18th Century Stays (Corset) - Sewing my 1789 Strapless Stitched Stays from Patterns of Fashion 5

My 18th Century stays are complete and I am in love! Have you ever wondered how those glorious 18th Century dresses get their shape? It's all down to the undergarments worn beneath the dress! These are my completed fully-boned stays that I adapted from the 1789 Strapless Stitched Stays from Patterns of Fashion 5 by Janet Arnold. They are made with two layers of linen canvas, an outer layer of heavy blue linen, bound in chamois leather, and lined with light-weight linen. They took me about three months to finish and aggravated my carpel-tunnel to no end but I am so happy with how they turned out!

I've purchased sample sized corsets in the past, which were always supremely uncomfortable. But because these are perfectly fitted to my body (as they would have been in the 1700's) these are wonderfully comfortable and supportive. I never thought I would be able to make an 18th Century outfit because the stays were just so darn intimidating and I knew I had to have them for everything to look right. Despite all the hard work that went into making these stays a reality, I wouldn't say they were particularly difficult to make - just time-consuming. So if you've ever wanted to make your own Versailles dream gown, I hope you find this video inspirational and informative. If I can do it, you can too!

To see the mockup and fitting process, check out this video:

And also please check out Mariah Pattie's video where she makes a pair of stays based on the same ones from the Patterns of Fashion 5 book. I found myself watching her video repeatedly more than any other as I was sewing mine!

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[thecalicoheart]

Really nice, thorough job and very satisfying to watch. Lovely set of stays. 😁 Thank you for sharing. 😊💝

[mikuhatsune]

What a beautiful pair of stays! That straight lacing gap and the fit in general made me so happy for you. A lot of times, the lacing gap on people’s stays is fish-shaped or like a triangle, and while the triangle shape can work with the bones if it’s consistently worn like that, the fish shape is just bad for the stays. I literally felt so happy that your stays fit you so well! Thank you for the lovely video :)

[jeandetmer]

That turned out really nice. Beautiful fit!!

[marthamay]

When I hand sew historical garments I use a leather thimble on my middle finger. I suggest watching Bernadette Banner‘s video on hand sewing. P.S I love this tutorial it’s so helpful!

[jackeduprecruit]

Would a busk have stopped the curving?

[jkabholat]

Or use a pair of needle nose pliers to grip the needle.