Punch Drunk (Historical Costuming Update)
Over the last two-ish years I've been chipping away at my very first stays with my sewing group (Sewcial Studies). "Stays" are boned laced bodices worn under clothes from the late 16th or early 17th century, before corsets came along in the 18th century. Here's the exact pattern (1780s front-lacing stays by clockworkfaerie) I've been working on:
Since my last update, I've more or less succesfully sewed together the pieces to make each half of my stays. Somehow, I did not actually take a photo of this, so here's an artistic representation:
These two halves will be united when they are laced up with cord and should hopefully look like this upon completion:
Before the cords can be laced in, however, stays need to have holes punched out of the fabric where the laces can snake through.
Aaaaaand theeeeeennnnnnnnn....
This thing! I don't remember what it's called! (EDIT: Grommet Press) But it clamps these little metal rings around each hole, so the fabric won't wear out from the cord rubbing against it.
See? These guys ↑
ka-chunk! ka-chunk! ka-chunk!
This process took a surprisingly long (yet satisfying) time and our session concluded before I could actually add in the laces, so that'll be happening in our next meet up!
And then... Then I'll... I'll have working stays???
Man.
I won't even know what to do with myself after I finish this? (Aside from twirling around in my stays, obviously) I started this in 2023! This is the project I've been using to learn how to use my sewing machine! It's worked: now I am merely intimidated by and nervous of my sewing machine, as opposed to abject terror.
There was that funny point when I thought it was broken for a couple months* so I reverted back to my hand sewing predisposition, and then I wound up having to tear out a few rows of those stitches that took me hours to complete 😂
*(When I fiiiiinally took it in to get fixed, it ran perfectly. Nothing to repair. Of course.)
Anyway!
Stay tuned!
I'll be wrapping this up soon! LITERALLY! (Because of the cords I'll be adding so it can all tie together)
-Erika
Comments (8)
I am slowly learning to use a sewing machine for work and can really only do the most basic thing - thread it and sew some straight lines to make things that are square/rectangular - and it is very comforting that someone as talented and skilled as you also faces the machine with trepidation! They're scary!
Thirding! They are scary. I refuse to touch one. Thankfully I know people who like to sew and can trade labor if I ever need something sewed. 😉
Looking forward to seeing the finished piece! And in the IT business we call that reverse demo effect, something won’t work till you ask someone else to take a look and then it miraculously works! 😂 (Demo effect is when everything works till it’s time to give a demonstration, then suddenly nothing works.)
😂
"Stay tuned" I see what you did there.
That's one nice grommet press! I have a handheld one that suits me fine, but the most badass one I ever worked with was one for leather O_O Your stays are lovely thus far, I'm excited to see it come together
It's a very impressive machine! I don't even sew, but I want one now cause it's so damn cool.
Ahh they're so prettyyy! And dang I love that machine. I've only ever done grommets by hand. Only one or two so by hand was easy, not nearly as many as stays would need. n_n