What did the 18th Century Stay Maker need for supplies? According to Mr. John McQueen he stocked the following materials some of which are very familar to us and some are not.
White buckram (gummed and stiffened linen)
Half stiffened Irish buckram
White Russel canvas (canvas is heavy weight linen, Russel is a worsted wool, I am not sure of what this material is made)
White and black watered tabby (plain silk, with a watered finishº
White Janes ( a linen and cotton twilled fabric, also known as Jean)
Baladine Sewing Silks (a course raw silk sewing thread, very durable)
Galoon (wool, silk, or cotton combined with worsted or silk made into a tape, used for trimming and binding)
Bread Cord (this term appears in many advertisments for stay making supplies, some sort of cord, possibly for trimming the fronts of stays in a decorative manner or as the cord used for lacing up the stays)
Shaping (A guess? Possibly pre shaped whale bone for the front curve of the stays?)
Steel Collars (No guess on exactly what these looked like, but they are necessary for those girls attending boarding schools and very much worn by the young ladies in England !)
Textiles in America, 1650-1870, Florence Montgomery
Textiles in America, 1650-1870, Florence Montgomery
I can help with collars! In the 18 / 19 centuries there were devices to train girls into the fashionable deportment - very straight back, shoulders down and painfully back, and head held high. One method to force this posture was the backboard and collar. The backboard was a board strapped on the back from shoulders to waist. One aim was to flatten the shoulder blades. The collar was an iron ring which went on a rod sticking up from the board. It forced the head and chin up.
ReplyDeleteThese devices are not recommended today!
I've got some web refences somewhere on my OC, I can find them if anyone is interested.
Annie