1790s stays

From

Front lacing stays, glazed green wool with a pink trim, made in Britain, 1790-1795

The short story: There are times when I get frustrated with most of my 18th century sewing because - lets face it - sometimes it can be a bit tiresome... and complicated. So what do you do? Bring out the regency to the rescue! The long story: I've thought about starting making costumes for other periods than just the usual 1770s/1780s for a long time but never quite got around to do it. It was just recently when I realized I really am the social kind of costume maker and by that I mean that…

Scandinavian Corset, ca. 1840 via Old Sacramento Living History

I will post main pictures of my costumes here. Click on the link above the photos for more information about the costumes. Some of the c...

Festive Attyre: 1790s transitional stays

The type of look I am planning to emulate. Longing for some years for a longer-waisted 18th century silhouette suited to 1740s-1760s half-dress wear, this January I finally found the gumption to attempt a pair of stays to create the look. Stays weren't something I wanted to make, particularly. The local landfill now hides an aborted pair of 1790s stays, and I was never wholly happy with a pair of hand-sewn 1790s transition stays I spent a whole season hunched over and that bear specks of…

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Historical 18th century style corset with lacing on the back. The half-boned stays are designed using a pattern from the era, only slightly modernised. The straps in this model are adjustable. Metal boning provides structure and support, creating the iconic silhouette of the era. I offer a custom made copy of this corset in any fabric you like. We can discuss all the available options to pick a perfect one for you. When choosing a corset size, please go for your natural waist measurement…

I wasn’t able to sew much in the past few months, and I’ve been very productive this week to make up for it! (I’m blissfully ignoring the fact that Costume College is rapidly appr…

c. 1790 Corset or Stays. Victoria and Albert Museum.

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Historical costuming

Stays or corset bodice made of linen trimmed with silk ribbon, England, ca. 1800-1815

Historical costuming

I've needed a new set of early Regency stays for a while. I have 1820s or so stays that I love, but my early stays stretched beyond wearability. I have a detailed post about making these stays here. The short version--they're based on stays in the V&A and use the 1790 Linen Stays pattern from Corset by Jill Salen as a base. They're cotton broadcloth lined with cotton twill. These stays are extremely comfortable--even if I did manage to tie the straps at different lengths and the center front…

After a bit of a hiatus, I am back to working on my transitional stays. I really shouldn't have taken the time off to work on the Duvet Angl...

As promised, a post outlining the construction of the 1780s mint wool redingote I made at the end of last year.

They ain't pretty, but they seem to get the job done... I've finally finished something! I've been experimenting with Regency stays for a bit, trying out different designs, and I think I've got the silhouette I want. Some time ago we talked about Regency boobs, and how

In last week’s (well, almost week before lasts at this point!) Five for Friday post, when I discussed transitional stays, and succumbing to the temptation to make ‘reenactor style’ Regency stays (whic