A farthingale, also known as a hoop skirt, helps to create the idea of floating when a woman is walking. It was reserved for the noble class, though, a wealthy merchant could pay the Sumptuary tax and wear a farthingale of a modestly sized circumference.
The hoops could number anywhere from 3-9 tiers. I generally just do the 3, simply to save on cost. I haven't yet found more to be necessary. There are two methods I've used to create the channels for the steel hoops: a. I sew twill tape along the path or b. I create channels simply by sewing them into the fabric.
I have also used two methods to form the skirt portion itself: a. I have used a gathered method, whereby I merely take a length of fabric (the length is the total of the bottom tier circumference +1" for seam), ply whichever method I wish to the channels then sew the seem up. I string a string through the waist channel, hooping wire through the hoop channels, then adjust the gathers. This method leaves a nice impression on the top skirts as the gathers kind of hide the hoops. But it is frustrating in that the gathers shift.
b. The other is to create an infinite gored skirt, sew in/on the channels, then insert the hooping wire and string. This is nice because the farthingale keeps its shape rather nicely. The downside is that it very easy to see the hoop tiers on the outer skirts.
Warmest Regards,
No comments:
Post a Comment