Sewing a Regency Corset from a FREE PATTERN!

Despite what a certain popular Netflix series might have you believe, Regency corsets are not torture devices. In fact, I find Regency corsets to be some of the most comfortable that I've ever worn. I've been meaning to make a new Regency corset or a pair of stays for quite a while now since my old ones have gotten really worn out and they don't fit me in the bust anymore. I'll be using the same pattern for this new version that I used for my first pair that I made back in 2017. The pattern comes from an 1810 tailoring manual published by a German tailor named J. S. Bernhardt. Research about Bernhardt's tailoring manual and specifically his system for drafting Regency stays comes to us thanks to historical costumer Sabine Shiroff. She shared her research in her blog which I will link to down below. I highly recommend that you check out Sabine's blog to read more about her research into Bernhardt's stay drafting system as well as to see her beautiful Regency clothing. I'll be making view C which utilizes the bias of the fabric to get a really smooth close fit on the stays. The only boning is at the center back lacing edges and the busk in the front. Since I've only made this pair for myself I can't speak to how this pattern would work for other body types but if you've made this pattern and had success or learned some things along the way please share all those experiences with us down in the comments. Only one measurement is needed to draft the stays according to Bernhardt's instructions. First you have to find the intersection of this straight line in front of the shoulder and another imaginary line running perpendicular that is at the level of the fullest part of the bust. Measure from where those lines meet around the rib cage to the middle of the back and be sure to take the measurement in centimeters. In my case the measurement is 22.4 centimeters. Bernhardt says to divide this number by seven which gives me 3.2. With this number I can now scale up the pattern so that each square is equal to 3.2 centimeters. Since I have no photoshop skills or a projector I chose to create a grid on paper by hand. I did this by measuring and marking out increments of 3.2 centimeters along a horizontal line and then again on a perpendicular vertical line. I then drew vertical lines every 3.2 centimeters according to the marks I made. Next I finished off the grid with horizontal lines made in the same way. Once my grid was complete I drew the pattern in square by square copying what I saw on the pattern to the corresponding square on my grid and with that I have a finished scaled up pattern. Since I've already made this pattern once before I already knew that I needed to add an inch and a half to the center back edge. The front of the stays fit me fine but the back is too small so that's where I needed to add the extra width. I am going to redraw the top edge of the stays because I want to maintain the narrow width of the back but I want the back to actually be big enough to go around me. So here I'm just changing the shape to maintain the narrowness at the top of the back piece. I also wanted to lengthen the stays because I am on the long-waisted side and the pattern as drafted ended up a little bit short on me and just kind of hit me in a place that wasn't particularly comfortable or flattering. So I need to lengthen the stays about two inches and the way that I do this is to first draw out the pattern. And of course I turn away for one second and get some help from the helper. Because this pattern is one piece that wraps around the body there isn't really a way to cut it in the middle and then lengthen it that way. So I'm just going to shift the pattern down the two inches that I need from the top line of the stays that I drew when I traced it out originally. Then I trace the bottom edge in its new lowered position. Now I can redraw the center front and center back lines by connecting the top edge to the new lowered bottom edge. This means that all of my measurements for the bust, waist, and hips will stay the same as the original pattern. The bust and hip gussets as drafted in the pattern weren't the right shape for me. Mostly they just weren't big enough. This is probably because I'm on the hourglass side so I just created new bust and hip gussets when I did my mock-up so that I would get them exactly the right size. I can now cut out the pieces for my stays. This pattern relies on the fact that the center front is cut on the bias so don't forget to do that or your stays won't fit. Also I'm only adding seam allowance to the center front, the center back, and the end of the shoulder strap. I cut my stays out of three layers of fabric. A top layer of cotton sateen and an interlining of linen that I'm going to be treating as one layer and then a lining of cotton twill. The first time I made these stays I only used an outer layer and a lining layer and while they were nice and held up I like the added stability of that inner lining. Oh yeah and we need more help. The first step in the construction of the stays is to put in the bust and hip gussets. I'm just going to show you one of the bust gussets but the technique is the same for all of them. Again treating the outer layer and the interlining as one I'm folding back the seam allowance for the gusset and basting it back. The seam allowance starts at a quarter of an inch at the top and tapers to pretty much nothing down at the point. Here you can see what that tapered seam allowance looks like looking at the inside of the stays. And here it is from the outside. Each gusset is made up of the same three layers of the stays but treated as a single piece. It gets placed behind the opening and then pinned in place. The gusset is sewn in place by stitching as close to the edge as possible. Of course you could also do this step by hand with a back stitch. And here's what that finished gusset looks like. Once all the gussets are