An Old Project - 1770s Stays

Today I'd like to share another project, long over due. This post has been sitting in my draft fold since I started blogging. Oh my! I do hope you pardon the crummy photos, I took them with my cell phone. They are not great but at least they serve as some kind of documentation of the construction of my stays.

Stays are a crucial foundation garment to any 18th century wardrobe. They give you support and that great period correct shape. In my first few years of reenacting I didn't wear stays. I didn't think I needed them nor did I have the money or knowledge to purchase or make a pair of my own. I soon learned otherwise. 

My first pair of stays were made using the JP Ryan pattern. I have used a couple different JP Ryan patterns and for the most part found them easy to use. You get a fairly accurate looking historical garment even though you are using modern sewing techniques. I felt this was a fairly good pattern with easy to follow instructions. The pattern pieces fit together well and I found I didn't need to make many adjustments.

JP Ryan stays pattern

I used a cotton canvas for the lining and a linen cotton blend for the outer fabric. A good friend of mine makes baskets so getting basket caning to use for boning was easy. The basket caning was a little wider than I wanted so I had to trim each piece to the right width. For the binding I used thin off-white leather. It was a little on the heavy side but not too bad to work with. I set out to make my first pair of stays all by hand ... but after I finished stitching the boning channels on the front two panels I gave up and used the sewing machine. 

They turned out well, are fairly accurate in appearance, and have held up well after several years of use. But after some more research, I was determined my next pair of stays would be as accurate as possible! This meant using more authentic materials and completely hand sewing them! A daunting task for sure but I felt I was up to the challenge.

Stays, 1770-1780 V&A

I mentioned this was an older project, yes? Well, these stay were started at a Hive workshop in 2011! The workshop began with some background information – who wore stays, what were made of, and how they changed throughout the 18^th century.  Hallie Larkin, who not only makes stays as part of her sewing business, also collects originals and had a few examples at the workshop. This is part of the reason I love collecting vintage and antique clothing of my own. As enjoyable as it is to examine original items in museums, online, or in books, nothing beats seeing these things up close and personal! After a brief discussion of what kind of stays each of us wanted to make, it was time for our fittings. For my new pair of stays I choose to make a more “fashionable” set from the 1770s.  

I should mention that one of the original pairs of stays on hand were from the 1770s; a lovely, but faded, pink pair with blue binding and stiffened with baleen. Not only that but one of the reproduction pairs available to try on were an exact copy of these. I’m not sure which was more exciting, trying on the reproduction pair of stays with the originals right there beside me or knowing that I’m the same size as a woman who lived 200 years ago. :)

Materials Used

Linen interface

Checked linen lining

Blue worsted wool

Basket reeds for boning and metal stay for bust support

Cardstock stiffener

Leather binding

Linen thread

1/4" linen tape

All of the materials were provided as part of the workshop with the exception of the blue worsted wool which I purchased from Burnley and Trowbridge. For anyone interested in making their own set of 18th century stays, Smith and Larkin at The Sign of the Golden Scissors offers a variety stays kits and supplies.

Please pardon the crummy quality of these next photos. Unlike the JP Ryan pattern, each section of the stays was assembled individually. The wool fashion fabric is placed on top of the heavy linen interfacing, the boning channels are marked and then stitched. I used Tiger Tape to help me keep the channels nice and straight. After all the pieces - 2 fronts, 2 sides, 2 side backs, and 2 backs - were completed it was time to start attaching them together. It's difficult to see in these pictures but each section is whipped together leaving a generous seam allowance should they ever need to be altered later on. Something the JP Ryan pattern does not do.

These really hold their shape!! You can see the seam allowance is just tacked in place.

Here you can see the almost completed stays. At this point, before adding the binding and lining, I was able to try them on for fit. You may notice that the eyelets are off set, (something seen on originals) this so they line up straight when you spiral lace your stays. This particular style of stays are cut a little lower in the front and back compared to my first pair. The "points" of the front sections sit just above the bust line. Most high fashion gowns of the 1770s and 1780s were cut lower in front so these stays accommodates that fashion.

And the inside without the lining.

