Boning - 1/4" or 1/2"?

[Dinobabe]

Boning is easy to get hold of and works out at about the same cost per corset once you take the wastage into account.

If you plan it out carefully and/or save the ends for future projects there is no wastage!

[Kate XXXXXX]

How do you bone with the tie ends?  They are always going to be wastage...  None at all with boning on the roll: you cut each bone to length as you go.   

[Dinobabe]

For my most recent bodice I cut off the very end (where the tie zips thru) and used every bit!   I save the ends I don't use for next time.

[Manwariel]

If I want/don't mind the curvier shapes and, being flat-chested, just want something to keep the fabric straighter and stiffer and keep it from bunching where the eyelets are, is 1/4" spiral steel a good choice? What about 1/2"?

[Manwariel]

A lot of you use cable ties. What about using actual cable?

[isabelladangelo]

I personally dislike spiral steel.   I've tried to use it in some Victorian stuff and it's still way too flexible for my tastes.   I'm uh, voluptuous?  though so I'm more concerned about keeping my figure and everything in place than anything else.

I have almost gone completely to cable ties.   Now, I think the major problem is that there are two types of cable ties out there.  There are the thin little things that won't do anyone a lick of good and then there are the duct ties that tend to be about a half inch in width and come in the 36 to 48" lengths.   I use the duct ties.   If you look at the Gallery of Finished projects thread, the picture I posted a couple of days ago with my stays?  Those stays have an interlining of canvas and use cable ties at the front.  That's it.   I had been wearing the outfit for at least three or four hours by the point that picture was taken.   As you can see, there isn't any bending, moving of the fabric, or anything else that would be problematic other than the stupid skirt being too big (I made it a few years ago and I've lost weight since then).   

I've used steel in the past as well.  The problem is...I've bent steel before.   Once you bend a steel bone, there is no way to get the garment back into it's proper shape.  It just...won't happen.   Cable ties allow for movement but don't move as much as the spiral steel.  The keep their shape no matter how much you move around.   

[Lady Rebecca]

I started making stays this summer, using some really heavy duty cable ties from Home Depot. I went to get the same kind from Lowes, now that I'm back in OK instead of CA, and they don't have the same kind! I'm going to try getting to Home Depot today, if I feel well enough, and I really hope they have the same kind that I started with. Because otherwise, the right side of my fully-boned stays isn't going to be as strong as the left.

Not saying the Lowes ones are bad, though - I've made two other boned bodices with the Lowes cable ties, and they're both very supportive.

[gem]

I've definitely run afoul of the weaker cable/duct ties; in fact, I posted a whole thread on it this summer!  It looks like the "right" ones will have about 175lb tensile strength--but I'm not sure that's printed on the package anywhere (I only found it on the website for the brand I buy--Malco).

Isabella--are you saying the stays are *only* boned at the lacing edges?  Nowhere else?

[Lady Rebecca]

Yep. Home Depot seems to carry the Malco brand, while Lowes does not. So I guess I will be making another trip another day to go return the ones from Lowes! At least now I know I have a source in OKC.

[isabelladangelo]

Isabella--are you saying the stays are *only* boned at the lacing edges?  Nowhere else?

Yeap.  The beauty of a correct cut and canvas.   I honestly didn't think it would work but it was fine after a day of faire so....

[gypsylakat]

How much does a pack usually run, I haven't made it over to the store to price compare, but I was looking online and found thse

http://www.buycableties.com/catalog/8/heavy_duty_cable_ties
$15 for 50 250lb tensile strength cables seems decent, but I'm not sure

[Lady Rebecca]

That sounds really good. I got a pack of... I can't remember. 15, I think? 36" long each. And it was $7.87.

How much is the shipping on those?

[gypsylakat]

Shipping is $11.13 for one pack and just playing with it to my address $12.06 for two, so there are probably better savings for ordering multiples on shipping, If I knew anyone else local that sewed bodices I'd just order like 20 packs and go in as a group lol..