At 12:12 25/04/2006, you wrote:
Dear Suzi, Bjarne and others who do stays
I'm debating whether to use the plastic whalebone or
rigilene: while the narrowness of the whalebone gives
what looks to me like a very authentic appearance
(with the narrow rows of stitching)
You can buy narrow Rigilene.
it is a) a bit
more expensive and b) more work. Rigilene however has
ths tendency to flip out of shape, especially over the
tummy: do you find (Suzi) that one or two flat steels
(rather than spirals) at the front is enough to keep
it flat?
Yes, I do. Depending on the shape of the corset it can be up to 5
rigid steels. (Tudor needs 5 for example.)
Do you stitch half way down each piece of
rigilene (which would give you a 'channel' of around
5-6mm, like the plastic whalebone)?
No, stitch down either side, then thread the steels into the channels
made that way. My customers are not fixated on the "narrow" channel
look as no-one gets to see it anyway, and if they do, they are not
about the get out a measuring tape and complain the channels are too
wide (lol) (Or they'd better not!) The rigilene does eventually
de-form, but you can help prevent this by using some stiffener under
the Rigilene, like iron-on canvas, or even just another layer of
canvas. (Mine usually come back for a replacement of steels about
every 5-10 years!)
Suzi
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