This photo, from an older post, shows the white linen tape covering the seams and the white leather binding. At some point I will take some better photos of these stays. I also want to do some comparison photos wearing these and my JP Ryan stays. These fit SOOOO much better and are super comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

Mitts and Gown Trimming Workshops

Another excellent set of Hive workshops this past weekend! It was a very busy day at the Major John Buttrick House in Lexington, Mass. There were three workshops taking place - making an 18th century hand sewn shift with Sharon Burnston, trimming a gown and constructing mitts with Hallie Larkin and Stephanie Smith.

MET 11.60.232a,b

The gown trimming workshop was very informative. Using silk scraps we practiced different techniques used in making 18th century trim - pinking, ruching, box pleating, and gathering. We also made rosettes and bows and briefly discussed options for adding cuffs and sleeve ruffles. Our examples made in class will be mounted on a board to use as references for our individual future projects. We had a chance to examine an original silk stomacher and a set of sleeve flounces trimmed with fly fringe. What I found particularly useful was the discussion of trims that were available in the 18th century and how we can best replicate them with the resources we have available today. Like it or not, when it comes to certain kinds of trim, even the most accurate costumer may have to compromise. Finding trim that is made of something other than poly can be really difficult. I've seen a few options that were 100% silk but they were very costly.

The workshop covered the importance of having a plan before you begin trimming your gown. Take a look at original examples, either surviving garments or period art work. Don't make stuff up! Decide what design will work best for you, your fabric, and the time period you want to represent. Some fabrics will pleat or gather better than others. Most of our silk brocades, for example, will not hold a cut edge so they will need to be finished. Making a sketch of your gown with different trim ideas will give you a good idea of what your finished gown will look like.

A helpful hint  - make a paper template to use as a guide for S curves and large amounts of trim on your gown skirts and petticoat. I wish I had known that when I made my ivory gown. It would have saved some aggravation in figuring out how much fabric to use. Pleats and gathering will take up a lot more fabric then you may think!

MET 32.35.1a, b

Close up of box pleats MET 11.60.232a,

MET 26.56.2a–c

The most difficult part of the trim class was learning to make fly fringe. The technique is not all that hard but the silk floss was so slippery and liked to stick to everything! It also was prone to knotting easily which is both good and bad. Good because making fly fringe involves tying lots of little knots, but bad because if you're not careful you will have knots in your silk floss where you don't want them. The silk floss we used in the workshop came from the Japanese Embroidery Center

Here is the fly fringe I started making in class.

The afternoon workshop was constructing a pair of mitts. A must have accessory! For a look at the original pair those in the workshop were patterned after take a look at Hallie's post - Mitt Madness. Black silk with yellow silk embroidery! I'm making my mitts out of a lovely light weight linen. They will have yellow silk embroidery and yellow silk tips just like the originals. All that herringbone stitching is time consuming but I'm looking forward to having a fashionable pair of mitts when I'm done. I don't have pictures of my mitts but hope to post some soon.

Other examples of 18th century mitts
Raspberry silk - MFA 43.1969a-b
Blue silk mitts - MET C.I.44.8.8a, b 
Red silk mitts - MET C.I.44.8.7a, b 

http://www.glovecollectioncatalogue.org/-23448-23463-others

Shoemaking Workshop - Part 1, The Location

I've talked a little bit about my shoemaking experience and will be sharing more soon. But before I go into any details about the workshop itself, I thought I would first share a little bit about the location where the shoemaking workshop was held. 

Last August, Mr. Walker, a shoemaker at Colonial Williamsburg, held a week-long shoemaking workshop at Eastfield Village near Nassau, New York. Eastfield Village is the creation of Don Carpentier. Similar to places like Old SturbridgeVillage in Massachusetts, Eastfield Village is a collection of historic homes and outbuildings that date from the late 18^th century to about 1840.

        

“Eastfield is the creation and life work of Don Carpentier, who has been collecting and reconstructing the stuff of everyday life between 1787 and 1840 since 1958. The village is called Eastfield because Don's father gave him eight acres of woodlot near the east field of the family farm in 1971 for the first of his reconstructions: a blacksmith's shop (somebody's pigpen before Don dismantled and hauled it here). There are now more that 20 buildings, including the whale of a tavern.” - From the Eastfield Village website

Brown General Store moved from Minaville, NY,

Each of the buildings are furnished with an amazing collection of antique and reproduction furniture, cooking ware, tools, books, and much more! The village has a fully functional blacksmiths shop, tinsmiths shop, and general store. I spent part of one afternoon exploring a few of the buildings. I didn’t get to go into the general store but did peak through the window!

