EDIT: This post was original written in 2016 but I’m reposting it now to correspond with the #FallforCostume challenge I have been participating in on Instagram. Also! A lot of you have mentioned to me that your dolls’ hair was all frizzed out and these are proof mine was too! She was sent to the doll hospital for a new mane towards the end of the time I played with her!

As a little girl, I went through what I can best describe as my “pioneer” phase. I was absolutely, completely obsessed with the nineteenth century. I wore bonnets and bloomers (to school!) and relied on the American Girl and Little House on the Prairie books for guidance into my “old fashioned” life.

It all started when I received an American Girl catalogue in the mail. My best guess was that it came in the mid-90s and it was pretty much the only way I spent my allowance for a good five years. My neighborhood friends had their own American Girl dolls and I wanted one so badly, but my parents thought they were too expensive for an all out gift, so compromised with me. If I saved for half of the price, they’d match it and order the doll. I can’t remember how long it took me to save, but on a chilly day in October, I went into my parents bedroom and told my mom I was ready to order my Kirsten. She had me count out the dollars and coins to make sure I had the right amount. She picked up the receiver of the telephone, paused, and hung it up. Then she reached under the bed and pulled out the burgundy box with Kirsten inside. Just recounting this memory makes me want to cry! It’s hard to put into words what that doll meant to me and how her story shaped my childhood. That October afternoon was easily one of the best memories of my young life!

It wasn’t just the doll, but the history that went with her. For birthdays and Christmas my mom would sew me and Kirsten matching dresses. Sometimes they would be new designs and color patterns, but mostly the dresses sewn for me were made to match something from Kirsten’s series. Underneath I wore petticoats and pantaloons, thick black tights and lace up boots. Around that time my grandma gave me a box full of handmade undergarments that her neighbors had brought over from Germany in the late 1800s. Even though they were made for adult women, they were tiny and fit my tween size perfectly. I now see how learning about the fashions of the 1850s influenced my love for costume history!

In addition to the clothing, a lot of my childhood pastimes directly corresponded with the era. At this age I took up hand sewing and quilting - mainly pillows but I also made a full sized quilt when I was ten! I wish I had photos of those pieces here, but they’re all safely stored at my parents house - I’ll grab some snaps next time I’m visiting!

I didn’t stop with quilting - I also dyed my own fabric using locally (hyper local - mulberry trees from our backyard) berries. I crushed them into muslin fabric to create a pinkish tone and from that, I cut out and appliquéd a little heart onto a pillow - the perfect size for my pint sized doll.

In the kitchen, my dad helped me make apple raisin porridge out of the Kirsten cookbook and I churned my own butter (using a pint of cream, a marble, a Ball jar and tons of shaking!)

I loved going to antique stores and visiting historical sites and especially my aunt and uncle’s 1885 farm house (we took our wedding photos there!) We even took a family trip to Colonial Williamsburg when I was in fifth grade. I still have dreams of working on a historical farm, even if it’s only for a week or a month. Adam and I have been very into a BBC collection of shows based on that concept - Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm… we love them all!

In researching for this post, I did some googling of Kirsten books and images and the nostalgia that crept in was so heartwarming. Opening the window into this world of history has such a special place in my heart. I really really loved that doll and her story and pretending that I was a little girl in pioneer times. I loved getting dressed up in historical costumes and doing old timey things.

Now I see how much my parents encouraged me and supported my interests - reading, sewing and cooking alongside me! I hope I can do the same for my own kids someday… maybe my little girl will play with my Kirsten doll too.

Voila! I've put the finishing touches on my 18th century stays and I could not be more excited and proud of the final result. I've made these as the foundation to complete my 1780's style costume that I'll wear this fall with my family to a Revolutionary War re-enactment. But before I go into any of those plans, let me tell you more about this project!

Historical Background

Once upon a time, stays were the foundation to every woman's daily outfit. They provide an elegant conical shape, give back support, lift and enhance the bosom (hello!) and inform one's posture. Women of all social classes wore stays, which later evolved into corsets. Normally stays would be worn with a linen shift or chemise underneath, but I haven't completed mine yet so I'm just wearing a simple white dress I already had in my closet.

Inspiration

I wanted my stays to have an antique quality to them, which is why I chose natural linen as my fashion fabric. I also knew I wanted to make them a little extra special, and chose to embroidery an 18th century design. I'm not going for a super bourgeois look nor am I wanting to be a laborer/camp follower. So although this fabric does lend itself to a more modest (financially speaking) approach, I think the embroidery makes it special and a little more luxurious. All that said, no one but me and you will see this piece because it will be completely covered by my gown and petticoats!

Embroidery

The floral design I've used was actually something I found at a garage sale! The pattern was part of a Colonial Williamsburg embroidery kit for a bell pull. I used this design as a basis by scanning it into Photoshop and adjusting it to fit the center front pattern piece (which was a PDF download). Next I printed that design out to scale on adhesive embroidery paper, which dissolves in water once you have completed your design. It was really cool! I also recolored it into shades of blue, which really pop against the natural linen!

Pattern

I purchased the digital download from RedThreaded patterns online. I met the proprietress Cynthia at the Jane Austen Festival and she was great! I had a look at her stock corsets and this particular 18th century design spoke to me. I like the look of the horizontal boning and the shaping of the all in one tabs. I sewed a medium and did not make alterations to the pattern pieces. I did add some additional decorative boning channels because I love the ribbed effect it creates.

Stitching Notes

Because I embroidered the motif directly onto the linen, I did a lot of stopping and starting with my boning channels, as I did not want to sew over/through my design (minus some small branches). The end result is so beautiful and I don't think the starts and stops will negatively effect the functionality!

I used a faux silk charmeuse (It's poly and the best I could find locally! It has a really nice hand feel for not being the real thing) for my binding and hand sewed it around the entirety of the stays, using the bias to create as smooth of an effect as possible. This was fiddly, but I actually really loved doing the hand work on this step. I then wrapped the bias around the edges and basted it into place. Finally, I stitched in the ditch oh-so-carefully to hold the binding in place.

I also really loved doing all of the eyelets BY HAND (there are 24 of them!) Using a sewing awl and button thread, these lil guys are so sturdy. And they're beautiful!

Finally - I did end up making two orders for my boning and had to adjust the lengths (I needed longer) than the pattern notions suggested. And that's my fault because the pattern says to measure before you order (but I wanted all of the supplies at once...)

Final Thoughts

I LOVED this project. All of the handwork was really enjoyable and something I am able to do as my children play nearby or while they are napping (getting time with my sewing machine is a different story). Sewing it was a pleasure and it's fun to create something with such attention to detail, even if I'm the only one who will be able to appreciate them.

Actually lacing up and wearing these stays was even better than making them!! I love the silhouette it creates and how it really directs how you move about. Weird as it may sound, I always feel more myself when I'm dressing in costume and this foundation garment is no exception. It's remarkably comfortable and doesn't constrict my breathing as you might expect. Now I cannot wait to get started on my 1780s Italian style gown!