OMG! The stays are done!!!!!!

Congratulations! It's a pair of stays!!!!

1740- 1760 Stays

I can't believe it!!! I am so happy right now, that I'll possibly write some nonsense...

Hurraaaaah!!!!

Miles and miles of handsewing paid off and now I am the proud owner of 18th century reproduction stays!!! Waaah!!!
In the end it took 5,5 days to sew my pair of stays. Today I finished the tab binding, so before I continue to cheer I am giving you some more construction details:

The leather binding is attached with backstitch and then folded to the underside. The backstitching actually took longer than fixing the binding to the interlining. My guessing was exactly opposite...

So, after doing this I started to sew the strip to the tabs and soon realised, that it would have been a good thing to use boning in my testpiece. Those curves were not so easy, as I had hoped... My result on the first two tabs was quite bulky and so I changed my strategie to cutting a scallop here and there instead of the cuts. 

To prevent the fabric from fraying I cut the needlepoint "curves" at the very last moment before attaching the binding.

The inside look of the finished tab binding. Here you can see the rounded edges I have cut.

After so many days of handsewing my poor fingers sure deserve a holiday!!!










HSF Challenge details:
The Challenge: #12 Shape & Support - 1740- 1760 Stays

Fabric:  0,5m Cotton twill as fashion fabric, 1m cotton as interlining, 0,5m cotton batist as lining

Pattern:"Costume Close-Up" by Linda Baumgarten

Year: 1740- 1760

Notions: kid skin, reed, polyester and cotton thread

How historically accurate is it? I am giving myself very generous 95%. Cotton would't have been used in that period and we don't have to talk about the thread. 

Hours to complete: ca. 60

First worn: Not made for me, so I will never wear them:-(
Total cost: ca. 55€

Here we go!!!!

OMG, I still can't belive that I have finished these stays!!!!!!

To form the hip section I steamed and formed the tabs.

Comparison with the detail picture in Linda Baumgarten's "Costume Close-Up" - 1740- 1760 Stays

187 boning channels in perfection!!!!

What do you think about these????