Supplies List for "LONDON MADE, TABBY, AND TICKING: Constructing 18th Century Stays in Miniature"

Supplies List:
(While we've rounded up for boning and tape yardages, it doesn't hurt to buy a yard extra to give yourselves a little bit of wiggle room for learning opportunities.)
  • Boning- 
    • 28 yards of 4mm artificial baleen (Stays A- 16 yds; Stays B 12 yds) . Wood split is also used in the period, but it is difficult to find hand rived oak/ash splits and the processing of the splits can be time consuming. For this workshop, we will use artificial baleen but will discuss other methods, as well. A yard or two extra would not be a bad idea to allow for practice in shaping and cutting.
    • 2 yards of 6 mm artificial baleen for busks/breastbands, etc.
  • Fabric
    • Exterior fabric - 
      • 1760/70 style A- 1 piece of light to medium weight worsted (minimum 15 inches along the selvage by 30 inches wide)   
      • 1780/90 style B- 1 piece of light to medium weight worsted or medium weight cotton  (minimum 15 inches along the selvage by 30 inches wide)
    • Fabric for Canvases- 2 pieces of sturdy linen, medium to heavy weight linen (minimum 15 inches along the selvage by 30 inches wide) for each pair (4 pieces total).
    • Fabric for buckrams- small pieces of scraps of linen canvas, linen made into buckram, or sturdy linen tickings of no more than 15 inches long by 15 inches wide. 
    • Fabric for Linings- 1 piece of light to medium weight linen in a plain woven checked, bleached, or unbleached (minimum 15 inches by 30 inches wide) for each pair.
  • Threads (Linen) - We recommend buying a large spool for your channel thread and using it for your basting thread, also. You will want 2-3 small spools of your seaming thread or one large spool.
    • For seaming: 18/3 or 30/3 Tailor's Thread
    • For channels: 50/3 or 35/2 This thread can be in natural or might also match the outer fabric. (Stays of the last quarter of the 18th century which might be made of cotton could be stitched in finer threads. For the purposes of this class, we recommend a light to medium weight worsted to be used with the threads listed here.)
    • For basting shapes: 50/3 or 80/3 White or Natural
  • Tape & Cord -
    • Binding- 5 yards of tape for binding. (Stays A- 2 yds; Stays B 3 yds) 1/2 or 5/8 inch wide.
    • "Stay tape"- 4 yards of 1/4 inch wide linen twill or other tape/ribbon for covering seams. (2 yards for each pair)
    • Lacing Cord- 4 yards (2 yards for each pair)
    • Linen cord- 1 yard (1780/90s pair only
  • Sewing Tools - Needles (sharps/betweens in sizes 5-8), pins, scissors, beeswax, awl, thimble, pliers (optional), pattern weights (optional)