Stay the Course, Part 3

Or how to construct mid 18th century fully boned stays with a stomacher front.

Step Three: Finishing!

Please note: I did not take photographs while finishing the red stays with the stomacher front that the previous two sections of this tutorial use. In fact, I've never actually finished those stays & have been wearing them unlined for nearly a year (*blush). Instead we will use a pair of blue strapless, front & back lacing stays that I am constructing for a friend as our example throughout this stage of the tutorial. Luckily it doesn't matter what style of stays you are working with, the construction process is always pretty much the same.

Part 1: Binding

Materials:

Previously constructed stays using Parts One & Two.
Needle
Sturdy thread
Binding material. 3/4" strips of chamois leather, dutch linen tape or worsted wool tape are my preferred materials.

Lay binding right side to right side on stays edge. Binding only needs to cover around the very top and bottom of the lacing edges but you can bind around all edges if you want.

Stitch ~1/8" from binding edge using a back stitch for extra security.

Be careful stitching binding around interior curves of the tabs. This takes some fiddling to get just right. Swearing like a sailor while working on this step always works wonders for me.

Fold binding over to the interior leaving ~ 1/4" on the outside.

Whip stitch binding to the interior of the stays. This doesn't have to be perfect, pretty stitching, as it will be covered by the lining in the next step. Some coaxing might be needed around any curved edges and again in those dreaded inner curves of the tabs.

Take a break, your fingers probably hurt like crazy after sewing through all that leather! You can wear your new stays full time from this point. Lining is a nice finish though, keeps the interior more protected from sweat & body oils, provides a little more padding between you and the boning and when installed correctly, can easily be taken out for laundering or replacement without having to disassemble the entire pair of stays.

Part 2: Lining

Materials:

Previously constructed & bound stays, see above.
Previously customized stays pattern from Part 1 (optional)
Needle
Sturdy thread
Light to mid weight linen. This is a great place to use scraps.

Cut out the lining using your customized stays pattern as a guide or roughly trace the outline of the already constructed stays. Lining can be cut as 1 piece, or as several pieces corresponding to each piece of the stays. It's your choice, depending on how much extra work you want to do & how large your scraps of fabric are. The lining pieces don't even have to match, so use up those scraps!

Lay lining piece(s) on stays interior, wrong side to wrong side.

Turn in the edges so lining barely covers binding edge. If using separate lining pieces for each panel turn in all edges over lapping the seams just slightly. Don't forget to turn under the outer edge so your lacing holes remain accessible!

Pin liberally, adjust lining so it lays neatly & smoothly. Re-pin several times to get the lining just so. One can never use too many pins at this stage.

Whip stitch the lining into place along the binding edge, along the outer edge against the lacing holes & along where the lining panels join if necessary.

Use care when working around the interior of the tabs as that is the trickiest area. Trimming the lining into a "Y" shape at the top inner curve of the tabs can make tucking the lining to the inside easier but it is still going to be a fussy job.

Break out a bodkin & the champagne , your stays are finished!

A stupid man's report of what a clever man says

I was told recently that Slightly Obsessed has become a bit "dull". I believe the exact quote was something along the lines of "but don't you do anything fun?" Well yes, but winter fun & summer fun are two different things. Winter fun was the research, the in-depth articles & the endless reading. Now it's summer, event season, time for a whole new type of fun to start!

The Gathering at Macktown

This was my 2nd year camping and participating in the Gathering at Macktown but only my first year with the completed coffeehouse demo. What a change! Naturally there was the endlessly variable Midwestern April weather. Warm and sunny but with 30 mph gusts, giving way to sporadic rain and cold. I do give the public credit though, there were some truly hearty souls decked out in their rain gear & umbrellas despite the storms.

One of the best things about the Gathering is that it is so close to my home. This makes for a perfect season opener because I can just run back up the street to pick up those little odds and ends that either get forgotten after a long hiadus or simply didn't get refreshed after being used up the previous season.

The coffeehouse demo itself was a success. Friday only Contagion stopped by for a cup, but he passed the word and by Sunday I poured out nearly 4 pots. I was in full "talking head" mode most of the weekend and couldn't have been happier with the people that stopped by, asked interesting questions and complimented my impression. It means a lot to know that other reenactors appreciate the work I've put in.

After hours I hung around a bit in the Disreputable Scots camp, partly for the booze, partly for the music and partly because they were the only ones still up in camp late at night. I'm not sure if everyone else is getting old but wow, does Macktown get quiet around 11! Despite all my protestations about loyalty to the King, the Jacobites got what they deserved, godless savages, they really are one of the most fun bunches of folks around.

All in all, I couldn't be happier with the event and look forward to it again next year. Lets put in the order for nice weather now and maybe we'll have a chance to actaully get it.

Bloody Lake Rendezvous

As far as rendezvous go, Bloody Lake isn't all that bad. Sure there are the requisite "frunt-eer" types, a lot of "what were they thinking" moments and some rather loud mouthed neighbors but it is also the first event of the season where we get to camp with our friends in Brigands Folie. It is also fully of other friends, some that I get to see frequently, some that I only see on the rare occasion, some that I've only just met. I'm always amazed at how many new people I meet at every event. Eventually that has to taper off but for now it seems my list of "I've met you before" keeps growing.

Since it's a first come, first served event, we are never sure where we will be camped. This year we ended up on the swamp side of the site, in what I would guess is one of the best spots for us. The coffeehouse was right on the main cross roads, our sign easily visable from the hill side of the site. I'm considering moving our arrival date from Thursday to earlier in the week next year and staking out this space permanantly.

I again set up the coffeehouse demo, but Bloody Lake isn't as heavy handed on the demos as other events. This was nice because it meant I got more time to wander around in camp, do some needed shopping for the demo and chat with friends. Coffee service was surprisingly slow, despite my new nick name of "coffee lady". The few people that did stop by for a dish were very complimentary thought. I was even fortunate enough to have a few visitors really engage me in conversation on the subjects. So while the event wasn't intensive in sheer crowd numbers, it was intense in the depth of material I was able to share.

Other highlights to the event included, getting to hear Dragonfly sing, fitting K into her brand new stays (pictured above), the confabulation of 3 Pints Gone, Brigands Folie and several other musicians who I couldn't identify, getting trounced at checkers by 4 kids at once and of course all the laughs around the fire at night. Here's to next years event being bigger and better.

Up next: 100 years on the Ohio, my first event in the great state of Kentucky!