in then I can stitch the two halves of the stays together. I just find it's much easier to handle the pieces if they're separate. And with the two halves together it's really starting to look like a thing. Now I can attach the lining to the stays. I've stitched the linings at the center front and now I'm matching them to the stays wrong sides together. And apologies for the camera being out of focus. This is what it looks like once the lining is pinned in place. To keep the lining and outer layer from shifting around while I'm working I'm going to baste them together along that center front seam line. Now I'm going to finish the center back edges. Here we have the stays with the lining up and the outer layer facing towards the table. I'm going to take the outer layer and the interlining, treating them as one, and fold the seam allowance to the inside of the stays. And I'm just giving that fold a bit of a finger press as I go along. Then I fold the seam allowance of the lining to meet the folded seam allowance of the outer layers. I really like to baste these edges together because it makes life so much easier when you go to stitch it. You really don't want those layers moving around on you. This is then stitched as close to the edge as possible. Again, if you're doing this by hand you can backstitch this. And here's what the finished center back edge looks like. Now I'm going to attach the lining around the gussets. Once again, I'm showing you just one gusset but this is the same technique for all of them. I start by folding the seam allowance and matching it up with the stitch line that I can see from when I stitched the outside of the gussets. The lining is then secured with a felling stitch. Be careful not to go all the way through to the outside of the stays. And the finished gusset is nice and neat. Now I'm going to sew the channels for the boning. I'm using six millimeter synthetic whalebone from Burley and Trowbridge and a quarter inch channel usually works well for this. I'll stitch one channel right along the edge and then leave about a half inch gap for the lacing holes. Then one more quarter inch channel on the other side. Here are the center back edges with all of the boning channels stitched in. This is the only place that has any boning in the entire stays except for the busk at the front. And speaking of the busk, I'm now going to stitch the channel that will hold the busk in place. I'm using a 12 inch wooden busk from Red Threaded. And then I realized that I needed to cut and sew the opening for the busk, which I probably should have done before I attached the lining, but do as I say, not as I do. There are a couple different methods seen in surviving pairs of stays and corsets for dealing with how to get the busk in and out and how to keep it in place. I particularly like this one because it's the most simple and it doesn't involve doing any eyelets either in the stays itself or drilling them into the busk. The slit is stitched with a buttonhole stitch. There are quite a few great historical buttonhole tutorials out there and I will link to them below, so don't consider this a tutorial in any way. I will say that it is super important to wax your buttonhole thread and I do recommend going the extra mile to get correct buttonhole thread because it will make your buttonhole life so much easier. It's not my prettiest buttonhole, but it's also being sewn on the bias through a single layer of fabric and including a seam. Also, I realize this might not be clear because both the inside and the outside of the stays are white, but this opening is stitched on the inside of the stays. And here are the outside of the stays once the channel for the busk is sewn. Now it's time to stitch the eyelets. Again, there are a lot of great tutorials out there on eyelets for historical costuming, so I will link to those below. But I do like using this kind of awl, I think they call it like an ergonomic awl, but it's available at Joann and I like that it gives me a wide range of sizes I can make with it and a lot of good pushing power when it comes to making eyelets in stays like 18th century stays that have a lot of layers in them. I'm sewing the eyelets with the same buttonhole silk that I used before. I'm just doing a whip stitch around the edges of the eyelet. You really don't need to do a buttonhole stitch, it doesn't seem to have been done that often in the period. The whip stitch is the way to go. The eyelets are set up for spiral lacing, which is still the dominant form of lacing during this time period, and the eyelets are set about an inch apart. And of course, I completely forgot to take any video of the shoulder strap before I attached it, but you'll need to create an extension for the shoulder strap that's long enough to go over the shoulder and then tie in the back like this. There isn't a pattern piece for this that's included in Bernhardt's patterns, it's just something that you kind of have to play around with. And finally, it's time to bind the top and bottom edges of the stays. I'm using half inch cotton tool tape to do this. Working from the outside of the stays, I place the tool tape on top of the edge covering about a quarter inch of the stays. Then I stitch it down with a felling stitch. After I've sewn the outside of the binding, I fold it over and stitch the other edge on the inside of the stays, again with a felling stitch. And here are my brand new completed Bernhardt stays. I just love this pattern so much, even if it is a bit fussy to get right, the construction itself is actually really easy and of course they are so comfortable and lightweight. And here are the stays actually under one of my Regency gowns. I just love the period perfect silhouette that they give. Now I'm fully accessorized and ready for a promenade. I hope you enjoyed this look at how I made these stays and maybe it'll inspire you to try the pattern yourself. If you do, let me know how it goes. See you next time!