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nuranarAt least good enough! I re-drew the side pieces (ironically not on the actual side seam) to take out 3" in the waist and 2" at the upper edge. The mockup was too snug to pin, which was as it should be; but pulling it with my hands, it looked just about right. (How's that for non-scientific evidence?) I did manage to loop a tape measure around and the waist looks like it's in the right range. And all of this is allowing for a 2" lacing gap, so I have room to play with.
The one thing I'm changing is moving the strap points at the front inward by 1". Taking out width at the underarm moved those enough that they were definitely uncomfortable. Moving them shouldn't affect the overall look much at all.
So what's next? I need to trace off clean patterns and cut out the actual fabric. Which brings me to some questions. I studiedthe_aristocat's 1780s stays page extensively, both for general silhouette and for construction detail. I got most of it, but there are some questions left, either for her or anyone else who has ideas. :)
1. Each piece has a seam allowance; it looks fairly wide. Is 3/4" about right?
2. She outlined the pieces through all layers of fabric. Great! But how do you get the boning in after the channels are done? Carefully rip out the outline stitches?
3. Most important: Is the seam allowance on all 4 edges of all pieces? This picture perplexes me; it looks like the armhole seam allowance has been cut away, assuming it's the same piece as in the earlier picture. At what point is that done?
4. She says, "Then I turned under the seam allowances and whip stitched them down." Are those just the seam allowances? What about the edges at the top and the tabs? When are those trimmed and (presumably) whip stitched so they don't get ragged and the boning comes out? Or are they turned under as well, like a self binding?
5. And finally, the binding. This is one of my blind spots: I've had a terrible time figuring out how to do binding. On the example stays, the binding is silk grosgrain. Is that like regular silk faille? Or is it actual ribbon? Either way, how do you sew the binding to the stays on the outside, without running into the boning? And how big a "seam allowance" should I go for? The narrower, the easier it is to turn the corners on the tabs; but my previous experiences have all had very ravel-y fabrics with boning trying to escape. Just a nightmare.
Help? I need to know about the seam allowance, at least, so I can make the patterns and cut things out.
The one thing I'm changing is moving the strap points at the front inward by 1". Taking out width at the underarm moved those enough that they were definitely uncomfortable. Moving them shouldn't affect the overall look much at all.
So what's next? I need to trace off clean patterns and cut out the actual fabric. Which brings me to some questions. I studied
the_aristocat's 1780s stays page extensively, both for general silhouette and for construction detail. I got most of it, but there are some questions left, either for her or anyone else who has ideas. :)1. Each piece has a seam allowance; it looks fairly wide. Is 3/4" about right?
2. She outlined the pieces through all layers of fabric. Great! But how do you get the boning in after the channels are done? Carefully rip out the outline stitches?
3. Most important: Is the seam allowance on all 4 edges of all pieces? This picture perplexes me; it looks like the armhole seam allowance has been cut away, assuming it's the same piece as in the earlier picture. At what point is that done?
4. She says, "Then I turned under the seam allowances and whip stitched them down." Are those just the seam allowances? What about the edges at the top and the tabs? When are those trimmed and (presumably) whip stitched so they don't get ragged and the boning comes out? Or are they turned under as well, like a self binding?
5. And finally, the binding. This is one of my blind spots: I've had a terrible time figuring out how to do binding. On the example stays, the binding is silk grosgrain. Is that like regular silk faille? Or is it actual ribbon? Either way, how do you sew the binding to the stays on the outside, without running into the boning? And how big a "seam allowance" should I go for? The narrower, the easier it is to turn the corners on the tabs; but my previous experiences have all had very ravel-y fabrics with boning trying to escape. Just a nightmare.
Help? I need to know about the seam allowance, at least, so I can make the patterns and cut things out.