3/16″ Caning for Stays

One coil of 3/16″ reed caning provides enough for about two sets of fully boned stays and work very well with Stays by JP Ryan and Mill Farms 18th century Jumps patterns. Use two pieces of reed for each channel with the flat sides together. This provides more strength than 1/4″ reed we provided before.

In the 18th century stays were usually made of a part of the mouth of the right whale called baleen but could also be made of split hardwoods or steel. Today the most cost effective and natural product available is caning. Unlike steel and plastic, caning is breathable and therefore can be more comfortable on hot days. These may break with time and often it is good to use steel stays in certain places to add extra strength. This caning is made of a reed grown in China and although it is not what was used in the 18th century these are fully enclosed within the garment and are not seen.