Crescent Cups: How to make 18th Century stays *Actually* supportive 

I have always called the gradual downward movement of flesh within my corset 'continental drift.' They are, after all, huge tracts of land.....

"It's history-bounding do what you want" QUOTE OF THE YEAR ✨🎉 🏆 🎊✨

E-cup ladies are sorted into house Slithering

I think the issue with people freaking out over not wearing a layer underneath stays is due to the assumption that the stays themselves are not washable (because historically they wouldn't have been). I really like wearing breathable layers, so even with washable stays I think I'd prefer a shift or at the very least a camisole... But in the modern age of laundry and plastic boning, I really don't think the hard and fast rule is all that necessary anymore. It definitely depends on your own garments and your own situation and doing what's best for you!

You are absolutely correct, historical "accuracy" sometimes gets in the way of usefulness and comfort, and here is another suggestion. Instead of using the little cut up pieces of fabric, some people may want to use a thin cotton quilt wadding. By making multiple layers of slightly different sized pieces, still lightly quilted together, it is easier to be accurate with building up thickness in the correct places and not having the shaping move around. This method also works for shoulder pads. Lots of control :)

I love watching cabbage be turned into coleslaw

If you want to get two even cups, maybe steel a trick from professional bakers and pottery creators. Weigh the stuffing on a scale. If you need equal cups, great. If you need different support for each side you can record the weight number for both sides. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown

I am HERE for your Ted talk! Washable corsets isn't always the goal for other makers, in which case the chemise is necessary. However, if you design the support garment to be washed like a modern bra, who the heck cares? This was a great reminder and a push to just make the sleeveless chemise already :-)

I'm in the middle of making my first pair of stays, and I was seriously thinking of hand sewing them, but then you said not to. I feel like this is a sign, so I think I'll save that for my later stay attempts.

If you're still not happy with the fit shape here's a trick from padding my dance shoes: Put clay/putty wherever you need extra volume and put your stays on. Wear until everything squishes into the perfect shape. Then take your stays back of and carefully remove the putty. You can then use your putty as a guide for what the gussets should actually look like.

I find that even wearing a shift or lightweight camisole top under a normal bra improves both comfort and support. In fact wearing a home made cotton voile short shift under an underwired bra means no weals from the elastic used in the underbust support as well as offering some protection from the underwiring. A cheap cotton camisole top from the local supermarket works just as well especially in colder seasons. They also help provide much needed added support (essential for those with much, much,, bigger than normal cup sizes) and means that I can actually wear the bra with the shoulder straps loose enough to fall off my shoulder without affecting the support at all - and it also means no deep hollows on my shoulders as a result of heavy bust and tight straps needed to provide enough cup lift. One added benefit, although it is a pain to do, is that I cut the bra down the centre front,, bind it over the cut edge and add loops which I then use in place of the eyelets on a corset. This not enables me to lace the bra up myself - essential as I have limited mobility and waiting for someone to help you get dressed/undressed is a nuisance at best - but also means that on hot sticky days I can lace my underwired bra loosely and even with just a lightweight cotton voile shift underneath - a drawstring one or one gathered into the neckband works - the bra gives me plenty of support without being tight and uncomfortable. I am now hoping to make a pair of short stays that will have; a similar effect simply because the cost of underwired bras, especially when there is a 10" difference between the under and across the bust measurements, is becoming unaffordable. And while wearing the shift means I don't need to wash more than once every few weeks thus lengthening their life by a factor of several years the cost of even a couple of bras spread over 24 months or so is still eyewatering when you are on a very limited income and the the number of manufacturers who make and sell bras in these sizes are even more limited, even in Europe meaning they can, and do, charge huge amounts for an item you are supposed to replace at least every 6 months. The shift, even under a modern bra, makes this unnecessary and helps those of us who otherwise need to take out a bank loan a couple of times a year just to buy the obligatory two,, let alone four or five, bras that are needed if you wash them daily.

Your discussion of "ssssslithering" had me cracking up every time you brought it up. Also your TED talk I think was a valuable thing to mention. It's one thing when a show or movie claims to be "historically accurate" and then shows extreme tightlacing against bare skin, but history bounding is something else entirely. It's supposed to be about adapting historical dress to your own modern life, and modern life includes washing machines and washable stiffening materials, etc. I'm sure if ladies throughout history had access to those things, they'd have adapted their clothes, too!

I've been wanting to make a pair of stays for modern use because it seems like the best thing for both boob and back support. I have slight frame and large boobs and modern bras just dig into my shoulders and never offer the level of support I crave. Thank you for the insight from all your stay making adventures! Hopefully I eventually stop just thinking about the project and actually make the thing (have only ever made a skirt before so I don't feel like my skills are adequate just yet). Please keep making stays! You are an inspiration!!!

