Adia Sisson

18th Century Half-Boned Strapless Zipper Stays

Following my back-lacing green striped stays, I discovered a desperate need to find a way to get my stays on and off quickly. The solution? A zipper. To retain the look of classic 18th century stays, as well as adjustability, I kept the back lacing, though I made it double-laced instead of spiral-laced. This adjustment allowed for simpler fastening, as I could tie the ends together and tuck the bow into the stays rather than having to tie off the ends separately and manage a much greater length of unused string. With the back-lacing sorted, I inserted a zipper between the front two pieces, maintaining the smooth front but adding a quick method of escape at the end of the day.

I used the same pattern as my green striped stays but altered the boning pattern. Because these stays are only half-boned, whereas the other stays are fully boned, I had to redraw the boning channels to hold the fabric taut from all directions rather than just vertically. This resulted in horizontal and cross boning channels as well as a sort of starburst pattern at the front and back of the stays. Because I wanted these stays to be machine-washable, I used industrial zip-ties for boning rather than reed. I find that industrial zip-ties are significantly larger and thicker than synthetic baleen and therefore work fantastically in half-boned garments. For the horizontal bones, I used cheap plastic boning, as they were not load-bearing, and I wanted a thinner line.