Elizabethan gown: simplicity #8881

Part 2: The Understructures

After finally finishing the chemise (as expected, felling the seams by hand made for a lot of work and was very time-consuming), it was time to work on the understructures of the bum roll and the farthingale.

The bum roll was made from white broadcloth (cotton/poly blend), pretty much as per the instructions. As a fastener, though, I used skirt hooks instead of the velcro, because I think they are more sturdy. Velcro has the nasty habit of picking up lint and the loops pulling out, so I thought I would just avoid using it. The farthingale was made from the same white broadcloth, and I sewed the channels out of white cotton twill tape, 1" wide. I did all the construction by machine, for strength. I felled the seams to the inside and then sewed the channels onto the outside of the farthingale as suggested on the website http://www.farthingales.on.ca/elizabethan.php#prices (this is another great place for practical advice on creating period garments, and also one source for supplies for period garments). I need to order the crinoline steel. I do have some quarter inch wide steel in my stash, but from experience I know it does not work in hoop skirts or the like. I did put some into the boning channels to give an idea of how the farthingale would look when finished. This was the result

The thin weight of the steels seems to be ok if doubled up for the top two bones, but the bottom bone buckles terribly, especially when walking around. This type of steel is best used for corsets and bodices, so don't go buying 25 yards thinking it'll do the trick and save you some money.

The only other problem I seem to be running into is the chemise, which is bubbling and falling off my shoulders in the front. I can only assume this is because I don't have a corset on to keep it in place. Hopefully the bodice will serve to keep it up when it gets to that point.

I have also begun work on the underskirt. I am making it out of a banquet size tablecloth I found at Goodwill for $4.95. It is an offwhite brocade. This is what it does over the improperly boned farthingale:

You can just see the bottom edge buckling and warping inward. The instructions suggest gluing pearls to the front panel and using fabric paint to decorate the pattern of the fabric. I'm actually sewing freshwater pearls onto the front panel.

These are some of them, to give you an idea of size. Hanks of freshwater pearls cost me between $2 and $4 per hank, depending on where you go (wal-mart, Jo-ann or Hancock) and whether or not they are on sale. I'm trying to use pearls that are fairly round and uniform. Not all of them are, but they look pretty good when they are sewn on. I don't know that I'll go as far as putting fabric paint on it. I left the last 6 inches or so unadorned for the moment, because I don't know how far up I'll have to put the hem yet.

My hope is that I will be able to get to the overskirt this week and put the whole skirt together. Maybe I'll even be able to order the correct steels and get the farthingale done!