The Inside

The lining of the Child's Stays from the previous posting is fortunately for the purpose of study missing. This allows us to view the interior and offers a great deal of information about how these stays were made.

There are four sections to each side of the stays, left and right, for a total of eight sections. A combination of white and brown linen were used for the interior and a nutty brown linen for the exterior. These stays are made with the same care and techniques as an adult's pair.

The stays are boned in whale fin, which is visible under the worn white linen at the center front sections and it appears that every channel is filled.

There is a layer of additional white linen strips re-enforcing the top interior of the stays and also a layer of brown linen strips laid in above the tabs, these additional strips of fabric provide additional strength, uniting all the sections. A piece of very coarse linen buckram lines the bottom half of the front sections of the stays, adding firmness and strength to the center sections.

The seam allowances of the 8 sections are turned to the inside (wrong) side of the stays and whipped down to the stay sections. The whipping is done with doubled linen thread and very large stitches, not a pretty sight, but they do the job.