I was pretty disappointed that I used the waxed paper because you can still see the yellow. I liked the look so much that I contemplated making the blue the outer fabric, but in the end I decided that I could at least make it reversible very easily. So I started stitching the lines with the blue side up since that is where they are most visible. I LOVE the result. It looks so precise and cool. It turned out much better than I thought I could make, honestly. I then corded the front and back pieces between all those lines. This was a part that most people seemed to think was awful to do, but I really enjoyed it. I used a blue colored cotton crochet thread (I believe it was size 3, so thicker like a twine) and a darning needle to thread it all through and then just cut the ends close and went about my business. This was one of the parts I enjoyed the most.

Next came the gussets. I had never sewn gussets at all before and it really went just fine. Because I misread the pattern and didn't put the gussets in before the cording lines, I couldn't get the gussets to line up exactly like the should and I wound up with spaces in the points of the blue side. I knew I could cover that with flossing, so I kept going. The only true snag turned out to be the canvas weave of the toile fabric - it looked good initially, but as I was working on the project the toile side literally unraveled at the gusset seams. I had to go back and fray check the daylights out of the ends and hand sew it all in place as one of the final steps of this project. The gussets also made me have to come to terms with the shape of my body, lol. I am very small busted and usually just wear a bra I feel gives me enough added oomph to get a silhouette I'm happy with (very historical, ironically). Corsets are designed to fit your actual body and since I had no idea how to do padding on something like this, I just went by my actual bust size, which required the smallest gusset piece available in the pattern and they are still a bit loose. Incidentally I used the smallest hip gusset pieces as well, which just confirms that I am build like a lego brick.

Since this was a mock up, I decided to use plastic boning at the back opening, but I went with flat steel bones at the sides since I wanted the added stability. I purchased a roll of this boning and cut it myself since I had no idea how long my pieces would actually end up needing to be. I cut them with tin snips, had my dad round the edges with a dremel, and then coated the ends in melting plastic to soften how the metal would rub against the fabric.

When I got to the point that it was all together, I added machine eyelets just to be quick and try it on, and everything seemed to fit fine, so I proceeded with this project (*more foreshadowing*). After the body was assembled, I added the straps.

The straps turned out to be too short even though I cut out the longest size thinking I would shorten them as needed. I had to recut the strap pieces adding 2 inches to the length of these, which in truth is not entirely surprising. As I learn to fit myself better (always an ongoing endeavor), I know that I have a longer upper bust area than most, yet because my boobs themselves are so small in comparison the darts still usually hit me correctly. So it makes sense that the body is still properly positioned but the straps needed to be longer. In the end, I also need to have the strap angle in more. They wound up being very wide for my shoulders (another non-surprise based on my modern sewing projects), so next time I make this pattern I will probably follow the angle of a smaller size to prevent them from wanting to fall off my shoulders. 

After all the pieces were assembled, corded, and boned, it was time for the binding. I used 1 inch wide twill tape for this since it was a good color match for the toile side of the fabric and I had a huge roll of it on hand. I hand stitched the entire binding on because I was not about to figure out how to maneuver that through my machine and manage to cover everything I wanted to on the edges at the same time. This did take some time, but it really wasn't too bad. I did make machine eyelets on the inside edge of the binding as I was adding drawstrings to the top of the bust. The string is just baker's twine and I secured it in the side seam with my sewing machine before hand stitching the twill tape binding to make sure it was very secure, then I just kept it in position as I hand stitched the area closed so I didn't have to thread it through.

After the top binding was done, I put all the boning and the busk inside and then stitched the binding on the bottom. Everything was enclosed completely except I left the busk area open so I could remove it to wash if need be. My busk is a paint stirring stick, which worked out great. I had to cut a little bit off and sand it smooth, but it slides in and out perfectly. The seam allowance inside creates a nice flap to hold the stick in place and then the binding covers that up so it looks completely sewn shut. I also had planned to do actual flossing at my gussets, but the gaps I had from the incorrectly ordered gusset insertion meant I needed to focus more on covering the gaps with embroidery than any fancy stitches. The toile fabric kept unraveling as I embroidered this area, so things look a bit wonky on the e,broidery side, but it's fine.

The eyelets turned out to be the hardest piece to obtain. I had a vintage eyelet kit that I got at a thrift store, but when I opened them up to install them I saw these were 1-piece eyelets. There was no applicator tool and the ones I had just mangled these eyelets. It was very confusing, but eventually I figured out I just needed to buy new ones that I knew how to install. I just ordered an inexpensive kit from Amazon knowing this was just my practice run and they really seem pretty sturdy, so that's nice. I used the same baker's twine to lace this up since I didn't want to order expensive cording for this one. This way I could cut an incredibly long piece to lace it up and then just tuck the excess inside. Once the entire thing was done, I put it on and discovered ... it's actually too big for me, lol. I didn't pull it quite as tight in these photos as I did when I tried it on, but I can easily make the back panels touch and it's not uncomfortable. This was the part that really took the wind out of my sails. I was totally into this project when I thought it was fitting at least decently - in my mind I had changed his from "mock up" to "wow this could actually work as a legit corset and I don't need to make another one", so to discover it didn't actually fit like it should was very dejecting. I also have a wrinkle at my waist, which means that my hip gusset needs to be bigger than I made it, so I truly am more pear shaped than lego brick shaped in the end. So that's nice, lol. So I will need to make another set of stays eventually if I want to fully go for it with the Regency project, which I do. The changes i need to make are:

