Book excerpt: In this second volume of Stays and Corsets, Mandy Barrington continues to create historical patterns for a modern body shape. This book contains all new corset patterns with a range of silhouettes that span over 300 years, from the late 16th century to the early 20th century. The corset patterns are generated from an original historical garment and have been designed for a wide range of female figures and sizes. The technique of flat pattern drafting your stays or corset will enable you to change the shape of the wearer to create an authentic historic silhouette. All calculations have been worked out for the reader and are provided in easy-to-read tables, which avoids extremely difficult, time-consuming and inaccurate re-sizing of historical patterns. Some prior knowledge of pattern drafting is helpful; however, each pattern has step-by-step instructions supported by clear diagrams that will take you through each stage of the pattern drafting process. The final result is an accurate period stays or corset pattern for your model.