Gussets and Eyelets and Busks, Oh My!

 I take it all back; the only thing in life/sewing I dislike more than setting in gussets is setting in eyelets. 

For my sins, I have been stitching away and then forgetting to take progress pictures. Since my last post, there have been a range of things going on. A hospital trip, a trip to the GP to pick up some paperwork. Phone calls to arrange appointments for the cat and myself. And some sewing, at which point I started forgetting to take photos. Not that anyone reads this…. 😜

I managed to set in the eyelets on the main body piece of the stays, which will have corresponding eyelets on the busk pocket. I have managed to go awry with these twice before, accidentally putting eyelets through all layers, so having to get happy with scissors and create new openings. Not this time; I PLANNED it. Unfortunately, this is where it went a bit wrong: I did NOT read the instructions properly. This resulted in having to cut out one of the eyelets and replace it, after some darning and patching. I maintain this gives them a “lived in” look. Anyway, I assumed that once I bound the bottom edge, it wasn’t going to show. I then planned to put the eyelets in the correct end of the busk pocket itself, before then stitching it down to the main body. This is exactly what I did, though not in that order. 

The boning channel measurements were correct and some of the bones are now sewn in. There’s a LOT of visible, water-erasable lines on the garments at the moment, but they were all correct. I also trimmed the back edge down (no photos) to give a gap. This is the point I remembered that boning will bring the stays in a bit, but I DID want quite a large gap for the lacing to allow for weight fluctuation and stretching of the fabric over time. 

I then decided to bind the bottom edge (seemed like a good idea) and rather than try out a binding foot, this I did by hand, so it is slip stitched (poorly) on both sides. There was a moment, right before I stitched down the underside of the seam nearest the eyelets, where I realised that I hadn’t put the busk pocket tie in place, but fortunately I realised in the Nick of time and got a bit of narrow twill tape in there and tied in a bow to hold it in place. I then finished stitching down the binding. 

Today I then braved eyelets (again), reading the instructions this time and I am glad to report that this pair look a great deal better. I then basted the pocket (after machine finishing the edges) onto the stays, before securing it with my usual, poor slip stitching. I even put the eyelets in the right end (my busk has one end slightly flared, so it needs to go at the bottom and the pocket open from the bottom for access, obvs. This is now stitched down. If anything, I have been slightly generous with the seam and I think I might go in and stitch it down in the hemline of the pocket, just to make it a smidge narrower, but I’ll wait to do that until I see if any moving around of the busk bothers me. (In other words, I can’t be bothered right now). I have also initially marked up the placement of the eyelets at the back edge, to be double checked on position and marked again with the water-erasable marker. I am not sure if I will get to that today, but I have checked my eyelet stash and so long as I don’t mess up (please cross everything), I have sufficient for the project. I am fairly certain that it’s a better idea to get them in before the remaining bones arrive.

Note: In respect of the eyelets and because I live alone, with no maid, sibling or partner to assist me, these are going to be cross, not spiral laced. This is not historically accurate, but a necessity when one has to DIY-lacing. It is what it is and I will not apologise for it. 

After that, it will be a case of binding the top and back edges and they’ll be done. I also need to remove all the channel lines on the thing. I don’t need them as a reminder of which side is up now the busk pocket it in. And, as I almost forgot, the gravity prevention measured (which I need to cut out, stitch, stuff and secure in place).

Finally, no, I still have not made up my mind entirely on what to do about the straps. There absolutely is still time to make these up and attach them to the garment, but I am definitely erring more on the side of twill tape only, with some drill fabric “sleeves” to lightly pad the straps out over the shoulder.  

I have to admit that I am pleased with this project. I’m pretty sure I used the right sizes and that these are going to fit well. I’m also glad that I have come up with fixes relating to the wrap-around ones. 

Anyhoo, it’s Friday. I don’t expect these will be finished until next week, as I’m waiting on the arrival of the remaining bones, but happy weekend to all. 

PS - no photos in this blog post, as the cloud hasn’t migrated them from phone to iPad yet, but I’ll post them over on my Facebook Page - The Costumeer.