• Size down on bust and waist area
• make hip gusset wider
• bring angle of straps in

That's really not too bad a list of changes, which makes me wish all the more that I had caught it before I did this entire project. Oh well. I truly did enjoy making this so much more than I anticipated. I watch a lot of historical costuming people on YouTube and the consensus has always seemed that corset making is a necessary evil for a historical outfit, so I was thinking it would be a bit of a drudgery. Apparently I enjoy very technical sewing! This is the most involved and complicated thing I've ever sewn when you add in the idea of getting it to fit, and for my first try this turned out pretty great.

Putting the stays on is quite the endeavor by myself, which is my only option at the moment. I tried to do a step by step photo shoot of the process, so you can see me struggle in still frames, lol. I understand why people opt for front lacing stays now, and I will probably try to go that route in the future just so I can see what I'm doing. I had to put on my chemise and get it tied in place, put the stays on backwards and lace tight enough to stay up but loose enough to spin around and tie it there. Next I rotate it around the back and get everything in the right spot as well as resituate the chemise while it can still move before I start officially tightening the laces. I pull things snugly and then pull just a bit more so I can get the lacing more even, then I knot it at the bottom and tuck the excess cording under the corset. Next I adjusted the lacing on the straps and it was on. The last photo above was when I was taking the stays off, which is a long process as well. Historical corsets are not for anyone who gets nervous if they can't get out of their clothes quickly, lol. And for the sake of these blog photos, I did this entire process twice! 

So that's all the particulars about my first ever set of stays! The verdict - I actually am really proud of this. Even with this being a mock up and having the fit issues, it's completely wearable as it is. Am I wearing it anywhere? lol No. But if I decide to wear a dark dress to some kind of Regency event and I don't have time to whip up new stays, this would absolutely do the job. It's not so loose that I can't get the right silhouette and no one will see the wrinkle unless I'm not wearing clothing on top, which is still socially frowned upon. I could technically wear this over regular clothing as a ~fashion~ item, but in truth they are so difficult to get in and out of that I doubt I will be doing that. The idea of it being an option is nice though :) And I love that they are fully reversible for that mythical day that I decide to wear them as an outer layer. This project definitely lit the fire for corset making with me, and I have several other eras I plan on making corsets for now. I have committed to making a full Regency outfit before changing time periods first, but I look forward to making another corset soon.

Summary:

Fabric: 1 yard toile print cotton decor weight - Free, 3/4 yard blue cotton broadcloth - Free

Pattern: Laughing Moon Regency Era Corset - $7.95

Notions: thread - $1.00, crochet thread - $0.25, 3/8 inch boning - $1.00, twill tape - $0.50, metal eyelets - $4.00, Lacing cord - $1.00

Time: 1 week

Total Cost: $ 15.70

WIP Wednesday: Restlessness and Determination

 

This week has been a bumper for knitting my Susan Shaw cardigan. I managed to get both of the fronts re-knit and seamed together on Saturday night, but then a try on showed me that the armscyes were too tight. I had picked up around the neckline for a button band, but decided I would rather fix the fit on the sleeves now, so I took the shoulders apart again and added 2 more repeats of the faux cable pattern, then put it all back together. The shoulder seam is now about 1 inch too far back, but I'd rather have it be comfortable to wear than worry about the placement of the seam and the fit is much better now. Then I decided to knit the button band separately like the pattern calls for since I liked the look in the photo and I'd never done one that way before. 

The button band was majorly tedious - you knit just 13 stitches to be long enough for the entire opening of the sweater. In reality, it didn't take that long since I managed to make it all in a day, but it sure felt like longer than that. Not enjoyable to knit. Also seaming wasn't very enjoyable either. I do like how it looks now that it's on the sweater, but definitely not my favorite construction of a button band.

In sewing news, I finally got grommets for my stays mock up. Even though these were technically too big, I still wanted to get them officially finished. I've as given myself a reprieve on Regency sewing for now. Originally I had wanted t make it up for Halloween, but having the snags I've had on the last few pieces I made have really just sucked my excitement for this completely away. I still have to hem my chemise and fix the neckline (because of how the pattern illustrations looked, I put the drawstring opening on the back thinking it was the front :/), and I made myself cut out the bodice petticoat, which was quite the challenge in and of itself because 1) the pattern was not "tiled" so I had to make acrobat tie it and then just hope I was lining things up correctly and 2) the skirt pieces are just enormous - so big that they couldn't even fit fully on a single A0 sheet so the pattern itself has to be pieced before you even cut things out. I've had a ton of things with this project that just had snags or took extra figuring out, plus I have a bunch of other modern clothing I really want to make and wear. Because of this inner conflict I found myself not sewing at al last week and just knitting instead. So I've given myself permission to just make what I want to make. The regency stuff will get done eventually - I just want it to be because I genuinely want to make it up, not because of some arbitrary deadline. No sense in making yourself miserable with something that is supposed to be a fun stress reliever :)

So now I have a black Fiore skirt sitting on my table ready to be sewn up and I actually want to sew something again. Anyone else have project regrets? Because here is your permission to just do what you want to do in case you feel you need that. (p.s. you don't need permission)

WIP Wednesday: Regency Planning

I have been in full scale Regency sewing mode the past few weeks and things are progressing but also halting.

