1820s-1840s Corded Stay
The stay fastens and adjusts in the back with laces. A busk made of wood, like the one pictured at right, kept the front of the stay straight.
Sarah Levitt in her book Victorians Unbuttoned says: "Nearly all women wore stays; they were essential for decency, and to go without them was to risk being considered a 'loose woman'. One also risked looking peculiars, since the popular idea of the female shape was based on the shape created by whalebone and lacing rather than nature."
The fabric from which the originals were made are undyed fine cotton drill and medium-weight white linen.
The pattern is multi-sized 10 through 20. All sizes require 1-1/8 Yds. of 45 inch wide fabric.
![[Image: 1820s-1840s Corded Stay]](stock/p376d.gif)
