Starting a new project, a pair of stays, a commission for Olympe.
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| Olympe's materials - cream jacquard, yellow linen, and the stays shall be interlined in canvas |
They will lace at the front over a stomacher, and with a pretty light blue ribbon. The body of the stays is a cream jacquard and the stomacher and bias binding will be this lovely yellow linen.
Reference images:
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| Reference for boning. I'm thinking a combo of hemp (for curves) and zip ties (my favorite) for straights |
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| An example of front closing stays. No laces shown here, oddly enough. |
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| Front closing stays with wide-set shoulder straps. Olympe's won't be so wide, and her straps will be detachable. I love the long tail on the back of these, though. |
A few ideas in terms of pattern:
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| One of those standard reference images for stays you see everywhere. Where did I even get this? |
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| A free pattern I found on the web. Half boned stays, but could be fully boned easily enough. |
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| Butterick's stays pattern. I may use this for basic pattern pieces to then alter. |
She has asked for wide-ish tabs (and I agree), and straps that can be removed. They straps will have a wide set so as to be worn fairly far out on the shoulder, if attached.
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| My preliminary sketches for the stays, just exploring pattern, where the seams will be how the bones will work. Brainstorming. |
Olympe is teeny tiny! She has asked for a 2.5" reduction, and this takes the measurements well under the size of my dress forms, so I will have to employ my skills of maths to figure out the pattern, eek!
