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Cassandra Stays Scrooppatterns.com

Questions about the Cassandra Stays: boning, lacing, tabs, five panels vs four, and more…

Today’s post is all about your questions about the Cassandra Stays. Can you use different types and widths of boning? Are stays or corsets more comfortable?  Why five panels instead of four? Can you tell us more about tab width and shape? Do the Augustas or the Cassandra Stays work better with a short torso?  And can the theatrical version be made without back lacing?  

The Cassandra Stays Scrooppatterns.com

The Cassandra Stays Sew-Along is coming up in April!  Watch out for more info about that in just a few days.  For now, let’s answer your questions about the Cassandra Stays:

The Cassandra Stays call for 4mm boning.  Can you use other boning widths?

You can use any boning width you want for the Cassandras, and use other types of boning too.  Cane works great.  We recommend against metal boning (really not comfortable, and very heavy) and cable ties (not comfortable and won’t last long).

We chose 4mm wide boning for the Cassandra pattern because all of the extant stays that we studied to develop the pattern were primarily boned with very narrow boning.  The narrowest widely available synthetic whalebone width is 4mm. This width is the closest match to most of the stays we looked at, and really highlights the spectacular V shape of the bones meeting at the front of the stays.

Pale blue glazed woollen damask over stiff foundation, lined with white linen. Bound with pale blue twilled wool, 1947.1622 Manchester Art Gallery

Pale blue glazed woollen damask over stiff foundation, lined with white linen. Bound with pale blue twilled wool, 1947.1622 Manchester Art Gallery

The narrow boning in the Cassandra pattern does mean that you have to sew a lot of lines of stitching for boning channels, and buy two different widths of boning, as the pattern calls for wider 6mm boning which frames the lacing holes.  A mix of boning widths was also typical of the stays we studies.

Cassandra Stays Scrooppatterns.com

If you want to sew less boning channels, can’t get 4mm wide bones, only want to buy one width of boning, or just want a different size for any other reason, you absolutely can use different bone widths in the Cassandra Stays.  Just use the primarily boning lines (marked in black on your pattern) as a guide, and draw new boning channels in the width you want out from there.

Keep in mind that the sizing of the Cassandra Stays is calculated for the size and width of 4mm x 1mm bones.  If you use wider or deeper bones you may find the sizing of the stays changes slightly.  Always make a toile using the type of bones you want for your finished stays, and fabric that is as close as possible to your fashion fabric.

Are stays or corsets more comfortable?

That’s like asking if oranges or apples are the better fruit!  Oranges are usually better if you want to make sorbet, apples are better if you want to make pie.

(OK, so it’s not a perfect analogy because you could certainly make apple sorbet, and there are orange based pies, but usually we use one for one thing and the other for the other.  You get the idea though!)

First of all, there’s no true distinction between stays and corsets: we usually use ‘stays’ to mean boned bodices from the 17th and 18th centuries, and ‘corsets’ for boned undergarments from the 19th and early 20th, but historically corsets were originally unboned, and stays was used as a term for boned undergarments that we’d today call corsets well up until the 20th century.  More about that here.

How comfortable any pair of stays or style of corset is on you is going to depend on how good the pattern is, how well fitted to you they are, what materials they are made out of, and your personal body type.

What I can tell you is that the feedback from the testers and the models is that the Cassandra stays are incredible comfortable.

We shot the sample photos (below) on a day with record-breaking high temperatures.  The models were mopping their faces every 10 images.  And at the end of it they were still marvelling at how comfortable their stays were, even in tropical swamp weather.

Cassandra Stays Scrooppatterns.com

Why do the Cassandra Stays have five panels per side instead of four, like every available scale pattern of extant stays of this style available?

The answer is kind-of in the title!  Although most of them are one-sized scale patterns that you have to draw up and make fit you, there are a number of patterns for stays similar to the Cassandras, but with only four panels.  There’s one in Patterns of Fashion 5, and one in Stays, or a Corset?.

Amber studied a couple of pairs of Cassandra-type stays that had five panels.  She realised there was a gap in what was available as a pattern.  She also found that the extra panel allowed you to get an even better, more customised, fit than four panels.

So, something not already available on the market AND better fitting?  What’s not to love!