Appreciative large-busted woman here!! I'm currently in the throes of my first pair of stays, and this is SO IMPORTANT to my future comfort

As someone who'd a bit bustier, I thank you for this insight.

Okay, forget bras. We're all wearing these now! "Oh! Cute celestial decor!" Then BOOM it's a bra.

I have an almost flat chest and will never need to do this to my stays, but it's interesting to see how people have always been so clever with finding solutions to literally any problem they run into!

I didn't even think about the fact that I can make them different to balance out the size of my bust! Thank you so much for that idea :)

I've been sketching out my crescents just this week! I can't remember where I read about them either. Edit to add after finishing the video: THANK YOU! I'm glad to learn from someone else's experiments. I was contemplating the gusset/wedge shape and I'm glad to see I was on the right track with something that will hopefully be successful for me. I have a 9 inch underbust to bust difference.

I was thinking about this just the other day! From bernadette's video on modern "sporty corsets" it made me think of your sports bra and how maybe those modern things could benefit from the cups haha

Just FYI, I think I remember reading about crescent shaped cups in the Marquise posts on making 18th century stays. They also have an entire post about fit and how to fix fit issues if that's helpful to anyone. Should be available in both English and German

Just finished the video, I love the clack clack clack of your antique sewing machine. I bet this cups would make excellent boob sweat absorbers. As I plus size 40 year old lady with sagging, boob sweat is a very big issue. I find the plastic fabrics of modern underwear does nothing for this except maybe make it worse. I am very slowly working on my first set of stays and I am trying to stick to natural fibers for breathability and absorption.

I was wondering how to deal with under breast sweat. This might be a thing. Being detached you could make more and change them if you wear the stays often in summer. 😎. I’m a DD and I hate it when I start to “slither” out of the bottom of my sports bra 🙄

I think uneven busts is pretty normal for everyone, I doubt there is anyone that has naturally perfectly symmetrically sized bust. and omg that thimble cup in the background is super adorable!!!!!!!!! I am making my first ever stays right now and im really excited for them to be finished. I doubt I will need support cups for it though, im pretty small in the chest and I actually really like having it super tight because its like a compression vest for sensory needs. because of that i am not sure if i will encounter the slithering problem but we will see!

Have to say watching you create this history bounding wardrobe has made you my favourite costuber

Your videos are my main source of entertainment and inspiration during the third (UK) lockdown!

I've made these before, in the American Conservatory Theatre costume shop for an actress wearing 1790s transitional stays and they worked a treat for helping provide support. We nicknamed them 'bananas'.

Thank you. As a petite yet large busted person this is helpful. You are amazing.

I love how you take different body shapes into account - it means a lot!

History bounding you don't have to be History accurate. Just History inspired. ❤ I love how you History bound. I especially loved the sports bra stays.

Love this! I have read passing references of "crescents" or "bosom helpers" but I could never find a really good image . My first attempt was way too small, and slid away on its own! The gusset and the method for tying in place is genius! And washable!

Comment for the algorithm. Also, I really loved your music choices!

Your zippered stays and the sportsbra stays has made me want to make something supportive. I'm plus size with a LARGE bust and essentially every bra I've ever won't hurts. I'm trying designs out in my mind but haven't come to a decision yet...

Thanks for the confirmation that there was an article on crescent supports that has apparently disappeared! I was begining to think I had imagined it lol. I love all your experimentation, seeing your trial and error process has helped so much in my search for the perfect support garment. And the update now that youve been wearing versions 2 wnd 3 for a while is so helpful. Great job!

Ooh wow! I might have to make a set of these for my stays to make them more supportive. I could also see using them to slightly alter the silhouette of an existing pair of stays to specify the date of the shape.

Hi Mariah! I just wanted to say I think the problem with stays hurting your lower might be caused by the fact that it seems you have swayback/lordosis. I have this problem and I found when making my stays that I needed to take out all or most of the boning in the back area and make my stays front closing so that there were no bones directly next to my spine. In doing this I found it allowed my back/spine to do whatever it wants which greatly helped with the pain. This may not work for you but I hope this helps with maybe fixing some of the pain you get when you wear your various pairs of stays 🙃😁

I absolutely love the way these videos show upgrades, development, and improvements over time. Super fascinating!

I NEEDED this video right now! I'm making my second mockup for my first pair of stays at this very moment and want to make them as well-fitting and comfortable as possible. Seeing your trial and error through each pair of stays in your videos have been incredibly helpful and inspired me to try out staymaking for myself!

