Comments on: How we do what we do

By: mj

mj — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:47:47 +0000

Carolyn`s comments about the necessity of small stitches on the binding of the stays reminds me of my own mending…of the sides of my bras when the boning works it`s way out to impale me…usually when i`m out and about somewhere and can`t fix it…that`s the price we pay for good support I guess…:-)

By: Mel

Mel — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:06:25 +0000

Reed *was* used to bone the late 16th c. German pair of bodies in Patterns of Fashion, and I think there are some textual mentions of it. However, the reed used in period was different from modern basketry reed.

By: Carolyn Hastings

Carolyn Hastings — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:06:55 +0000

I hope that you could see my smile when I remarked on the rack of serger threads. I used to do 18th c. reenacting, and I know that sometimes compromises are necessary just to get people dressed. I have also made several pairs of stays, some all hand sewn. My hat is off to Plimoth for finding the resources to make any of the stays by hand — if you had asked me, I would have thought that job would be impossible, much less up to 50%.

And Sandy — I’m not sure how much corset repair would have taken place due to disintegration of the reed boning. I think the reed is a modern adaptation because the whale boning isn’t available.

What I found really time consuming, and needed periodic mending, was the binding on the edges of the stays. If the stitches weren’t **really** close, the boning would work its way out past the binding.

Carolyn H.

By: Catherine K

Catherine K — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:46:57 +0000

Just out of curiousity, have the interpreters noticed any difference in the fit/wear of the machine sewn vs. hand sewn stays? I’ve started hand-sewing my linens and it seems that the hand-sewn seams are more forgiving, ie; they seem to stretch and ease more than the machined ones.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:08:09 +0000

Thanks – that’s just what I wanted to know! Interesting about the reeds breaking down – now I have to add periodic corset-repair, as opposed to just mending seams, to my picture of what it took, 400 years ago, to keep a family clothed.