1700 stays: The journey continued

I HATE SEWING STAYS!!!

Okay, hate would be a strong word, and it's not the sewing that I hate, it's the mock up and fitting process. I am on my third 1700s stays style and 6th mock-up. This recent (the third) style I took from Corsets and Crinolines but ended up drafting my own block.

This picture is taken from the book. It's a late 1700s style and it is only two pattern pieces, so for someone who had to lots of adjustments I figured this one will be perfect. Fewer seams to adjust.

Now this pattern I used for reference on pieces and boning channels, but I did not grade this one up and print. I used as a visual guide as I took my own measurements and drafted my block. I'll do details on that later. I'll also include links to good stays construction resources at the end.


I have added some pictures of my latest mock and added snippets under about them.

SOME CONSIDERATIONS: As you view the pictures please be aware that drafting and fitting stays on a dress form is a terrible idea mostly because stays are worn with slight compression, (the squishier you are, the more potential for compression) however the dress form doesn't give. The breast doesn't smush, overall it doesn't compress as a natural body would, so I have been doing the fittings on my body but for pictures, I pinned to the form. You have to fit and alter on your own body for this particular garment.  I mention this though because I know the muslin mock looks wrong on the dress form. Trust me, its good on the body.


This is a shot from the side back. My dress form slip is super sloppy so please disregard. I got the back piece drafted nicely. I am currently really happy with it. The nice thing about this style is if I get the back piece right, then I know I only have to work on the front.

Fun fact is in late 1700 the designer realized that the shape of stays really came from the direction of the boning and not having multiple seams and their shapes. That is why as we move through the century popular styles have less pattern pieces. Not all style however.

This is the front. My biggest challenge is I have large boobs and because I have an apple shape and gain all weight in the belly I feel it wants to bow in at the waist. I want these stays to be longer looking, so that means a lower front and a longer center front. One suggestion made to me was using a busk to support the front. A good option for this is a wooden paint stirrer. just shape and smooth.

When deciding how low/deep you need the neckline depends on the size of your breast. It's typically about an inch or so above the nipple but because I have larger breast I did a little higher to ensure they won't bubble and spill over.

I wanted to mark the pleats/tabs after I got it on the form and cut after I was happy with how it looked. They should start right before the hips and then when boned they will roll over the top of them. This is for comfort, but also add little extra oomph for the petticoats.

The center back lacing should be about 2-3 inches, and since I am squishy I opted for 3. Ideally, I will lose weight so this will give me some room.

Another random fact, but depending on how you lace with also dictate how you may fit in the stays. Top to bottom can have a different look or fit than bottom to top.

Stays were laced with one string in a spiral style versus the common victorian style of criss-cross.

Robe a La Francaise Adventure by Enchanted Rose Costumes: She has videos for each part of the outfit. Stays, pockets, chemise, paniers, garters, stocking and so on. Great construction overview.

Merjas 1780s Stays from Before The Automobile: All her stuff is amazing, well researched and beautiful, I linked to my favorite project of hers, but please view it all.

Rococo Atelier: 18th Century Stays Construction: They have a good overview of the construction process

Green Marthas Blog on her stays construction: It's in french but google has a good in browser translator, please great pics for her construction overview.

Battle of The Stays: The author compares popular style patterns against each other so you have an idea of how they look. Great reference.

Renaissance Festival and New Sewing Project: m6819 pt. 1

     Michigan Renaissance Festival is a week away and I am going to be working there this year as a banner carrier for the 'Sons of Sandlar' booth. I am very excited to be back. It has been about 3 years since I worked in my prior role, which was a CD selling belly dancer for Djiliah Pharlengo, and now I am coming back as something a little different. Sneak peak below. But first some words about lost loved ones, and my history with the fair.

     This year is going to be bittersweet. I have been completely absent for a few years, and even the last few years I worked was more part time. I haven't been fully present since 2010. A lot has changed since then. The biggest change for me is Djiliah is no longer performing there, and I am very lost without them as they were my start and my muse. Also, a few other musical acts will not be there. Owain Phyfe passed away a few years ago. Kevin Tyler, another beloved performer we had shared stages with several times has left us. Jessica Masserant aka Tiger Lily, the Captain of the Crimson Reign (Brethren of the Great Lakes) left us in 2014, and this year I also lost a long time fair friend Charles Sanderson. So much has changed with and without me, and I am scared to go back. I am terrified of the change, as well as excited to return to my roots.

