The busy life of a costumer

What else has been going on lately, you ask? I had a day off on Monday this week, so was able to get stuck into some of my long awaited sewing projects. In particular some vintage and lolita dresses that are suitable to wear to work. I also managed to spend some time sifting through the plastic tubs of fabric, organising what I had in stock (let's just say that I really should do some more sewing before I buy any more fabric).

In the realm of finished accomplishments though, are my new Victorian Stays. The last pair that I had, were about 2 years old and had been worn to death. To the point that I had bones poking out top and bottom that would jab me in the hip and armpit as I moved around. And in fact, the last time that I work it, one of the seams decided that it was time to bust. All in all, it was a scream to me that it was about time for a new set. Cue an upcoming Victorian event and you have me motivated to get stuck into it. I used the same pattern as my last set, as they still fit really well (though next time that might change). I dug through my stash of silks and pulled out some lovely purple that was perfect for the outer layer, then pulled out some pink sweets quilting fabric from Japan to act as my lining. Everything in the middle though, that you don't see is left over scraps from other projects. All in all, my stays are five layers thick: 1 silk, 1 cotton (as the silk is so thin), 1 shapewell (stiffened cotton), 1 cotton, 1 cotton lining. Add to that the bias I add in through the middle sections to provide a backing for the boning and you have all my layers.

The way I see it is that if it is a little thicker, it is likely to take a lot longer for the bones to be able to work their way out of their casings. It probably helps too that I have rounded off the edges of all my boning instead of just the lazy cutting that I did last time (oops). Lesson learnt.