A Modern Antique: Pretty Underwear

I now have all the beautiful underwear I need for Costume College. If nothing else I will be wandering the halls in wonderful underwear.

BEWARE: PICTURE HEAVY POST TO FOLLOW

First off are my 18th C. Stays and shift. The stays are great, the shift...not so much. I'll have to see if I can fix the shift or if it has to be remade altogether, so we'll see, but for now it's functional. The stays are made from two layers of cotton twill, hand dyed by me, lined with linen, and bound with chamois leather. The eyelets are hand sewn with a decorative stitch that took wayyyyyy longer than necessary.

18th C. Stays - Exterior View Laid Flat

18th C. Stays - Interior View Laid Flat

18th C. Stays - Close Up Exterior- Eyelets, Binding

18th C. Stays - Close Up Interior - Lining, Tabs, Binding

18th C. Stays - Back fit

18th C. Stays - Front Fit

Next up...Edwardian Teens Undergarments

The combinations are a self drafted pattern, and made from cotton. They button up the front and had decorative pin tucks on the shirt front. The lace inserts at the waist and top edge are threaded with ribbon so they can be tightened. They aren't perfect, but they are underwear, so hopefully no one will be looking at them too closely. Unless, of course, I don't finish the dress and end up having to walk around Costume College in only my Edwardian skivvys.

Edwardian Combination Underwear

The corset...Well I couldn't have asked for a better turnout. It's made of a single layer of cotton twill and bound with satin bias binding.I added some machine embroidery along the bottom edge for decoration and hand stitched flossing at the ends of each bone both top and bottom. The top flossing is hidden by the decorative lace, but it serves its purpose adding a bit of strength to the boning channel ends.