Cheater Stays- Progress!

My tools laid out and ready to rumble!

Well, while I was working on Maybelle Thursday night, I had some down time while I was waiting for the foam to cure. So, what better to do than work on my 18th century (cheater) stays! My oak splint arrived awhile ago, and it's just been sitting there in the box patiently waiting its turn. I finished hand sewing my stay panels together Wednesday night and was feeling up to the challenge of tackling the oak splint.


I got my bucket of hot water to soak the oak (about 10 minutes according to the directions) and then gathered everything else I might need. Then I turned on my DVR and got to work.

Scraping the oak wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My hubby sharpened my knives for me so that they had a good edge which made the work a lot easier. I did a few test strips and kind of got the hang of it.

Cutting the damp oak to width.

I even attempted a few shaped channels where I cut the oak to fit a point and curve so that it filled the channel entirely. It was actually sort of relaxing in a strange way. Of course, at this point I was in the middle of the Maybelle fiasco, so maybe that's why it seemed so methodically calming!

So far so good. Once I finish inserting the oak I can bind the stays and attempt a 1760's dress form... yay...