So I have been doing ALL this sewing, but have been too busy to update here! I will parcel it out in bits so as to keep things interesting (rather than dumping it on you all at once).
I spent a Saturday mocking up various boning layouts on my 1780s stays. I found a boning layout that worked very nicely and improved things — but found that even more, the trick turned out to be moving the position of my strap. My first version of my 1780s stays had a VERY wide front, which was great for creating forced posture (ie narrow back, wide front, shoulders held back)… but not so good for ye quadraboob. Moving the strap forward a good 2-3″ tightened things up in the bust and really pushed the girls forward.
So here’s some comparison shots of the various boning layouts and how they worked out:
This is a great experiment! I would never have the energy to try even two much less THREE boning patterns. Looks really nice too. 🙂
My god you are awesome. That is all.
TWO 1780 stays in one year? Whew.
As Shakespeare said, and I plagiarizeth: “There is some madness to method, and method to madness.”
Actually, your initial stays inspired me to sew my own, and I tweaked with the channels for at least two months to get it just right. I went with a layout identical to your Option 2, with two horizontal bones to round the front. That succeeded in flattering my less endowed figure (i.e., at least hint more of “natural woman of 1780” than “natural matchstick of 2010”). It’s interesting that that seems to work for you too, and I’m wondering if that could work for more people out there — but I digress.
Anyhow, I applaud your experimentation. 🙂