     Michigan Renaissance Festival has a very special place for me. I grew up loving to play pretend. I had dress up clothes as a child, plus a wild imagination. MRF introduced me to a whole other world of people who had similar interest. People who could see the magic and indulged in fantasy. It's safe to say MRF was also my first LARP. I always wanted to be the idea of a gypsy dancer. I wanted to be Esmeralda, twirling to music, or the gypsy girl on the beach playing enchanting music in Queen of the Damned (before Lestat kill her). So one year during drama class our teacher told us about castings for the fair. I attend very unprepared and was given a role in the Enchanted forest with the fairies.
     I loved putting on my costume and loved running around fair. I started in 2003/2004 when I was about 15 as a gypsy in the children area. It was volunteere babysitting essentially and I hated it, however, I was quickly "fired" about three weekends in because I didn't stay there. Can't cage the gypsy heart I guess. One of the times I slipped away is when I met Ernesto aka Spanish Bard, the man of Djilia Pharlengo playing his amazing music in the walkways. I just ran up and started dancing, and then followed him around from show to show. I came back the next year as his CD girl. Over the years I evolved from the little gypsy girl to a belly dancer (thanks to my biggest influential act which sadly is no longer there, Nommobugunte, an African tribal dance troupe, I sure miss that drum circle).
 
     Nothing beats the morning dew as you stroll in with the sunrise half dressed to make the morning meeting. Even though its August/September it's chilly so you wrap yourself in your favorite cloak or snuggle up to your favorite person. There is a coffee shop in a building by  the fountain which is always popular, or if you are early enough, you can make breakfast in the castle if you have a few bucks. Cast and the shop keeps are arriving and getting everything set up. The most iconic moment of a fair morning is when women are running around asking someone to lace them up (usually a long time fair friend, or a someone they fancy). There is a specific feeling in the air, like when you wake up before your alarm, early with the sun, and as you lay in bed, for whatever reason this morning feels... perfect.

     Other acts I remember from my early days were the Pirates and Musketeers, E muzeki, some members later became Circe Paleo, Mark Valeras took his amazing talents to Wine and Alchemy for a while and then went his own way and hasn't returned to Michigan since, already mentioned Nommobugunte and their awesome end-of-day drum circle, of course Djilia Pharlengo, and I know there are so many more.

     With that being said, the inevitable fact of life is change happens, good or bad, whether we want it to or not, and whether we are prepared or not. I am excited to feel those feelings again when I step back onto the fairgrounds. I only worry about who I will no longer see, and what else has changed. I worry those people took the atmosphere I love with them and I worry that everything is truly different.

     However, with this change comes the opportunity to do something I always wanted to do, and that is explore other costuming and creating a new character. Hard to belly dance in a pirate coat or a bodice, so this year around I am doing a rough, pirate take on a Once Upon a Time costume, via Snow White. McCalls Costume pattern M6819. I am doing the most basic version on the right.

Some changes are going to be made. First, I am including an underlining for additional structure in the bodice, that I will attach some steel boning to via the side seams, up the front closure, and some for support in the back. Also, the pattern calls for hook and eye closures in the front which I am switching out for lacing instead. That means that I will be adjusting the width so that there will be slight gap present to allow for lacing.

I am a bigger girl, and apple shaped so normally I would have needed to add room to the waist, a full bust adjustment, and drop the bust point slightly, but since this will be laced, and I intend to wear a corset under (which will assist with lifting and shaping) the only fitting adjustments I am doing is adding a quarter inch to the side seams (which I did by tapering my 5\8 seam allowance to 3\8), and for the bust, to reduce bulk and give a little room without pattern altering, I did my front princess seams at 3\8 off the bat, so that allowed approximately an additional inch in the bust and in the waist.

Head over to my Instagram to see new pattern purchases, as well as the material I chose. I am using a blue jacquard from the home decor section, that has a filigree print, and a gray lining to match the print but add overall contrast. my chemise is a gray tone as well. I will also be wearing black pants, boots, and as it gets colder, black gloves and a black hooded cape.

I am going to take pictures of my progress, and I'll post a blog once it's completed, or near completed. Stay tuned.

Jessi