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what I'm working on today
Sep. 29th, 2014 03:51 pmA petticoat!
It's loosely based on Truly Victorian's free hoop petticoat diagram, but of course I had to fiddle with it slightly. I wanted a narrower ruffle at the hem (it's not on yet) and I was being frugal by making the upper section 30" narrower than the lower tier.
It's over this hoopskirt, which I made in 2008 (is it just me or does this seem like an eternity ago?). There is also a really big floofy ruffled petticoat under there; I originally made it for bustle dresses but it fits over the hoop, although the hem is wavy.
I am leveling it at the waist as you can see in the picture. I sewed a piece of elastic into a loop and slipped it onto my dressform, then pulled the unfinished waist of my hemmed petticoat through, pleating it roughly as I did. Next I'll measure from the hem to the floor and adjust it until it's even all around, then mark it and chop it before I attach the waistband. Because of the hoop's shape the petticoat needs to be a little shorter in front, and this way just seemed easiest!
Before I started this petticoat I fiddled with the ties in the back of the hoopskirt to make it rounder, with less back emphasis. I've been trying to figure out hoop shapes during the 1850s and 60s, and there is so much variation! The bell shape, the bell with more back fullness (like mine), the straighter, more triangular style, and the straight ellipse are the obvious ones. You could probably boil it down to a timeline but it looks like there's a lot of variation even within a single year. The takeaway for me is that not all women wore the exact same hoop shape. Subtle differences existed within the general trends.
And why grey, not white? No reason, I just felt like it. :)
It's loosely based on Truly Victorian's free hoop petticoat diagram, but of course I had to fiddle with it slightly. I wanted a narrower ruffle at the hem (it's not on yet) and I was being frugal by making the upper section 30" narrower than the lower tier.
It's over this hoopskirt, which I made in 2008 (is it just me or does this seem like an eternity ago?). There is also a really big floofy ruffled petticoat under there; I originally made it for bustle dresses but it fits over the hoop, although the hem is wavy.
I am leveling it at the waist as you can see in the picture. I sewed a piece of elastic into a loop and slipped it onto my dressform, then pulled the unfinished waist of my hemmed petticoat through, pleating it roughly as I did. Next I'll measure from the hem to the floor and adjust it until it's even all around, then mark it and chop it before I attach the waistband. Because of the hoop's shape the petticoat needs to be a little shorter in front, and this way just seemed easiest!
Before I started this petticoat I fiddled with the ties in the back of the hoopskirt to make it rounder, with less back emphasis. I've been trying to figure out hoop shapes during the 1850s and 60s, and there is so much variation! The bell shape, the bell with more back fullness (like mine), the straighter, more triangular style, and the straight ellipse are the obvious ones. You could probably boil it down to a timeline but it looks like there's a lot of variation even within a single year. The takeaway for me is that not all women wore the exact same hoop shape. Subtle differences existed within the general trends.
And why grey, not white? No reason, I just felt like it. :)