Leather bound stays by Jessica of @scotchirish1775

Leather bound stays by Jessica of @scotchirish1775

Can you tell us more about tab width and shape?  Was round or square more common at certain times?

When we drafted the Augusta Stays pattern Amber chose a rounded V shape for the tabs, because she finds that easiest to bind around.  With the Cassandras I asked it we could have a rectangular shape, because I find that easiest to bind round.  Both shapes are well represented in the extant stays we used to develop both patterns.

Cassandra Stays by Cecilia @cecilia_theresa_design Scrooppatterns.com

I’d have to do a comprehensive survey to see if one style was more prevalent in certain periods.  However, a casual survey suggests tab shape was really just the maker or wearers preference, and wasn’t more typical of one decade or another.

Cassandra Stays Scrooppatterns.com

Some people have commented on the width of the tabs, and I’m afraid that one of the test samples has mislead people.  There are the same number of tabs on the Cassandra Stays across all the sizes, so the tabs of the stays do get wider and narrower with the size of the stays.   However, the photo above is a little confusing.  Those stays are bound in black, which disappears against the black skirt, making the tabs look like narrow little twigs.  In reality they have an extra 1/2” of black binding all around them!

Cassandra Stays Scrooppatterns.com

Do the Augustas or the Cassandra Stays work better with a short torso?

That depends on so many body shape factors besides torso length that we can’t answer that!  But both patterns can be altered to work well with any torso length.

The fashionable silhouette for 1760-80s was for a longer torso, whereas the fashionable silhouette for 1780-90 was for a shorter torso.  The Cassandra and Augusta Stays, respectively, aim to create the look of both those body shapes.

However, your body is your body, and what fits is what fits.  Both the August and Cassandra patterns can be shortened or lengthened to fit your personal torso.  Both patterns include a fitting and alterations guide to make it easier.  Plus, Amber has done great videos on both shortening, and lengthening, 18th century stay patterns.

So pick your pattern based on the style you are most likely to wear.  Then you can make it fit you perfectly.

I really hate making eyelets.  Can the theatrical version of the Cassandra Stays be made with only front lacing and no back lacing?

Yes!  And I’ll be showing you how to do it in the Cassandra Stays Sew-Along.  More info coming up later this week!

Cassandra Stays Scrooppatterns.com

Hope that answers your questions about the Cassandra Stays.  Let us know if you have more!

Day dress of figured barege trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Rate the Dress: all about those sleeves, mid 1860s

It’s been a while since I managed to do a Rate the Dress.  Not since October!

Last Rate the Dress:  a 1770s dress from 1708-10 bizarre silk lampas

How much you liked this dress depended very much on how much you liked the very distinctive yellow-greens and bold ‘bizarre’ patterns of the silk.  Some of you loved them, some of you loved its distinctiveness even if the style wouldn’t usually be your taste, and some weren’t quite so sure about those hues and patterns.  However, even those of you not fond of the colours could still see the merit of the remake and the lustre of the silk.  As the comment with the lowest rating said “I respect it, but I can’t say I like it very much.”  But even the lowest rating was only 7.5, so the total is…

The Total: 9 out of 10

Very tidy and round!

This week: an 1866-67 day dress with extremely elaborate sleeves

This dress, in the 1860s most fashionable colour family (purple!) is all about the sleeves and trim.

Day dress of figured barege trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Day dress of figured barege trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

The distinctive 9-puff sleeves add pizzaz and personality to what would otherwise be a simple, almost plain, frock.

Day dress of figured barege trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

The dress is primarily made of barège (a very lightweight silk-wool blend leno-weave gauze fabric) in pale brown-lavender with a small floral print in purple.

Day dress of figured barege trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

The purple of the print is echoed in the purple buttons running down the front, and in the vivid mauveine velvet ribbon that catches the puffs of the sleeves, frames the yoke, and edges the ruffles around the neck and yoke, and forms a hem binding at the bottom of the dress.

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

The buttons appear to have been made of the same velvet as the trim, but their pile has worn off with use, leaving them a softer purple hue.

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Possible the most surprising and distinctive bit of trim on the dress is the frill that edges the back-of-the-arm seam that joins the elaborately puffed outer sleeve with the simple under sleeve (very practical that simple under sleeve!)

