Progress is... slow

Spent most of the weekend working on the stays; after the first set of photos, I made the adjustments I thought necessary, sewed it together again and got laced in again. J took more photos, and they look *worse* than the first ones - arrgh! I think there's a few good reasons for that, though, and I think they're really all good signs:

• I'm sure J laced me in tighter this time, making the stress wrinkles worse
• The fabric was already creased from the first lot of trying on, so was looking very tired to start with
• The original stays were a pretty good match for my *natural* shape. The adjustments make it force me into the *period* shape. There isn't enough boning in it to make it do that, so it doesn't look good.

Anyway, I went ahead with the adjusted pattern. Cut out two layers of the whole thing in my cotton twill, sewed right sides together along the vertical (i.e. side) seams and turned it inside out. I already know now that next time I would combine the side back piece with the odd looking wedge one - the latter was impossible to turn properly, and it would make planning the boning channels much easier.

I put three strips of hoopsteel down the centre front of the front section (side by side, not on top of each other!) and a single strip down each 'v' side of it. The remaining boning in the front section is all done with cable ties, which gradually transition from vertical at the centre front to parallel to the sides.

Plotting the boning for the two side pieces was more tricky; I wanted to follow period patterns as much as possible (after all, there had to be a reason they did it that way!), I wanted as much boning as possible in there, and I wanted the tabs to be well-boned. I was also keen to avoid any boning ending near my waist, as I can well do without things digging in to me. Think I'm getting there tho; pics to follow...