The Dreamstress

What time is it?  Time for the most exciting part of mock-ups: fitting them!  Follow along with me for tips on analysing the fit so you get it perfect for you.

Previously on The Cassandra Stays Sew Along:

• Choosing Material for the Cassandra Stays
• Making Linen Buckram
• Making your Mock-Up 

It’s totally possible to do a Cassandra Stays fitting on yourself (especially if you’re making View B, the front-lacing version), but it’s much easier to have someone help you.  Even if they don’t know anything about fitting they can at least take photographs of the bits you can’t see yourself.

Read the Fitting Guide that comes with the stays carefully.

Fit your stays over the type of undergarment you intend to wear them over. They will fit very differently over a T-shirt vs. a historical shift, and if you want to wear them over a shift you need to fit them over one!

Put your stays on, and lace them until they are comfortably snug.  You can try them on with seam allowances facing out, but I prefer to do it with seam allowances facing in, as they will have that slight extra bulk on the inside in the finished pair.

(note: my mock-up was made as part of the pattern development process, and has a non-matching top edge that is not there in the final pattern – otherwise it is identical to the Straight Size 40 in the final pattern)

Analyse the fit and comfort of your stays:

• Is your lacing gap even?
• Do you like the lacing gap?
• Are they pinching anywhere?  That means they need to be let out in that area.
• Do they feel loose anywhere?  They need to be taken in.  I ended up scooping in the long angled edge of Piece B just above the waist on mine, because it felt like it needed to be a little snugger.
• Does your bust sit in them nicely?  It should neither fall down into them with gaping, (small bust adjustment needed) or hanging over in a muffin top (the fitting instructions have multiple large-bust adjustment options).
• Is the top line sitting at the right point at the bust?   It should not carrying up straight beyond the fullest part of your bust, nor should it sit so low that it doesn’t support your bust.
• Is the point at the top of the stays sitting as far out from the centre of your chest as it can without cutting in to your arm, or causing chaffing?
• Are the stays cut low enough under your arms that they won’t chafe?
• Moving to the back of the stays, does the angle up from under the arm sit far enough back that it doesn’t rub and restrict your arm, but far enough forward that it covers and supports your back muscles?
• Do the stays make your lower-back ache?  You probably need to flare out the panel pieces more below your waist.
• Do the stays rub on your hips?  More flare needed!
• Are the stays too long or too short at centre back?  I have a longer-than average back, so the stays look shorter on me than they do on an average body.  I decided I did not want more length at the top of the stays, as my scoliosis makes a lower-cut back more comfortable. I could have added an inch/2.5cm to match the height the stays are intended to end at.

Here’s Jenni’s final fitting, where you can see how much higher the stays end on her:

Adjusting the Fit

Once you have made an initial assessment, take your stays off.  Adjust anything that’s possible to adjust with this toile.  Let out seams.  Remove bones and take in seams.  Cut down the top edge if needed.  Sometimes you may find its easiest to replace one or two panels in the mock-up.  If things were severely off you may need to make a second mock-up.

Try the adjusted mock-up back on.  Ensure everything fits as you want.

Now here’s the big thing.  When you think the fit looks good and feels good, wear the stays for a good half an hour.  Do stuff in them.  Sew something else.  Do some house-cleaning.  Dance.  Sit in different chairs, and sit on the floor.  Think about what you intend to do in the stays, and test that. Make sure they are comfortable!

And when you’re totally happy with that, transfer all of your adjustments to your pattern pieces.

If you look closely you can see my adjustments: a tiny bit shaved off both pieces B & D at the waist.  A tiny bit shaved off F at the waist.  It’s not much, just what’s needed to make the stays fit me perfectly.

Hope that helps your Cassandra Stays to fit perfectly!

 

You’ve chosen your materials, made buckram, now it’s time to make a mock-up of the Cassandra Stays to make sure that you get the perfect fit with your final pair!

Previously on The Cassandra Stays Sew Along:

• Choosing Material for the Cassandra Stays
• Making Linen Buckram

Why Make a Mock Up?

It seems like a lot of effort, but making a full mock-up is so important for getting a good fit with your final stays.  To be a successful mock up it needs to be as complete as possible: fully boned, in fabric that behaves as much as possible like your final fabric.

The good news is that making a mock-up lets you test some of the final techniques, which will make the actual stays go faster!

The other good news is that you can re-use your bones from your mock-up in your final stays.

Making a Mock-Up

Before you begin your mock-up, make any initial alterations you are sure you will need: lengthen/shorten adjustments etc.

Cut out your pattern pieces.  Be sure to use fabrics that act in a similar way to the fashion fabric you plan on using: linens and wools will have more ‘give’, taffetas will have almost none.

I’m making my mock up in two layers of cotton canvas.  This should have a similar weight and amount of give to the linen damask, linen, and buckram my final stays will be in.

I cut out all my pieces, and transferred only the guide boning lines (marked in black on your pattern pieces) to my fabric:

I can then use these guide lines to create all the rest of the boning channels.  Each line of stitching is sewn out an even distance from the previous line.

Before I’m ready to insert bones I need to sew lines of stitching that mark the seam allowances on each side of each stay panel.  You can also do this before sewing your boning channels.

Then it’s grommet time.  Insert grommets in to the front (if doing View B) and back of the stays.  I find old packets of grommets at op shops fairly regularly, so that’s what I use for grommets in my toiles.  It’s cheaper than using nice ones.  I’m going to recycle the back panels of my Cassandra toile to be lacing panels for future stays/corsets, so I’ve overlocked the edge of the fabric.

With all my boning channels sewn, seam allowances marked, and grommets inserted, it’s time to cut and insert the boning.  If you think there’s any chance that you might need to lengthen your stays you can cut each bone a little longer than the channel.

If your boning makes each panel very curvy you can use the directions on ironing bones in the pattern to gently ease out the curve.

Then, right sides together, matching the waist notches and working up, pin and sew the panels together.  Use the seam allowance lines that you sewed to guide you.  You may find it easier to remove the bones closest to the seam in order to sew.

And there’s your mock-up!

Tomorrow: Fitting your mock up!