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

It creates an interesting visual line to the sleeves, particularly from the back.

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

Day dress of figured barège trimmed in purple silk velvet ribbon, 1866-1867, sold by Augusta Auctions, Feb 2021

What do you think?  Do those purple ruffles and puffs win a well-dressed rosette, or, when it comes to the 1860s, do you prefer a more classic pagoda or block sleeve?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment.  Phrase criticism as your opinion, rather than a flat fact. Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting.  It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.

As usual, nothing more complicated than a .5.  I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment.

Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com

Recipe: To make Ratafia Biscuits (aka, Ratafia Cakes)

Every couple of years this blog skips off on a little tangent, and I publish a recipe.  Back in 2022 I transcribed Roach’s famous 40 Orange Cake from Our Flag Means Death, and in previous years I’ve shared recipes for vegetarian ‘Kate Sheppard’s’ pie, and a gluten-free Plum Cake. I also share lots of posts with links to recipes which people tell me they have used.

Today’s recipe is my most-requested recipe ever: ratafia biscuits.  It’s easy, it’s delicious, and it’s gluten and dairy free, so it fits a lot of dietary requirements.  Plus, it’s historical!  Ratafia biscuits were all the rage in the 18th and early 19th century, and are perfect for your fancy historical tea party.

Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com

 

Ratafia biscuits are made with almond flour and egg whites, and are an ancestor to modern macarons.  Eliza Smith’s influential 1727 cookbook The Compleat Housewife includes a recipe ‘To Make Ratafia Bisket’, and they are included in other 18th century recipe books.  I used a slightly more recent recipe as my starting point: 1789’s The Complete Confectioner, by Frederick Nutt.  It goes as follows:

Take half a pound of sweet almonds, and half a pound of bitter almonds, and pound them in a mortar very fine, with whites of eggs; put three pounds of powdered sugar, mix it well with the whites of eggs, to the proper thickness into a bason; put two or three sheets of paper on the plate you bake on; take your knife, and the spaddle made of wood, and drop them on the paper, let them be round, and about the size of a large nutmeg; put them in the oven, which must be quick, let them have a fine brown, and all alike, but be careful they are not burnt at bottom, else they will not come off the paper when baked; let them be cold before you take them off

Frederick Nutt was a confectioner once apprenticed at the famous The Pot and Pineapple confectionary shop on Berkeley Square.  While my recipe isn’t quite the same as his, there must be some of the magic of that noted shop in it, as the reviews from the many friends I have tested these on say they are so good that a nightingale will indeed sing as you eat them!

Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com

Ratafia Biscuit Ingredients

  • 250 grams almond flour
  • 200 grams powdered/icing/confectioners sugar
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract (3-5 drops)
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water or rosewater

18th century ratafia recipes used bitter almonds, which contain cyanide.  Since poisoning your guests is generally considered bad manners (although, it is, admittedly, sometimes tempting… (insert Morticia Addams sipping tea gif here)), modern recipes use almond extract as a flavouring.

To Make Ratafia Biscuits

  1. Preheat oven to 160c/320f
  2. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.
  3. Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar.
  4. Beat the egg whites just until soft peaks begin to form.  Add the almond essence and orange blossom water, and beat to soft peaks.Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com
  5. Fold the egg white mixture into the almond flour and sugar mixture, blending the mix together until you have a smooth paste.Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com (you may find that ‘folding’ is a bit of a euphemism, as it’s impossible to get them well mixed without a bit o, but of blending that’s more like beating than folding, but don’t worry, they will still puff and have a lovely texture)

    Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com

  6. Using a spoon and clean, damp hands, shape the dough into balls ‘the size of a large nutmeg’ – or about 1 1/4”/3cm across, and arrange on your baking sheets.Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com
  7. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the biscuits are just touched with golden brown.Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com
  8. Let cool on a baking rack, and then store in an airtight container.  If, that is, you can keep them from being gobbled up as soon as they are cool!

Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com

Serve with tea on your finest china, while dressed in your most elegant hostess gown.

Or have them with a mug of anything while wearing pyjamas with your feet up on the couch.  I don’t judge and they are delicious either way!

Making Ratafia Biscuits thedreamstress.com