OMG YASSS I was hoping for this! And the sinking and flattening of the padding was something I've been considering how to deal with for my modern stays too. I had considered foam but worried about wash ability. Especially for my cup size. This seems like a great solution. Hehee they remind me of perogies/croissants I actually saw these cups (after I saw them on your first video) in the series Anne with an E. It made me so excited! Lol. You've accounted for the purposes shifts had. It's fine. Its not like you ignored the need. Just changed how it was addressed.

Opus Elain has the best solution to cutting up cabbage for stuffing. Use a cutting board and a rotary blade. And the circular blade can be resharpened by running it over a crushed up ball of tin foil. Blew my mind. These crescent cups (I think they're called "cookies" in the dance world...) are so necessary in my life. Thank you for all the testing and trials and evolutions. Well done. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown

Yesssssssssssss!!!! THANK YOU!!! I am researching before starting historical sewing and was wondering about this exact question!!!

Thank you for creating videos that really experiment and address questions I (and others 😁) have about practical issues of wearability 🙌🏼

I think every woman has a slight difference in bust size and some have a big difference in size between their right and left side. My left is bigger than my right. Nobody can tell except for me though, so I don't really care.

I knew nothing of these cresent moon shaped bust support addition, thank you so much for making this video I´m a plussized woman and coresets never seemed to feel right bc of "slithering" thank you so much :D !

FYI, selvedge is the outermost warp threads of the fabric, where it’s often woven differently from the main weave. While it can be useful as a straight-grain, non-fraying seam allowance, seam allowances aren’t always selvedges, and curved seam allowances physically cannot be selvedge.

As a fellow high-B/low-C who would love to make stays one days (but wants them wearable for everyday because of my proportions) I appreciate this video immensely. I wear sports bras almost religiously now because in regular bras, I don't know where my boobs think they're going but they try to slither. Bless you!

the fact that you don't have that large of a following continually baffles and frustrates me!! your content is some of my favorite on youtube, and has been SO helpful with my own patterning adventures with my shift and upcoming staymaking projects. on a related note, you should totally start a patreon or similar-I, for one, would definitely support it!

Thank you for this project! 💙 I just drafted my own pattern for my first "corset/stays inspired" support garment! I like the cups idea, as my bust has started changing with age. 😐

I remember when you started this experiment months ago. I did the same and love the results. Thank you!! No more slithering thanks to you!

At around 6:40-7 minutes in they look like sewing empanadas and honesty it fills me with joy

This couldn't have come at a better time! I'm about to make my first pair of stays and that "slithering" is the exact issue I ran into on my mockup! I found a blog post that suggested this sort of padding but I had no idea how to approach it until now, thank you so much for the video :)

i’m an uneven a-cup and did something similar for my stays so what little bust i have doesn’t go disappearing on me haha. it also helps me fill out the hollow underneath the bust where i have trouble getting a flat silhouette.

I just stumbled on this channel (hurray for the algorithm recommending a video I'm interested in for once!) and I'm already planning on binge watching more videos during my lunch break! This video is very informative and will definitely help me when I eventually remake my pair of stays to be more fitted. Thank you so much for posting 💖

This is just what I need. My bust wants to move back down, and I can't just lace tighter (rib bones and all). I want that UMPH of the bust to get the right silhouette for my Ren faire costume

Wow that is so interesting! I kinda made the same thing 3 days ago because I just finished my first ever corset and I remembered you mentioning them in your third stays video and just attempted it. it worked great! Thanks for the inspiration

Also, I look forward to your uploads every time. Your creativity is so inspiring!

Cool! Great idea. Thanks for sharing!

this is totally brilliant

that gusset idea is brilliant.

I love this, this is super helpful!! Not just for stays (I'm not at that skill level yet) but to modify purchased prom dresses etc. that have a slithering problem!

Looking forward to those dresses you mentioned at the end of the video 😍

Great video! Can't wait to see your next tries in making stays :D

Great idea with the eyelets!

I loved these. I got some great ideas for making daily use stays for relieving back pain and comfort.

This is exactly what I was looking for!

This is such a good idea. And easy to retrofit existing stays by the look of it!

I love all your experimenting! I'm definitely making some for my corset, but I'm thinking a teardrop shape like modern push-up bras have. I also plan to make them removable with snaps!

This is exactly what I needed for my current project, thank you!!

I really apprechiate your videos so much! Always interesting, always nice to look at, and you are a very engaging presenter!

Thank you for this! I have been avidly googling trying to find a solution for my curves when I try to make my first stays this year

You just gave me the inspiration to sew my own, going to try this month!

You probably won't see this but you could always use cotton batting and layer it up and do it like a quilt sandwich then binding it instead of make the shape then stuff it

So much to love here... I love your music, and your "backtacking" technique on your red-eye is brilliant.

this is super interesting, and helpful. Going to try this as I know I'll need some extra support.

Love the music you used on this video.

