Operation in the future!

The spring steel band is smaller and will fit perfectly in the canals of my stays! As soon as I get the time I’ll try to change a few of the front ones.
   I know, I know, I have a lot to do, but if I don’t fix it the whole outfit will kinda fall. I’ve tried ironing, but heat did not work, so this might be the best way… And I think it’ll be awesome!

For future stays, or modification…

By chance, today I found a roll of that sewer cord or spring steel tape I’m using for the hoops, but it looks smaller (not home yet, so I don’t know for sure). It might work great as boning for a future pair of stays. But you might remember I’ve had problems with the boning in the front tab in my current stays, I might just operate a little on them and change the boning in the front. =D

More bloggin’ ahead and FREE corset patterns!

On friday we turned in the degree thesis again, after a few changes, we are very pleased and eager to get a good grade in week 5. This means that I won’t have a whole lot to do until then… Which probably will mean a whole lotta sewin’ and bloggin’! ;D
   This past week I have discovered two new blogs! And I must say, they may be two of the most interesting I’ve read on the subjects of history and costume making!
   Just this morning I read the latest post on Jane of All Trades… and lo and behold! Thar be free stays patterns! =D The place described where the patterns should be, a certain Ralph Pink’s site, did not work for me though. However I found them on the blog linked form the site! So this is where I got 5 free corset patterns -> http://www.fashion-gorgeois.com/pattern-cutting/corsets . Just click the image of the corsets, don’t be fooled by the more modern corset in the image, the zip-file you download contains 5 different corset patterns, including two stays patterns! ALL FREE!!! (Yes, I am cheap, but I’m very generous too! ^^)
   I also want to drop the blog name Two Nerdy History Girls (aren’t we all? ;P), that I found via 18th century blog. History, mostly 18th century, with amazing pictures!

“Le Corset”

This degree thesis thing I’m working on has kept me awake at night for a week now, it’s the only thing I think about – almost… I think it’s a waste of time to eat, sleep and go to the toilet (I can’t even begin to describe how stressed out I am), but still I find time to think about 18th century fashion! XD
   By chance I came by this wiki-page full of interesting high resolution pictures from a book: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Le_Corset_(1905). The book is from 1905, it’s called Le Corset and is written by a Dr. Ludovic O’Followell – you can view the whole book here.

How cheap I really am!

In my last post I said quote:

– Wow, this has really become a quest for the cheapest way to make an as accurate as possible 18th century outfit, hehe ;P I’ll have to try and write down exactly how little I actually have spent on this project! =D The shoes cost no more than 50 SEK btw – about $5 I should think. ;D

And now I have summarized, to that extent my memory could manage, how much I have spent on stuff and materials for my very first “as-accurate-as-possible-for-as-little-monye-as-possible-18th-century-outfit”.
   You can view the whole list at the page “What I’ve spent so far” to your right. But I’ll give you the whole so-far-total right here and now, and I am serious!:

273 SEK ≈ 27 EUR ≈ 39 USD ≈ 23,50 GBP

FINISHED STAYS WORN – PHOTOS!

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this day, almost as long as I have, hehe ;P Today Robbie got 2 secs off WOW and helped me lace the stays – and I took measurements – and PICTURES!!! *Yay for me*
   First of all I want to show a few pics of the stays (and Sol) when not worn, just a tease:

And a detail:

Likie? Then I think you’ll like the following pictures of me wearing it!

Guess what!?

Guess what!?

The stays are basicly DONE!!! I’m not kidding! They’re totally wearable! The only thing missing is the shoulder straps and a few decorative details.
   And YES! I will take pictures – as soon as my “better” half stops teasing me about the cute curl of the tabs and start helping me with the lacing!
   Next step: pocket hoops or shifts. It all depends on what I can find material for first. I have a light brown (ya, it’s really a horrible color) cotton fabric to use for the pocket hoops, but I don’t know what to use as boning… Any suggestions? Has anyone used anything but usual corset boning? Anything cheap? As for the shifts I have to find a good fabric, I thought I saw something I could use in town, but I don’t remember the price and I really have to be cheap right now… =/

Eyelets – easier than anticipated!

I am currently sitting making eyelets – and I must say that it wasn’t as much hard work as I had anticipated! As soon as you get your speed up it all goes rather smoothly! I guess just knowing that I’ll be able to try it on proberly for the first time makes my hands work faster (don’t ask). =) I can’t say the eyelets are all very beautiful, but I think they’ll do, hehe. I’m using a flax (?) thread in a slightly darker color than the fabric. And yes – I am placing them according to custom for stays:

Oh, right! Just 6 eyelets left! *Swooshes away to finish the job!*
Ta-ta!

Wait… and ye shall… recieve…

Eeeehrm… Yeah…

So I’ve finally uploaded the pics of the stays to my computer, maybe now you can stop nagging?! ;P Before you look at the pics and start wondering about the total wierdness of it I’ll explain:
   When I first started to explore historical corsets I came across a technique for elizabethan stays that included hemp cord boning. When I was going to make my own I felt the hemp cord I found was a liiiiiittle bit too soft for keeping my somewhat heavy rack at bay. I figured: why not use plastic cord commonly used as clothesline (I had found a pretty stirdy cord)? It was super cheap and it worked so well that I ended up using it as boning in all corsets and stays I made:

This is also what I used this time! The only problem is that the cord I bought this time was rolled into a reel and not an oblong thing as the cord I used for the more modern stays in the top picture. Here’s a close up on the cord (It’s not hollow, it just looks like it, it’s just got a softer core):

The fact that it was on reel and shaped thereafter made my current stays in progress curl up like this:

Ya, that’s what happens when you’re CHEAP! XD I’m thinking that the only part that will curl up when I’m actually wearing it is the tabs and mainly the big front wedge tab. If that is disturbing I might be able to heat it straight since it’s plastic, maybe with steam…
   The good thing though is that it’s reeeeally stirdy and great and it’ll do it’s job when worn! =D
   Right now I’ve gotten a little further than the pics show, I’ve finished the bottom bias tape and evened out the cord sticking out at the top. Now I just have to find the time to finish the top. I’m going to Sundsvall and Härnösand for school again on sunday… I might bring the stays with me on the train if I don’t find it too ungainly to work with, with passengers sitting next to me and stuff, hehe… XD

Yeah…

So yeah… My wonderful other half Robbie got the great idea to go buy some new book shelves this weekend, so we spent the weekend putting them together and filling them with stuff. Ergo not so much done on the stays… XD The good news are that I haven’t lost my productivity, the closer I get to getting the stays done, the more motivated I get! =D Last night and this afternoon I’ve almost finished the bias tape at the bottom (probably will finish it tonight), yaaays! =D And that’s the tricky part with all the tabs! Tho top is the easy part! ;D
   I’ve been thinking on the outer texture of the stays. I have a strong suspicion that the stripy boning texture will show through outer layers of robes and pet-en-l’airs and such… I know it sometimes was custom to use an outer layer of fabric to cover that, I’ve just never thought of that – until now… =/ I think I might make an outer layer of a more fancy fabric, one that’s really easy to change. I’ve found so many great fabrics with this shabby chic trend that’s going on, but I don’t know if I could afford to buy the quantities of a robe, half a meter for the stays might be affordable though! 😉