Approx 1780s-1790s stays

 finished June 17, 2021


self-drafted based on Mariah Pattie's video about arc-drafting system 

no tabs- covers hips based on 2 extant stays

white muslin as fashion fabric and as the lining, white canvas layer, tan "twill" layer

stitched boning channels in muslin fashion & canvas layers, added bones, then assembled (stitched seams together). tan "twill" fabric padstitched to canvas layer (after boning and assembly) primarily over the boning channels. Made eyelets down back and down front. Edged everything with 3/4" off-white/ecru twill tape. Then lined with white muslin similarly to Gracie Sews' suggestion to use as few total pieces as possible. I then added straps using the same twill tape. 

The boning is 5mm plastic whalebone. I drew the boning channels at ~1cm wide. 

This fits reasonably well! It's a little big at the very top of the bust, bust the front closes entirely with a ~2" gap in the back (as designed). But the lacing in the back redistributes from an even 2" gap to touching at the top and wider at the bottom.  The back is spiral laced with 9 eyelets on each side of the back, while the front is cross laced with 8 eyelets on each side of the front. I am using 1/8" twill tape for lacing (in an ecru/off-white color)

The shaping is reasonable - flat front, not super pushing-up of the bust, nor super cone-shaped.

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