The last stays

I had an awful dream the other night, where supanova had arrived and I had nothing to wear (well none of my costumes were ready). Not the way you want to wake up, I tell you now. For me, it was a spur. I came home from work that day and instead of napping and reading a book, I got stuck into it. My final supanova costume is now underway. But onto more exciting things.

My waist stays are complete. And by that I mean my waist length short regency stays. My reasoning for these is that while my short stays fit, I find that after a bit of wear they actually dig into the top of my tummy, and after a few days of complete wear, I end up with a bruise. These stays should counter that problem. The are not full length, so I can still bend at the waist, yet they are longer, helping the lacing stay even and stopping the digging in. Well, that is my thinking anyway. 

I based the pattern for these babies on the simplicity pattern. My first attempt had me working up the wrong size because while I may need a size 12 around the bust, I need a 14 to get around my ribs. I went back to the drawing board and added a little more room to the pattern before cutting out again. They have gone together pretty quickly, aside from the eyelets. And this only because I decided to do them by hand - the reason - so that if I sweat at all in my stays, they eyelets will not rust (has actually been a problem with my old pair).

And you will again, notice that they have pretty lining - this time cupcake. I should also mention that instead of binding with fabric bias, I use twill tape. It's my favourite for regency stays because I find that I can sew it on easier around curves. Simply because the weave of the tape is more flexible. How do I use it? I sew it wrong sides together to the front of my stays at a depth a third of the tape. I then fold the tape over and whip stitch it down to the stitching line on the inside. It's a very neat finish and I remove all that hassle of making my own bias. Granted I do that anyway when I am working on all other stays, but this is what I do for regency and I cannot see me likely to change it. 

And in conclusion - a review. Of all the three regency stays I have made, these are my favourite. There are features in the others that I just don't like. The short ones - bruising. The long ones - not enough room at the hip and the straps keep falling off my shoulders. I am now thinking that the next time I make a set of regency stays (I am thinking full length) they are going to be a bit of a mash of all three patterns, and I am going to spend some time making them pretty (embroidery has been suggested). But all that for another time (when I am not snowed under by the amount of sewing I have to do).