 

Eastfield Village is privately owned by Mr. Carpentier and it is normally not open to the public. However, a series of different workshops are held on site each year for those interested in learning historic trades and historic preservation techniques. 

 Here’s a look at the workshops that were offered in 2011. 

Interior of the Old Tavern

There were nine people at the shoemaking workshop in August but not everyone was able to stay for the full week. Most of us stayed did on site. Our home for the week was the spacious William Briggs Tavern. All of our meals were prepared in the tavern’s kitchen over the fire. There was a large soapstone sink with running water (cold only!) for washing dishes. There was very limited electricity in the building; only a few outlets in one or two rooms and no electric lights. The first night I was there we had a major thunder storm roll through. Mr. Carpentier came into the tavern to get some extra candles and told us the power had gone out. None of us had noticed. We were sitting snug by the fire with a few candles for light enjoying good conversations! 

William Briggs Tavern, my home for the week!

Interior of William Briggs Tavern

Our workshop space was in the ballroom of the William Briggs Tavern. The ballroom was large enough that each attendee had his or her own work space. We had several tables set up and plenty of natural light to work by. During the week, Mr. Walker, who in addition to making shoes for Colonial Williamsburg also teaches one of their weekly dance programs, taught us a few 18th century country dances.

Ballroom inside William Briggs Tavern

Over all it was a wonderful week. Filled with good food, great company, and many wonderful memories! I hope very much to be able to work with everyone again at some point in the future. 

No beer in the kitchen and do dogs in bed!!

Trending - 18th Century Shoes

Last summer I was fortunate enough to be able to take a shoe making workshop with Mr. Walker, one of the shoe makers at Colonial Williamsburg. (More on the workshop later. If interested, Diary of a Mantua Maker has some excellent posts about her shoe making experience here.)

In doing some shoe-related research since the workshop, I started noticing a trend in a particular type of fabric used in 18th century shoes. The fabric is silk with a small diamond, or spotted, shaped pattern to it. I have counted at least six pairs of shoes, mostly in ivory, made from this type of fabric. But I'm sure there are many others out there.

Manchester City Galleries, 1947.918

MFA, 43.1724 a,b

MFA 44.531a-b date, 1780-85

 It may be hard to tell in the images here, but these examples all have that small diamond pattern. I have found that many online galleries, such as the MET and MFA, have fabulous zoom features. Here is a good upclose image of the diamond pattern, actually more like spots in this example. It's also a nice closeup of the detail on the toe. The design appears to be worked in small sequins, or "spangles", instead of embroidered with silk thread like the examples seen above.

MET 13.49.30a, b

MET 13.49.30a, b

One of the things I find fascinating about these shoes is that they all date to the second half of the 18th century or later. There are definite distinctions in each decade of the 18th century, as there is are in every century. In the 1770s and 1780s smaller prints and stripes became fashionable. No more large floral styles of the 1740s and 1750s; although you do see many examples of gowns restyled using older fabric. (Hallie has some great posts about that here, here, and here.) It makes sense then that the fabric for shoes would follow that of the gowns they would be worn with. Another trend I have noticed in these later 18th century shoes, is a complimentary color being used for the heels and straps. Here are two examples. I adore the black and pink!

Manchester City Galleries, 1968.71

V &A, T.472&A-1913

Here is another example in a lovely mint green. Very simple but very pretty too.

MET 2009.300.4373

Eventually I will finish my own pair of 18th century shoes. (And blog about them.) For my first pair (I do plan on making more than one pair, someday ;) ) I selected a blue worsted wool. The wool is much easier to work with than silk for an inexperience shoe maker. Or so I'm told and more than happy to believe. :) Any costumer who has worked with silk taffeta can tell you it can be a bit fussy at times! In any case, if I do decide to reproduce any of the above example I think I've already found the perfect fabric.

Off White Silk Figured Taffeta from Renaissance Fabrics

It's available in a couple of colors but the ivory could be dyed to any color. I've ordered from Renaissance Fabrics before and really like their silks.