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Cane vs Plastic Boning

Cane Vs Plastic

 A list of the Pros and Cons!

Designed for our customers, this chart is a list of all the pros and cons that come with whether you chose Cane or Plastic for your Stays. It’s a hard ‘ol choice to make! And we hope that this chart lays out the discussion between the two for all to see and help you make an informed choice.

 

3mm Centre Cane
5mm Plastic
5mm (ish) Cane
  • Flexible
  • Flexible
  • Flexible
  • Breathable
  • Won’t Breathe
  • Breathable
  • 3mm thick so will make a thicker Corset. The thickness is suitable for early 1700s to 1760’s Stays
  • Only 1.5mm thick so will make a thinner Corset which would suit the thickness of a pair of Stays from the later part of the 18th C.
  • Only 1.5mm thick so will make a thinner Corset which would suit the thickness of a pair of Stays from the later part of the 18th C.
  • Will mold beautifully to clients body.
  • Can’t be shaped or molded.
  • Will mold beautifully to clients body.
  • If Stays are left in damp and unsuitable conditions then the cane will act like any natural fibre and be subject to rot and mould.
  • Won’t rot or grow mould no matter what conditions the plastic is kept in.
  • If Stays are left in damp and unsuitable conditions then the cane will act like any natural fibre and be subject to rot and mould.
  • Very Flexible and therefore unlikely to split or snap but if insisted on will snap quicker than the plastic.
  • Virtually un-breakable.
  • Very Flexible but as this cane is thinner in nature then it is that bit more brittle and weaker than the 3mm cane.
  • Narrow channels ideal for early to mid 18thc Stays and good for replicating some of the stays from the 70’s and 80’s where their boning can be spindly. Will turn out deeper though in depth than these 1770s-80s originals as it is also 3mm deep.
  • As it is 5mm in width this is not going to recreate some of the thinner boning but will be good for replicating some of the 1790’s stays that went back to more wider and simpler boning techniques.
  • As it is about 5mm in width this is not going to recreate some of the thinner boning but will be good for replicating some of the 1790’s stays that went back to more wider and simpler boning techniques.
  • Can’t be washed.
  • Can be washed.
  • Can’t be washed.
  • Works well in creating the very rigid cone shape that Stays were expected to hold.
  • As this is plastic; it bends in a different way to cane and therefore is more subject to curving with the bust.
  • As this is a thinner strip of cane it will work a bit more similarly to the plastic and allow a little more curvature.
  • Quite a lot of this cane is needed in a pair of Fully Boned Stays and therefore adds to the price.
  • Less of this plastic is needed in Boning a pair of Fully Boned Stays and therefore works out a little cheaper.
  • Less of this cane is needed in Boning a pair of Fully Boned Stays and therefore works out a little cheaper.
  • We’ve not seen cane used yet in a pair of Stays. Reed and Whalebone are the only materials we’ve seen in Staymaking so far. However we have found that the 3mm centre cane meets the needs of whalebone and is our chosen substitute as whalebone is no longer available.
  • Definitely not a period material!
  • We’ve not seen cane used yet in a pair of Stays. Reed and Whalebone are the only materials we’ve seen in Staymaking so far. However we have found that the 3mm centre cane meets the needs of whalebone and is our chosen substitute as whalebone is no longer available.