Staying with the stays

Holy wow.  These stays have taken me so much longer than I thought they would.  But the binding is FINALLY all done (it does need pressing to help smooth out some crinkles here and there).  After a few practice eyelets, I just took the plunge and started poking holes.  I've done four of them so far, and I'm pretty happy with them!  With the wider boning channels, the eyelets are coming out fairly small, so unfortunately I don't think the awesome homespun/green ribbon I got will fit - or if it does, the ribbon will be all folded over itself and the sweet detail won't be visible.  I might just have to get a very narrow grosgrain or something.  Thankfully I can be more flexible with the color so it shouldn't be hard to find something I like (famous last words...)

If the stays have taught me anything, it's that I bit off a lot more than I could chew, so I put out an APB to sewing friends.  But as is so often the case with people who can actually sew, they have their plates full with their own projects for Halloween and other fall/winter costuming events, or they're costuming theater productions!  However, they have all been very generous with offering to lend me costume pieces and accessories, which lowers my sewing load,  and will help immensely with getting everything pulled together in time.  My friend Melissa (she of Dylan Fabrics) recommended a woman to make Ziva's "Nabby" dress, and it will be made from fabric gifted by another friend, who also resized a petticoat of her own for me to wear.  Costuming enthusiasts really look after each other!!

So now...pictures!

 Here's the cotton fabric for Ziva's "Nabby" gown, courtesy of my friend Agnes Gawne.  Isn't it so sweet??  There's blue in the fabric for my gown, so it goes nicely.

And here's the Larkin & Smith Gir's Gown pattern envelope.  The lady making it is going to have to size it down a bit, but she's comfortable doing that.  I delivered this pattern and fabric to her yesterday, and then tonight I discovered there's a Mill Farm pattern that starts at a smaller size.  The Larkin & Smith gets great reviews and came highly recommended, so rather than order that pattern and wait for it to arrive, I'll stick with the Larkin & Smith for this one, and maybe I will give the Mill Farm a try if I need another dress for Ziva in this period.  

Bottom binding done!  This is just one half but they're identical.  This was some fiddly stitching but I'm very proud of myself.

Center back eyelets marked out for spiral lacing.

Center front eyelets marked, also for spiral lacing.

Strap and bust peak eyelets marked (the strap comes over the shoulder and ties with the same ribbon as the front and back lacing).

First eyelet done. First of...62. Deep breaths.

  

I did something!

Look, I cut things out!!  These are the pieces for the stays* that I cut out of cheap muslin so I can do a trial fitting before tackling my coutil.** I wanted to trace down the guidelines for the boning channels, but I had to stop here because I couldn't find any tracing chalk.*** I brought a lot of my sewing stuff with me to Connecticut last fall, so my best guess is that it's still in a box somewhere.  Grrrr!  So, this is the extent of my progress for now.  A friend of mine just opened a fabric store in downtown Bremerton, Dylan Fabrics, but like just opened, so she's still getting everything organized and on the shelves.  If she has tracing chalk in stock I will go tomorrow and get some (hooray for an alternative to JoAnn!!)

I am using the "Half-Boned Diderot Stays" pattern by Nehelenia Patterns, which I bought from (guess who?) Dylan Fabrics!  It's a pattern company that is new to me, so I'm excited to dive in.  I also bought the "Open Robe 1730-1760" pattern by the same company.  1760 is a tad early for this specific reenactment, but the Americas were slightly behind the Continent as far as fashions go.  The other thing I like about this pattern is that as an open robe, I can make a few different petticoats**** and switch them out,

Oh, and I almost forgot, I ordered fabric for my gown!  I got 10 yards of this block-printed fabric from India on eBay.  Even if I make the petticoat out of the same fabric, the gown won't require 10 yards, but it won't hurt to have extra in case of mistakes.  I'm a little nervous about when the fabric will arrive, since it's being shipped from India, but even if it's on the later side I should have plenty of time.  I have plenty to do until it gets here!

Here's a picture of the gentleman who portrays John Adams.  He's on the right.  On the left is, of course, the venerable Dr. Benjamin Franklin, with George Washington between them:

Photo credit: IL Martin

Doesn't the green in the fabric I bought match John's suit nicely?  I think it will be a good subtle nod to the fact that they are husband and wife.

Definitions, for those not familiar with sewing and historical costuming terms:

* Another word for a corset
** Coutil is a strong, heavy twill fabric used in corsetry.
*** Tracing chalk comes in one-sided sheets. You put a sheet face down on the fabric and run along the lines on the pattern piece with a marking wheel, and the chalk markings are transferred to the fabric.
**** In this era, "petticoat" referred not to the unseen garments that added shape and lift to the gown (that would be an underpetticoat!), but to the skirt made of fine fabric, intended to be seen in the opening of a split overgown.  It could be the same as the main gown fabric or pull one of the colors from the design of the fabric.