This weekend, I sewed up my chemise finally. I made my first ever underarm gussets - which as you can see took a lot of pins - and because of the illustrations in the instructions, I sewed my straps on backward :? So now I have to do some alterations to make it work, which is pretty annoying.

As soon as my chemise was wearable (but not yet hemmed), I decided to try the whole kit on for the first time. Friends - putting on a back lacing corset by your self is HARD. But I got it on, tightened it up ... and realized it was too big. The corset should have a 2 inch gap in the laces at the back, but the whole thing closes up completely. This was a pretty big bummer and I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what exactly to do since I followed all the fitting instructions in the pattern. I kept saying this was my mock up, but it seemed to fit me well so I finished the whole thing like it was the real one thinking I could wear it as well - maybe even use this as my corset instead of a white one for Halloween to take a bit of pressure off me needing to sew it again. Yeah ... Now I have to make it smaller in the body (can't decide if I do just the back pieces narrower or the whole thing) plus make the straps at least 1 inch longer, plus make the hip gussets bigger (which again were chosen by the pattern instructions). Ugh. 

The next piece to make (after I fix my chemise at the very least) is a bodice petticoat. I bought a bolt of white muslin, so this will be made in that. I figured that would make it very versatile. So this was my next officially planned piece until I tried to print it out this morning only to discover this only comes in large format printing. Ugh. See how this project just gets more and more complicated? 

I've been very torn about the dress itself. I went through my stash and at first it seemed like I didn't have any fabric suitable that I had enough of to make the dress. This lead me to looking into white muslin gowns, so I bought a bolt of huge white muslin thinking I would make that as a basic dress that I could jazz up with various accessories. BUT on closer inspection of "muslin" gowns everyone seems to make, none of them are made out of "muslin". They are made from swiss dot or cotton lawn or woven white striped fabric or just something much more sheer than what I now have, which is very frustrating. The whole reason for picking this era was because it would be inexpensive since I should have the things on hand I would need, and now I'm regretting my choices. The muslin was a great price, but still ... would I have bought it if I didn't think it would be immediately used? No. I think I'm still going with the original plan and I will just add some type of embroidery or something to the dress itself so it's not so plain and costumey looking.

But I also have this piece of fabric. It's a light quilting cotton, but it's definitely the best print for the time I have on hand. The only problem is I have 4 yards of 45" wide fabric, which is not enough according to the pattern instructions I'm looking at. So this is still a hard contender, but I will have to play pattern tetris to see if it's even a real possibility.

I'm planning to use Laughing Moon 126 for the dress because these are all front closing (which means I can easily put it on my byself). I'm torn as to what option I want, but it may come down to the fabric in the end. If I use the printed fabric, I will have to choose the option with the least required yardage, but if I choose the white fabric I can do anything shown here.

Next I plan to make a chemisette of some kind in linen gauze so it's nice and sheer. I haven't settled on what type of collar I want since I don't even know the dress I will pick yet, but I bought Laughing Moon 203 for this piece, so it will be one of the ones shown above.

While shopping my fabric stash, I also came across this striped number. This was definitely intended for a couch in the 90s because it's a decorator weight cotton that had been treated with scotch guard to make it shiny and waterproof. I washed the fabric, which removed the shine and made it much softer. I have 4 yards of this and it's 55 inches wide, but I don't think it drapes enough to make a full dress out of it. I DO think it would make a great jacket, so I started contemplating a spencer or a pelisse.

A friend gave me McCall's 7493 when I showed him this fabric and talked about making a spencer. The pattern includes both a spencer and a pelisse, so I should be able to do either one if I wanted. As much as ai like the drama of the pelisse, I think I would have to go with a spencer simply because of living in Florida and we are already talking about so many layers of clothing. This striped fabric would only work if I did the white gown, so it's making me lean a little more that way any. 

So as you can see, I have a lot of sewing to do, but a lot of decisions to make first. Ugh. It's crazy to go from thinking I had no options to suddenly being overwhelmed by too many choices. I need to get my rear in gear though because just typing this all out is making me worried about time. At the same time, I have so many practical everyday items I want to sew as well and with all this indecision for this Regency project, it just makes me want to grab one of those modern projects to sew up.

Do you have any big projects going? Do you tend to get decision fatigue? What do you think I should sew up for this?