Recently at a party I chatted with a new acquaintance while she worked on a hand-sewing project. To me, this was normal party behavior. My family members take knitting or some other handwork everywhere to keep hands busy.
My new acquaintance Mary Beth was making 18th century stays. Equipped with needle, thread and a leather thimble, she hand sewed eyelet edges, through which lacing would thread.
Stays are similar to a corset, but in the 18th century they were not meant to shape the figure very much.
“I was interested in the fact that they have a reputation for being very uncomfortable, but people who are in the know, know if they are made and fit correctly, they are actually quite supportive and comfortable,” Mary Beth said.
She started the project simply from curiosity. “The only way I was going to be able to see what they are like was by making them,” she said.
She added, “I like a challenge and I like learning new things.”
She’d started making the stays about a week before our chat. She read about stays and watched videos about how other crafters made them. Having found instructions online, she dove right in.
When making stays, one can use a pattern or draft one to one’s own measurements. “Since this is a low-key experiment I decided to go with a pattern,” Mary Beth said.
Using mostly materials she had on hand, including muslin, canvas and rabbit skin glue, Mary Beth has already cut and sewn the many sections stays are made of.
She stiffened canvas with rabbit skin glue left over from another project. Historically whale bones would have been inserted into channels in the stays to support the garment and the woman who wore it. Nowadays, plastic or steel boning is an available substitute.
Mary Beth, however, used readily available zip-ties for boning.
“I tried making the boning channels by hand using a backstitch,” she said. It was a learning experience, and “I gained an appreciation for work that’d go into it.” Using her sewing machine ended up faster with better looking results.
In the course of the afternoon, she moved on from the eyelets and began to whip-stitch the garment pieces together temporarily to see if they fit. If too large, the seams could be taken in; more pieces added if too small.
This style of stay was meant for support with minimal waist cinching. It was also meant to help hold up heavy skirts (which contributed to the visual small waist illusion). Stays were flexible, permitting the wearer to sit and move around comfortably. Women of all classes wore them. They were worn over a chemise — to protect the lady’s skin, and the stays which weren’t really washable.
Mary Beth said she has gained an appreciation of the strength it took to make this style of clothing — her hands and arms hurt after an evening of hand-stitching through the stiff fabric layers. She also has more appreciation of customized clothing for each body, rather than the mass-produced clothing we have now.
I wondered what’s next for Mary Beth. “It does beg the question,” she admitted. “I was not previously considering making an 18th century dress. But now it seems like a logical next step.” Completing the outfit may depend on whether she succeeds thrifting a large quantity of fabric.
Her project piqued my interest. I have started thinking about the fashion corset pattern I’ve had on my to-do list for almost 10 years.
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, previously writing for The Dominion Post. She uses experience gained working on organic farms in Europe to help her explore possibilities of local productivity and sustainable living in Preston County. Email columns@dominionpost.com
