I am not Suzi, but when I interned at Jamestown I also got to play in the
Yorktown Collection. There was a pair of extant stays that were of similar
construction and definately 18th c. but cut more like C&C page 40 but still
like the 1740's - almost wall-to wall whalebone with the cross boning. All
this boning was done internally with no exterior boning casings for the
cross pieces - although an external casing could have been used before the
lining layer - but observed from a frayed edge, there were more layers that
made up the corset that I would have thought which would either account for
an additional layer for these channels or that they relined right over the
original lining, another possibility as there was obvious wear along the
tabs and evidence that it had been relined..
The thickness of the bones varied slightly with the thickest being almost
1/4" (0.6cm) and I am talking thickness of the bone not width. The width was
an almost uniform 1/4" (0.6 cm).
The stays were bound in linen but in the armpit area they had been unevenly
patched with leather looking remarkably like modern dress shields in shape.
As my landlady/roommate worked at Colonial Williamsburg I was aware of their
facilities so after asking we were able to take the stays to CW to get them
Xrayed so see if we were right about the full boning- that was really cool.
Sarah Paterson
Hi Suzi,
Is this your examin of old stays, that you say they are thin?
When you look at Hogarts prints, and you sometimes see a pair of stays
lying alone on the floor, they are shaped like the body, and i would say,
its the horzontal bones that keep them in shape. Would this not provide
heavier boning?
Bjarne
----- Original Message -----
From: "Suzi Clarke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Historical Costume" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2006 1:33 AM
Subject: Re: [h-cost] about shaping bones in stays
At 21:31 24/04/2006, you wrote:
Hello,
I am in the middle of making the 1740- 50 stays from -Corsets and
Crinolines. My client is a very small person.
In making the internal boning, that is shaping the stays i wondered if
any
here know how thick those would have ben?
I am a little concerned that my client might be heard from the bones i
have
made internal.
You can see the stays here:
http://home0.inet.tele.dk/drewscph/stays_1740.htm
I am going to line the stays with a layer of linnen, but i thoaght
perhaps i
should make some padding over the internal bones?
Bjarne
This would have been thin slices of whalebone, which is flexible. The
German boning is more rigid than true whalebone. I used Rigilene, which
is what I make all my pre Victorian corsets with, plus a few rigid steels
centre front and down the back lacing.
Suzi
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