Short Stays, 1795-1805

Drafted out of the 1795-1805 example in Regency Women's Dresses.

I realized half-way though that this should have been a photo tutorial, so...here's a half-illustrated one.

I started by scaling up the book pattern, whereupon I realized that the scale provided is... not right. As given, the 'short stays' allegedly have a 17" center front and 23" center back length. For comparison, my 'long stays' (which run from mid-bust to upper hip) have a 14" busk.  Halfing the given scale (1 square = 1/2") gives a 8.5" center front, which more closely resembles the provided illustration, with the lower edge of the stays reaching the bottom of the rib cage.

Anyway, I drafted my stays using the half-scale length, and adjusted the width to my personal measurements. Since most squishyness is up front, I measured between my shoulder blades, and widened the back pieces of the pattern to that measurement by the 'slash-n-spread' method. For the front pieces, I kept the area near the underarm curve at the initial proportions, and used slash-and-spread to widen the central area of the front pieces. After the first test, I ended up removing nearly 4 inches from the center front, and re-shaped the center back seam to suit the curvature of my back. Much of the curving 'tail' of the original pattern did get revised out this way.  I also cut the straps extra long, and then shortened them to fit.

Once I had a working pattern, I cut out a double layer of heavy linen (four copies each of front, back, and strap pieces), and marked the boning channels on the inside layer.

The original garment was apparently stitched by whipping together the individual pieces (the raw edged being turned in and sandwiched between the inner and outer layers).  Being short on time, I changed this to machine sewing in the following way:

1. Prepare the two straps by folding in the seam allowances on the long sides of the four strap pieces. Match up inside and outside layers, and topstitch the long edges. 

2. Sew together two front and two back pieces to make the lining; repeat to make the outer layer.

3. Baste the straps to the lining.

4. With right sides together, join the lining and outer layer, by stitching along the upper edge. This will sandwich the short, raw edges of the straps between the two layers. [I nearly just pressed the seam allowance and top-stitched this, but I wanted the straps well-secured before doing so].

5. Turn the stays right sides out, press the seam allowances all around the raw edges, and top stitch from the center front, over the previously sewn upper edge (to help stabilize it further), and down the other center front edge. 

6. Stitch the boning channels. I started at the center back, paying particular attention to the side seams, where short angled bones meet at the seam. I did the ones on the back pieces as normal, and inserted the bones; for the second set, I stitched the uppermost seam, slide in the bone along the long side of the eventual channel, stitched the middle seam (between the two bone channels), slide in the second bone, and then finished the channel. After all four bones were in place, I top-stitched over the side seam, sealing off the four channels. The angled bones at the center front are more straightforward, but do need to be stitched and inserted before the stitching the vertical channels at the center front.

The tricky meeting of short, angled
boning channels at the side seam.

7. With all the channels stitched and bones inserted, topstitch over the lower edge (the raw edges having previously been folded to the inside).

8. Mark and make the lacing holes at the center front. I used two-piece metal grommets. Hand-bound eyelets would be more accurate, but time is an issue here. And my particular shape will be putting a lot of strain on the lacing...

Inserting the grommets. As always, I put one in backward.

9. I gave the garment a final press to remove the guidelines I'd drawn in for the channels. [Maggie K. turned me on to using friction-erase pens, which come out with the heat of, say, an iron.] In retrospect, this would have been slightly easier before inserting all of the bones...

But seriously, this ink comes out much faster
and neater than water-soluble pens.

And there they are. The short stays are quite comfortable, and very easy to put on, though I like the shaping of my long stays rather better.

Finished stays.

Two Pairs of Shoe Roses

While attempting to prepare some shoe roses for an upcoming Jane Austen event, I remembered just how much I hate working with satin ribbon.

I attempted to make the rosettes using knife pleats, but, as you can see, the ribbon just doesn't like holding pleats. Since I really wanted these rosettes to match the dress (which is trimmed in a wider version of the same ribbon), I tried a second set, made as constructed bows. While I really like the idea of a ribbon rosette, the satin ribbon really prefers the gentler curve of the loops to the sharp creases of the pleats.

Bows and rosettes.

The main material is half-inch wide blue silk satin ribbon from Nancy's Sewing Basket (the closing sale). The clips are from American Duchess. The rosettes are built on a round base of buckram, covered in cotton crinoline.

HFF 3.6: Easy As Pie

The Challenge: Easy as pie--an easy dish and/or a pie.

The Recipe: Little girl's pie from Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book

The Date/Year and Region: 1846 (5th edition 1856), New York

How Did You Make It: I peeled, cored, and quartered four medium apples, arranged them in my smallest pie plate, and then added 4 oz of molasses, 3 generous tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flour. I then prepared a half-batch of family pie paste (from Sarah Hale's The Lady's New Book of Cookery, 1852) using 1/2 lb flour, 1/4 lb butter and a little water. I covered the apples with pie crust, and baked it 325F for 90 minutes

Time to Complete: About 30 minutes to prepare, and 90 to bake.

Total Cost: Made with ingredients I had on hand.

How Successful Was It?: Ehhh... Molasses and fruit pies just aren't good things for me to make. It turned out slightly better than the cherry pie (and I spilled no scalding hot molasses on myself this time), but it still mostly just tastes like molasses. The filling was also really runny after baking, so I apparently should have used more flour.

