Making some regency stays.

So, long story short I need a new bra, and my preferred size is hard to find. At the same time my YouTube feed started showing two separate videos about people making regency short stays based on this redthreaded pattern. So I decided to take my own shot at it.

This is a PDF pattern meaning you get the pattern as a file that you then print out.  I payed a bit more to get one for both short and long stays. But lets face it I'm going to make a full size corset someday so I might as well by a pattern now when I can get a bit of a discount.

Once printed you just tape the papers together and cut out the pieces. For this one most pieces were quite small, so only one had to be taped together. 

This also makes this an excellent project to use up some of my scrap fabric. So if I like the end result I'll probably make more. 

Clearly I'm incapable to just follow a pattern or instructions. Because as usual i made some adjustments, rather than just the two layers of fabric needed I'm doing a third padding layer of a thick wool I have. I'm also going to have as little boning as possible. 

So, a layer of cotton,  on of wool and once the flannel I ordered for my pajama pants project arrives a layer of that.

Sewing

For the wool I only did the front piece that was all I felt was needed. I also did it without seam allowance on the edges since it's meant to be inside the rest. This fabric doesn't fray and be cause of its thickness it's possible to sew it together just edge to edge, which is what I did for the gussets. Doing the seams the normal way would have made it way to bulky.

For the rest I did as one normally do, Cutting out the pieces and stitching it together by hand. I do have a sewing machine but I like doing my sewing sitting on my couch and watching videos. But also this is lots of small fiddly bits which is in many ways easier to do by hand.  

While doing one of the gussets I realizing it looked wrong. After actually looking at the instructions I tried a different way on the next one. The third one I did was the one I liked the look of (I'm working on the outside layer so I want it to look good) so I ripped up and redid the others.

At this point I did have to watch a video to figure out how some things should be done. Like the fold in the back and how the shoulder straps are meant to attach. There weren't any picture in the instruction and I don't understand what the text mean. I also decided that I want some boning in the front so I added the boning channel.

Then the project was put on pause.  I needed some ribbon to bind the edges but the fabric store isn't open on the weekends during the summer. There are probably others stores but not in walking distance. So I have to wait two weeks until my vacation to get the ribbon. Vacation starts and first Monday I'm there. Only to realize they have closed for lunch 14 to 15 which is odd time and right when I there. So I do some other errands first. Maybe I'll take it on the way home. This is starting to feel cursed.

I planned on buying black ribbon for the binding, but picked a dark blue instead, But now it's time to put it all together.

The back edge folds back and is sewn into channels for the boning, this is mostly to give stability for the lacing. I had decided to use leather for boning partially because it's easier to find. So four thin strips for the back boning and one thick as a center front busk. I'm putting the boning as much on the outside as I can. 

Something interesting happened. I have been unhappy with the fit for a while and I have been adjusting the shoulder straps to try an fix it. Some parts were too wide and some to short. Today I put in the eyelets and could for the first time wear it properly laced. All of a sudden the fit is so much better. I even moved the straps back to the original position. 

In the end I attached the straps the easiest way. Edge to edge and then covering the seam with the binding. Not the most elegant way but all the mess is on the inside so it doesn't matter.

Eyelets are put on to the straps and front the and then its done. I did consider not having eyelets on the front and just sew on the ribbon. But I decided I wanted to be able to change ribbon color in the future.

Results 

In hindsight I should probably have watched the videos to see how they did the binding before I started. On the other hand it worked out fine despite doing it completely differently. If I do this again I'll probably just make the straps and back piece into one part and avoid all this.

But it is comfy. More so than several bras I have since underwires sometimes dig in. It is meant to be worn with a shift or tank top underneath and something on top. Trying this it doesn't look too bad. 

Unfortunately the eyelets aren't as smooth as I would have wanted and I can feel them catch on the ribbons when I lace it.

Between the pattern, the eyelets and the ribbon for the binding (I already had the ribbons for the lacing) It was roughly double the price of just buying a bra. But the pattern was a one time purchase. And there is roughly forty eyelets left. So if I ever want to do another the price would be significant lower. I would basically just need the ribbon to bind the edges and that's mostly decorative.