Entries tagged with cage crinoline/hoop

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Still working on it

I put on my chemise, corset, hoop, gored 1890s petticoat, and tucked petticoat, and then my print dress to mark the hem. My mom helped me by pinning up the hem. So that's done. Now it needs a facing, which means I need to find something to make a facing out of. Anyways, the point of listing all the undergarments was that I had totally forgotten about my tucked petticoat, but it makes a really nice over-hoop layer. It's all rectangles, so it adds bit more fullness all around, which I think looks right. I may have spent a few hours looking at photos c.1865-1875 to figure out skirt silhouettes and how to adjust my hoop to make it work for early bustle so that I don't have to make a bustle just yet.

Upon further reflection, I've decided that I didn't distribute the skirt properly when attaching it to the waistband, so it looks a bit skimpy over the back when worn with the hoop. But not enough that I'm going to redo it. I'm just noting it so that I remember for future reference.

Ok, I'm also super sniffly/running nose/sneezy. So I wasn't actually very productive on sewing today. But slowly things are getting done.

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cage crinoline/hoop

Late 1860s Elliptical Hoop Tutorial

As promised, here is my how-to on making a late-1860s covered cage.

I started out by drafting up a pattern model with all the measurements. The measurements I used are in red, but if you are a more normal sized person, I have some suggested measurements in black. In general, the front length measure is about 7"-10" less than the waist-to-floor measure, the waist is about 10"-15" larger than the corsetted waist measure, and the hem circumference is what you feel will suit you in terms of functionality and body proportions. I figured out mine by looking at

koshka_the_cat's elliptical crinoline on her website, which she said was 95". Katherine and I are about the same size and I knew I wanted a smaller cage, so my hem circumference here is 90", but the 6" worth of seam allowance (1/2" seam allowance) brought it down to 84". The alternative measurements I give here would be suitable if your waist-to-floor is about 42"-45" and your corsetted waist measure is around 30" and you want a hem of about 105". I also give the measurements for a bumpad, which I have inside the hoop. Also, have your waistband the length of your corsetted waist plus 3" and 3" wide.

( Rest of the instructions behind the cut )

This really was easy to make and I probably could have done it all in one day if I tried. I hope this is helpful for anyone who wants to make this kind of hoop! And please let me know if anything is unclear or you have any questions. :)

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Late 1860s foundations

I took my camera outside with me today and got pictures of my corset and hoop! (Also, apparently I'm really bad at outdoor photography and have lots of weird shadows.) Here they are:
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( VERY picture heavy behind the cut :) )
I love my new hoop and kind of just want to wear it all the time now. It's SO fun! But yeah, next time, bigger!

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cage crinoline/hoop

Almost done hoop

I just need to close up the bottom hoop casing and fix a tiny bit somewhere else where I ripped out a couple stitches and this hoop will be done! A couple of quick photos taken today. Before and after adding the steels:
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I'm going to take real pictures tomorrow along with some of my finished corset. I also plan on doing a full write-up/tutorial of how I made my hoop in case anyone is interested in making one like this. It was really easy and I think it gives a good late-1860s shape, kind of like this one from the MFA:

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cage crinoline/hoop

Progress report

I now have all the hoopsteel casings attached to the hoop. They're 1 inch cotton twill tape. The hoop has been assembled as well as a bumpad to support the back. I tried on the skirt and it seems to have a good elliptical shape even before adding the steel. What's left: waistband, steels, finishing bits. I plan on doing a whole write-up of how I made this if it works out as I think it should because it was actually surprisingly easy to make up from scratch.

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Elizabeth told me to

ashamanja_babu says pictures. So I took a quick pic of the finished corset with the binding, lace (from Treadle!), and flossing. After I'd already sewn on the lace with the binding, I realized it would have been more accurate to add the lace over top of the binding and facing pointy edge up. But by that point it was already on and I wasn't redoing it. Oh well. ;p
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The hoop has been cut out and the panels assembled and felled. I've marked where the twill tape will go for the hoop steel casings. Still not finished my shawl, but planning on working on it this evening while watching the Netflix show Stranger Things. Watched the first couple of episodes yesterday and I really enjoyed it. Kind of like Stephen King and The Goonies; even though it's modern, it's set in 1983 (almost typed 1883 lol) and really reminds me of 80s movies (which I love!).

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Ok, actually finished!

I bit the bullet yesterday evening and flossed my corset. Just simple Xs on the bottoms of the bones and not even that neat, but done.

atherleisure was totally right when she said that if I didn't do it know, I probably wouldn't go back to it later. Plus, I was rather sick yesterday (I've had the cold from hell for the past few months that will just never entirely go away, it just ebbs and flows) and didn't get around to working on my hoop other than ironing the fabric. It was either flossing or knitting, but I figured flossing would make me feel more accomplished. Pictures of the finished product next week some time, when I should also have the hoop done and can show off all the foundation garments together. I think I'll feel enough better tomorrow to cut out the hoop and assemble it.

Costume College peeps! Thanks for the pictures you are sharing. Keep them coming!

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Finished?

I finally finished binding my corset. I don't know if I'll end up flossing it. At this point, I'm just tired of working on it and want to move on to something else. Flossing would probably be good, but I'm not sure that it's necessary. I'll have to try wearing the corset more and seeing if the bones have any inclination to twist or move around. If not, then I'm calling it done and not working on flossing. If it needs flossing... well, we'll see when I get around to it.

Next project is hoops/cage crinoline! The fabric (pillow ticking) is in the wash. I'll cut out the pieces tomorrow and probably also get them assembled.

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I think I'm in love

With my new corset! It's not as pretty as my lavender satin one, but the fit is much better. The waist is in the right place and the bust and hips have the right amount of room so that I have an almost perfectly even lacing gap. And, when I laced it up normally, I got half an inch more reduction than in the lavender corset! It's so comfortable too. The only nit-picky problem I have with it is that the bust isn't quite as in my mock-up, because I probably wasn't quite careful enough with the lapped seams and getting the curve just right. But it's pretty minimal and I don't really mind,
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I put in the grommets today and almost had a terrible moment on the very last one. I was stretching the hole with a knitting needle and I felt the fabric tear, but it was only a tiny bit and the grommet still totally covers it, so it was all fine. Whew! Tomorrow I will definitely do the binding and maybe even the flossing.
( Re-thinking my sewing plans for a bonus outfit )

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Hat trimmed!

I kind of just want to make hats now. They're so much fun! Here's my "finished" hat, trimmed with flowers. I arranged them around the crown and pinned them, then I sewed them on with big stitches so that they'll be easily removeable. They're a bunch of the flowers that I used for my 1882 Little Mermaid evening gown repurposed. Yay for not having to buy new things!
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I got the idea of a wreath of flowers from

jenthompson's 1883 Peterson's. The lady on the far right of this fashion plate shows this sort of style of hat with just flowers for decoration.

My busk and hoopsteel came in the mail today. I guess I should get back to work on that corset.

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Darn!

The wool I ordered is out of stock for the amount I want and won't be re-stocked until the fall. So I guess that project will be on hold for a while. It would also be productive if I actually worked on those baby quilts instead of researching cage crinolines. (Trying to figure out how I want to make mine later this summer.)