Mrs. Hancock's Baby Stays, Part One

I've been working on creating a small pair of stays for my little one. (If you are of the mindset that this is wrong to do to a child and that I must be an evil mother, I encourage you to learn a bit more about my baby stays before jumping to conclusions.)

I'm modeling my baby stays after the baby stays in Colonial Williamsburg's collections (with some help thanks to Mrs. Peabody), and referring to photos of the baby stays that the Margaret Hunter Milliner's Shop created from the same set. (The photos can be found on the MHM's facebook page.)

For supplies:  I need pasteboard, a few feet of reed for the boning, fabric scraps and some heavy linen thread.

I started by tracing my pattern, created from the baby stays that Mrs. Peabody had made, onto a sheet of pasteboard. After cutting out four pieces...

...I went through the dreadful process of making large slightly sloppy stitches to attach the reed to the pasteboard. I had thought I could use running stitches for this part to spare my fingertips (I'm not a fan of thimbles), but that wouldn't hold the reed in place as it kept slipping around. So I had to backstitch the reed. By the time this process was complete, my fingers looked like the header image from our friend Kristin's blog, Stuck in the 18th Century. (If this set of stays doesn't fit her by next summer, I will be tempted to research 18th century glue receipts to try and justify gluing the reed to the pasteboard.)

From there, I used a scrap of striped linen to cover the pasteboard and act as the lining.

I then grabbed some wool for the fashion fabric, but as I tried folding it I realized that it was too bulky and probably wouldn't be comfortable to wear.

Time to dig through my fabric stash and find another scrap for the fashion fabric!

Mrs. Hancock's Completed Baby Cap

Little Miss Hancock models her new cap.

Remember that baby cap I couldn't complete because of lace issues? Well I am happy to report that, after receiving some expert guidance from Ms. Boylston, the project is done!

I purchased insertion lace and matching lace to trim the cap from Martha Pullen.

I ripped out the cottony insertion lace and added a strip of the new stuff.

The picture below offers a peek at the inside:

I added the lace to the edge of the cap and...

...it was done!

Above, Miss Hancock models her new cap which was made by following the direction on Sharon Burnston's website. (Please excuse the modern high chair and PJs.) It fits her well, though at the rapid rate she's growing, I think I will soon have to make her a new one.

Welcome Mrs. Cook

Well, I started this project as Mrs. Copley, but thought I'd do a bit of ancestor honoring and change the name to Mrs. Cook, the maiden name of my maternal grandmother.  And it's a good English name to boot!  I've decided Mrs. Cook will be of the middling sort, which is a bit better than the scruffy camp-follower/Loyalist refugee I normally portray.  This will also mean a bit of research into things I normally don't pay as much attention to and maybe even a foray into some silk.  Being a horse owner, I may have to investigate riding habits a bit.  Right now I am on the fence about that.  Yes, that was a very bad pun indeed.

Another interesting twist on this project is that I'm not only sewing for myself but also for my two daughters, who will be ages 11 and 8 by next summer.  They will both still be in back-closing gowns, as they are now.    The older daughter now also wants a pair of partially or lightly boned stays, so we may be making them as well.  And I think it's high time both of them get serious about their sewing.  We'll see how that works out.

-Deb