How Accurate Is It?: Fairly. I used a modern variety of apple. Lacking a soup plate, I used my smallest pie tin, as the closest available equivalent.

Little Girl's Pie (1846/1856). Not quite to my taste.

Winding Yarn

My irregular series on fiber crafting on a tight space/money budget, aka repurposing household objects. 

What to do when you have no umbrella winder to hold a skein? If you can't commandeer a nearby sibling, roommate or lover to hold it, try putting the yarn over the back of two chairs. 

Pros: no additonal equipment to buy; easily adjust for skein size by shifting chair positions; minimal snarky comments from voluntold assistants.

Cons: the chairs do not rotate, so you have to walk around them; does not provide fun commentary.

Two chairs holding a yarn skein.

Another Rolled Sewing Kit

More Fanciful Utility fun. This one's a black silk taffetta, with needle pages of black wool edged in red silk floss. 

Still one of the more difficult colors to photograph.

Bandoline

Bandoline is used by ladies, and by hairdressers for stiffening the hair, and to make it curl firmly and remain in place. It is applied either by moistening the fingers and passing the hair through them, or by means of a small sponge.
--A Cyclopedia of Practical Receipts (3rd ed. 1856, London)

Bandoline (fixature, clysphitique, eau collante): Victorian setting solution.  Most of the recipes I've found describe boiling quince seeds in water.  A Cyclopedia of Practical Receipts includes a few different versions.

The first one I've tried uses 1.2 oz of gum arabic dissolved in 3 oz of water and 2 oz of rosewater. I tried it on a half scale. Its very easy, you just need to give the gum arabic a day or two to fully dissolve.

Combined the ingredients, shook, and set aside.

Two days later, all of the resin has dissolved.

The bandoline is a bit sticky, causing the lid to adhere somewhat to the jar. To apply, I dabbed it on my fingers and swiped it through my hair. It dries very quickly, and has a nice hold. I didn't notice any of the the "gummy"-ness I've read about, though that may be a reference to the materials rather than a description of the final product. 

When I tried putting my hair up in curlers, I found that I need to dampen each proto-curl immediately before twisting it up--if you try to do two at once, the second will dry before you can set it. Thus, this makes a fast alternative to setting curls wet and waiting hours for them to dry.

The curls also tend to stay better that water-damped curls, and don't brush out so easily. At the same time, I was impressed as how natural the curls felt: they weren't crunchy and hard like the mousse-held curls of my '90s childhood.

Unfortunately, my rag-curler technique is still really sloppy. I need to start doing more early 19th century styles for the curl practice.

The bandoline-assisted curls dried instantly,
the water-set ones needed a long time to dry.

Original Dress: 1740-1750 Polychrome Brocade Gown, Remade

English Woman's Dress, 1740-1750
MFA, Elizabeth Day McCormick Collection

A robe ala Francais or sacque gown, remade in the 1740s as an English gown (the main difference being the close-fitting back versus having flowing folds the fabric). Speaking of which, check out that fabric: polychrome brocade on a white ground, with silver and gold threads.

HFF 3.5: Indulgence

The Challenge: Indulgence--A dish associated with Mardi Gras, or an ingredient that is 'indulgent' for you. I choose pancakes (associated with Mardi Gras), and an indulgent wine sauce.

The Recipe: Pancakes and a nice summer sauce from Cookery As It Should Be

The Date/Year and Region: 1856, Philadelphia

How Did You Make It:  For the sauce, I creamed together 4 Tbsp of brown sugar and 2 Tbsp of softened butter. I then stirred in 1 Tbsp of orange-flower water and ~1.5 oz of white wine (a Riesling; my go-to source for domestic measures from 1840 lists one wineglass as 1.5 oz). At this point, I ran into a problem where no amount of mixing would incorporate the butter into the liquid; I finally stuck it in the microwave for 20 seconds to melt the butter. The sauce then went into the freezer to thicken while I made the pancakes.

For pancakes, I stirred 1 cup of all-purpose, sifted flour into 1 cup of skim milk (which is what I keep on hand), then separated four eggs and beat the whites to stiff peaks. I beat the yolks and mixed them with the flour-milk, and added 1/8 tsp salt. I then stirred in the egg whites. I cooked the pancakes on medium heat in a butter-and-lard greased pan until brown. 

To serve, the pancakes are rolled, stacked, and doused with summer sauce. I grated fresh nutmeg over the top.

Time to Complete: All morning.

Total Cost: Unsure. Most ingredients on hand.

How Successful Was It?: The pancakes are slightly bland on their own, but thick and fluffy. I was worried that the mixture was too thin, but the egg whites made it work. The pancakes are almost too thick, and I was finding them getting crunchy on the outside by time the center cooked. The sauce is delightful--the flavors of orange flower and brown sugar come through the most, with a hint of the wine--and utterly necessary. Without the sauce, the pancakes are fairly flavorless, save a faint taste of egg.

These take time to cook, and need to be served hot, so if I make them again, it'll probably be for a period cooking/dining event. If so, I would like to get multiple pans going, so that a full plate of pancakes can be prepared before the first ones get cold.

How Accurate Is It?: Fairly? I cheated with an electric mixer, and melting the sauce butter. And, of course, I was working on an electric stove. I do like the Victorian flavor combination of orange flower, wine and nutmeg.

Pancakes. Fairly tasty, but time-consuming.