Pink and White 18th Century Stays

New stays! I always say I'll never make another pair again, but then I do. This time I used American Duchess's Simplicity Pattern with the accuracy "hacks" on the American Duchess blog. For example, I made hand sewn eyelets instead of grommets (did I ever mention I HATE grommets?), and I sewed the lining in after binding which is a more accurate 18th century construction method. I used off-white cotton for the outside and interlining, and linen for the lining. The entire garment is sewn by hand, but I did cheat and use plastic zip ties for boning. I love that these stays lace in the front and back which makes them much more adjustable and more comfy to wear. I also added some embroidery details just because I can. I successfully taught myself how to embroider the detached buttonhole stitch, which is great for making larger shapes on which you don't want to use the satin stitch. 

This is the inside of the stays with pink satin ribbon lacing up the back:

 Here they are on me laced loosely:

I embroidered tiny hearts next to the arms

and embroidered flowery designs on the back

About the fit: The bottom is actually still loose even when I lace it as tight as it will go. The top, as you can see, has plenty of lacing room. I tried lacing from bottom to top, and it showed off a little more that I wanted *cough cough*  so I prefer to lace from top to bottom for modesty purposes. They are very low cut. Like really low. It took some getting used to after my other stays, but after wearing them a few times, I got used to them, and found them to be quite comfortable. The hand sewn eyelets are holding up nicely which makes me very happy. 

Now that I have two pairs of stays, I can put one on the dress form, and wear the other while I'm making a gown (I did start a new one - pictures soon!!) which makes my life much easier! Now I don't have to undress and redress the dress form every time I want to do a fitting.

Thanks for reading!