So, this doesn't technically meet the requirements of HSF'15 projects, as I did not complete it in the past two weeks, but it fits the project theme of "Foundations." I'm going with it.
I haven't been in a sewing mood as of late. But before this handicraft slump, I made something just for the heck of it.
I know, it's weird. I had no pressing commitments, no event happening the next day. I just wanted something to occupy my hands other than flat patterning for class.
Here they are: my Regency short stays!!!!
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| Image from Jane Austen's World |
I really liked the meshing of transitional stays and the ubiquitous short stay used today. I'm not incredibly endowed, and don't really have any figure-smoothing needs that would warrant a long stay (though they do make figures look incredible), so I wanted to go short. But I do have enough bust that I needed something more than a wraparound stay.
This little guy seemed like the perfect fit. I added tabs to the bottom of the Sense and Sensibility pattern, so that there wouldn't be a hard line under my bust and at the Regency waistline.
Materials:
I used some bleached linen that was lying around the stash, this super awesome fat quarter that was sort of mid 19th century, but looked a little like an indigo resist popular during the Regency. I used linen thread and some reeds cannibalized from an abandoned pair of late 18th-century prow-front stays.
Construction:
The construction was similar to that of my 1790's stays, with two layers of linen with a boning between them, and a floating lining added after construction. I did add the lining before adding twill tape binding, just because I didn't have much in the way of lining fabric, and couldn't add SA to turn down the hem.
Thoughts:
Well. I have recently lost a good deal of weight, and the stays are a little big, as evidenced in the pictures. I'm not swimming in them, but they are a little loose with the lacing edges touching. I may add some padding, or may just deal with the lack of intense lift I was hoping for. I could take them apart, but . . . who am I kidding. these are done; I'm not going to mess with them. And I do love the shape they give me. I'm almost done with a bodiced Regency petticoat, and am extremely excited to make a spencer and a shako. The day gown is necessary, of course, but I have the perfect striped velveteen for the matching spencer/shako combo and can't help but mentally jump ahead. I'm also painting shoes to match.
Well, that's about it. I'll be posting next week about my bodiced petticoat!
Cheers!
Meg
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