Workwoman's Guide - 1840

Google books is a wonderful resource. The ability to look at some really old books, that if you bought would set you back a great deal. Instead one gets to poke at these gems for free.

Tonight I've been looking at this wonderful book.

This is what it has to say about nursing stays:

"It is essential to open the front of nursing stays, so as to give the mother the greastest ease while feeding her infant; for this purpose, care should be takent hat no stay-bones or hard buttons should come in contact with the child's face: the two or three best modes of opening them are the following:

Leave open that side of the bosom gore which is next to the shoulder-strap, to the depth of a full nail and a hal; (a nail as described as 2 1/4 inches); neatly bind the side of the gore, and after back stitching the opposite side, sew on ver firmly two buttons, on at the top and the other lower down. To the gore is attached two loops, by which it can be buttoned or unbuttoned at pleasure.(See Fig. 24)

Another mode is that of leaving open the outer sides of those gores nearest the steel or middle of stays

these sides, and the parts with which they accord, have oylet-holes worked down them, exactly opposite to each other. Through each oylet-hole in the gore, pass a bobbin of about two nails and a quarter long, which is fastened at one end firmly to the wrong side of the corresponding hole, and pulled through. By this arrangement all ends of the bobbins lace up the whole gore. The bobbins are sewed together at the ends, forming a loop to attach it to a button on each site of the steel. (see figure 23, A B)

These bobbins should be carefully cut and joined ao as to pull the gores properly in their places. When it is unbuttoned the whole front lets down comfortable. It is advisable to sew a little fold or oblong piece to the stay on the inside, which forms a flap to lie between the shift and the opening, as a guard from cold."