Boning Stress

[cosmoblue]

Help! Two Questions,

Are most of you using 1/4" or 1/2" boning in your stays? I looked at both at Fabric Depot today and the 1/4" seems to too narrow and the 1/2" seems too wide.

Does spiral boning actually do anything support-wise? It is sooo bendy. I cannot imagine that it is going to be able to support the girls much.

[Mme de Beaufort]

1/4 steel may as well be tape for me. And the spiral boning does keep the fabric stretched but doesn't do much to keep shape (at least for me, and I put a lot of stress on the boning). I used 1/2 steel, and I think sometimes that it's too much. I sort of imagine that the original baleen is probably the ideal strength and flexibility, but i have a problem using any whale product.

[Val]

The spirals are not used in corsets. These are used in the boning of the bodice on the back in the curved seams.
Mine are 1/2".

[dawnluckham]

The ½ inch wide bones are too wide for good use in corsets and stays. They are much better used in hoops and bustles and the like.

¼ inch bones are closer to accurate. You have to think that whalebone, when used, was also “imperfect”. This was something that was hand cut. But ¼ inch is a good size choice.

Val, you’re right and I’m going to disagree with you. Please don’t take offence.

I use the spiral boning in corsets all the time. The spiral boning is a late Victorian invention and is very common in Edwardian era corsets and stays. I use it in Regency Era stays for exactly the qualities that you are questioning. It’s flexible. Most Regency era stays that I have seen are either corded (nice and soft and flexible) or have whalebone in them. I know reeds still existed, but I’m not sure that I’ve seen a reed-boned Regency corset or set of stays. They tend to be a bit earlier.

There is, I think, a misconception about exactly HOW boning works in a corset and what it does to support the bust. The wider bones will not assist in supporting a heavy or big bust any better than the narrow bones. If I feel that the fabric will need more support than a single ¼ inch bone can give, I can make additional channels for ¼ inch bones to sit side by side. I hope I can clearly explain here how it works.

The bust is actually held up by the FABRIC and the cut of the corset or stays. The boning does not actually support the weight of the bust; it supports the fabric.

If you make a set of stays completely out of fabric, frequently what happens is the fabric wrinkles at the waist and under the bust and under the arms and it tends to creep upward or into uncomfortable places as you wear it.

The bust is held up by the cups designed into the garment, weather those are gusset cups or gathered cups (like the ones Steph just put into her new short stays) or maybe the garment doesn’t have obvious cups, but it has something like Princess seams that control shape.

In order to keep the cups from shifting out of position, the stays are boned. Boning at the site of lacing prevents the strain of lacing from buckling the fabric. Boning or a busk at the centre front (or centre back if the garment is front-laced) prevents the centre front (or back) from scrunching up. Sometimes larger women find that additional boning at the sides is needed to prevent horizontal wrinkling of fabric. And then there is the “period” thought of “good posture” and boning can be incorporated into design in order to prevent slouching.

In all of these scenarios, the boning is simply supporting the straightness of the whole corset, not the bust specifically. It’s the actual cut and structure of the corset that holds the bust up.

[Val]

dawnluckham said:

Val, you’re right and I’m going to disagree with you. Please don’t take offence.

No offence taken. I'm sure you have much more experience with them than I have. And considering I've only made one corset, I'm definitely not an expert. I just hadn't seen them in corsets. Yet.
Val

[cosmoblue]

dawnluckham said:

The ½ inch wide bones are too wide for good use in corsets and stays. They are much better used in hoops and bustles and the like.

¼ inch bones are closer to accurate. You have to think that whalebone, when used, was also “imperfect”. This was something that was hand cut. But ¼ inch is a good size choice.

Thanks for that info Dawn.

dawnluckham said:

I use it in Regency Era stays for exactly the qualities that you are questioning. It’s flexible. Most Regency era stays that I have seen are either corded (nice and soft and flexible) or have whalebone in them. I know reeds still existed, but I’m not sure that I’ve seen a reed-boned Regency corset or set of stays. They tend to be a bit earlier.

I was thinking about that too. The cording is flexible too. I just don't want to be spilling out everywhere.