Your approach to historybounding is very enjoyable! Bending the "rules" is great, experimenting even more so

You are so cool! I love your brain and your attitude. You are a genius! Also, I'm loving the smooth jazz background music!

It was soooo useful, thanks!

Fantastic, well done! I'm excited to see what the style of your most comfortable pair of stays will look like; and if possible, if you'd upload a drafting pattern. Has anyone tried making cabbage fill with using a blender? Maybe that could be an episode?

I’d seen something somewhere about “pillows” but this video was what really helped me get the right idea for the shape. Mine don’t look as nice as yours, but they do the job! Currently live in my almost finished regency short stays (I need to fanlace the back and put the new busk in), but they’ll be transferred between sets if stays as needed

Well now I'm thinking of doing this to one cup of each of my bras. Mine aren't *super* uneven but enough to be annoying 😂

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Slithering! That's perfect. Slippery & slimy & inconvenient. I honestly don't mind the sagging. I like to keep my breasts hoisted up because it's that oh-so-lovely & ever-so-flattering underboob sweat that I despise. I like your idea about adding these crescents to a boned dress bodice. I mean, how many modern (usually formal) dresses have built-in bra cups so you can maintain shape & support while going without additional layers, right? Sounds logical & reasonable, so I'm sure your experiment will be a success.

Making the crescent cups removable would also help to heal the irritation that sometimes occurs at the band line under the breast. They could be removed and laundered to prevent fungal infections.

My DD bust thanks you! Eventually I buy and attempt making a corset or stays. With school my sewing is kind of on hold past mending regular things and small projects .

Just in time for my own short stays project! I'm quite large in the bust so is a bit intimidating, but if I don't try I'll never knnow if actually works or not D:

beautiful work and I love that you show the things you will do differently next time. Where do you suggest starting with making a corset/ stays? I have an impossilbe time finding bras that are comfortable for me and would love to try a modified corset.

Thank you for this video. I'm in desperate need for these support pads as the girls keep going into hiding no matter what period of stays/corset I wear. I have noticed that my girls are 2 different sizes. Very noticeable especially in modern bras. So these might be handy there too.

Oh wow! I’m def gunna make these after I make my first pair of stays! Also, idk but you give me Sagittarius vibes, 👁👄👁

This is very interesting to me as I'm a cancer survivor with a double mastectomy. I've been very intimidated by this with regards to corsetry and it has held me back from certain areas of history bounding, areas that I LOVE. Intriguing! Much pondering. On a side note, and I know you know this but wanted to point out that shifts underneath corsets are to protect an un-washable corset and gown. If you can wash it all and it's comfortable, then by all means you do you! But it's not because it's contemptible to insist on wearing shifts under un-washable corsets. Just my 2 cents.

Thank you! An idea…weighing the fill? By no means am I small busted, DD+ so the idea for this is very helpful. I think I’d use small single snaps instead of the eye and ribbon method. While re-watching this for the fourth-eleventh time I had an idea. It’s no where near historically accurate, but what about sewing a swatch of fabric to the sewn cups? The idea behind this is to be a ‘sweat band’. It’s been several decades since I have been minimally busted, so I can’t remember, but I and know several others of my size suffer from…boob sweat. No delicate way to say it. My thinking is if sewn to the removable cup, both can be removed and washed separately to help for cleanliness purposes and preserving the integrity of the corset as well.

As a person who is plus sized and definitely wanting to start sewing, I thank you for this video. It is definitely part of what I was looking for. Do you have any other videos about padding 18th century garments?

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You are an absolute madwoman. Did you really cut with scissors several layers of linen without pinning it first? My shaky hands could never

Me: Oh. Yup these would be easy. Me: Oh dear oh dear. So many pins! Can't. Nope. Existential dread. Logical me: Maybe this is why your stuff doesn't turn out quite how it's supposed to? Me: But PINS! I hate pins. And I hate basting too! Logical me: *sigh* You *do* realize you're creating your own problems, right?

Coming late to discussion, but what about a puffy gusset , trapunto style to maintain the wedge edge? For plus-sized bust. Two layers with the reeded or divided and stuffed eye shape then with flat edge to seam, that would keep shape for the shelf. Must try, I have a leather steampunk corset…

Loved this video, loads of great ideas! Have you done this, but with an actual bra underwire(modern bustier-style)? I was thinking that if they had some padding, they could be comfier than they're in a bra. My only concern with yours is that they might be too warm.

I really enjoyed this video. I have a full bust and would definitely benefit from the cup supports. I think I could use the wire measurement from a bra to figure out how big they need to be. Do you have any thoughts on using that method to figure out the size a pad needs to be? Thank you so much!

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Good idea, but I'm surprised you didn't build them up as you would shoulder pads. What reasoning was behind the choice for loose filling?