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.
You should only need about max. 2 yards/metres of 45" fabric if it has no direction on it. Mine happened to be 90" wide, so I used a slightly different cutting layout than the one shown below with all the pieces beside each other. The key thing is to put the centre front on the selvedge. The squiggly line is to show that you don't keep the fold on the side piece, but actually cut them apart. I sort of just did all the measures directly on the fabric, rounding off the tops and hems.
Next, sew the fronts to the sides, the sides to the back, and the backs together at centre back. But leave the CF seam open. Fell all of these seams so that the boning doesn't catch on them later and for added durability. Mark where the casings will be, measuring from the bottom up. I did mine 5" apart, with 4 rows all together. If you're like the alternate measures, I recommend 5 rows, but you don't want too many because these steels get heavy and the skirt actually does most of the work if shaping and supporting. Make sure you leave enough space at the top so that you'll be able to fit the hoop over your hips when you put it on later, like the same length at least that you'd use for a petticoat placket. My hoops stop 14" from the top. Add 1" twill tape (or casing of choice) for the steels, but not the bottom-most casing. Stop the casings 1.5" from the CF opening by having the edges turned under.
Now you can sew the CF seam, leaving the top open for several inches (about 12") for a front opening. I sewed around this opening to reinforce it. Iron the hem up 1/2" and sew the tape over the hem. This keeps the hem nice and clean and the bottom casing will go all the way around the circumference of the hem, but leave an opening at the top of this casing for inserting the steel later. All this weirdness is so that you have to do minimal sewing of the hoop in the machine after the steels are in. Sewing in the machine with the steels in the hoop is really un-wieldy. The space at the front also means that, with the exception of the bottom steel, all the hoops are easily removeable and the crinoline can be more easily packed up for travel, and it's easier to salvage the steel if you want to recycle it. Below you can see what I'm talking about in the finished crinoline.
Don't add the steels yet! Make the bumpad and stuff it. Also, iron your waistband in half lengthwise with the seam allowances also folded in and ironed. Gather the top of the back pieces only of the crinoline. Sew the ends of the waistband closed. Pin in the waistband and the bumpad (bumpad at CB), leaving an extra inch of waistband on the left side for a closure overlap. Sew the waistband to the crinoline. I did it by machine on one side then sewed the other side by hand, but you could do it all by machine. Then I added the hook and eyelet closure. Another option is to do a drawstring waist by sewing the CF seam completely closed and adding a casing around the top, but make sure that the waist is big enough to fit over your hips. There's a cool purple hoop at the Manchester Galleries that uses a drawstring:
Other closure options include a front closure with a drawstring in the back for adjustment or a button placket on the front-side seam, like this MFA one:
Here's my hook and eyelet (I meant to have 2, but accidentally made the waistband too narrow):
And bumpad in the back, for keeping back thrust:
I put the crinoline on a dressform at this point. The twill tape actually sort of holds out the skirt to some degree:
I added the steels and cut them to length using tin snips. My bottom hoop is about 85" and the top about 60". Overall, I probably used about 8-9 yards/metres of hoopsteel and twill tape. I left about 3"-4" of overlap for each hoop. And I used masking tape to tape the hoops together at each cut end. For the bottom casing, I manouevred it under the machine and sewed up the part I left open. Here's a pic of the inside after the steels were added. (The hem is sort of inside out because the bottom steel didn't want to turn over.
And the finished product!
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. :)
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.
You should only need about max. 2 yards/metres of 45" fabric if it has no direction on it. Mine happened to be 90" wide, so I used a slightly different cutting layout than the one shown below with all the pieces beside each other. The key thing is to put the centre front on the selvedge. The squiggly line is to show that you don't keep the fold on the side piece, but actually cut them apart. I sort of just did all the measures directly on the fabric, rounding off the tops and hems.
Next, sew the fronts to the sides, the sides to the back, and the backs together at centre back. But leave the CF seam open. Fell all of these seams so that the boning doesn't catch on them later and for added durability. Mark where the casings will be, measuring from the bottom up. I did mine 5" apart, with 4 rows all together. If you're like the alternate measures, I recommend 5 rows, but you don't want too many because these steels get heavy and the skirt actually does most of the work if shaping and supporting. Make sure you leave enough space at the top so that you'll be able to fit the hoop over your hips when you put it on later, like the same length at least that you'd use for a petticoat placket. My hoops stop 14" from the top. Add 1" twill tape (or casing of choice) for the steels, but not the bottom-most casing. Stop the casings 1.5" from the CF opening by having the edges turned under.
Now you can sew the CF seam, leaving the top open for several inches (about 12") for a front opening. I sewed around this opening to reinforce it. Iron the hem up 1/2" and sew the tape over the hem. This keeps the hem nice and clean and the bottom casing will go all the way around the circumference of the hem, but leave an opening at the top of this casing for inserting the steel later. All this weirdness is so that you have to do minimal sewing of the hoop in the machine after the steels are in. Sewing in the machine with the steels in the hoop is really un-wieldy. The space at the front also means that, with the exception of the bottom steel, all the hoops are easily removeable and the crinoline can be more easily packed up for travel, and it's easier to salvage the steel if you want to recycle it. Below you can see what I'm talking about in the finished crinoline.
Don't add the steels yet! Make the bumpad and stuff it. Also, iron your waistband in half lengthwise with the seam allowances also folded in and ironed. Gather the top of the back pieces only of the crinoline. Sew the ends of the waistband closed. Pin in the waistband and the bumpad (bumpad at CB), leaving an extra inch of waistband on the left side for a closure overlap. Sew the waistband to the crinoline. I did it by machine on one side then sewed the other side by hand, but you could do it all by machine. Then I added the hook and eyelet closure. Another option is to do a drawstring waist by sewing the CF seam completely closed and adding a casing around the top, but make sure that the waist is big enough to fit over your hips. There's a cool purple hoop at the Manchester Galleries that uses a drawstring:
Other closure options include a front closure with a drawstring in the back for adjustment or a button placket on the front-side seam, like this MFA one:
Here's my hook and eyelet (I meant to have 2, but accidentally made the waistband too narrow):
And bumpad in the back, for keeping back thrust:
I put the crinoline on a dressform at this point. The twill tape actually sort of holds out the skirt to some degree:
I added the steels and cut them to length using tin snips. My bottom hoop is about 85" and the top about 60". Overall, I probably used about 8-9 yards/metres of hoopsteel and twill tape. I left about 3"-4" of overlap for each hoop. And I used masking tape to tape the hoops together at each cut end. For the bottom casing, I manouevred it under the machine and sewed up the part I left open. Here's a pic of the inside after the steels were added. (The hem is sort of inside out because the bottom steel didn't want to turn over.
And the finished product!
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. :)