Success Hoops!

It's the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the postal carrier brought me a heavy envelope. The steel hoop wire (ordered off the internet) has arrived! Yeah! I threaded it into the bottom casing -- that nice coutil twill tape from Lacis -- and it slid in like a dream. The choice of plastic coated steel wire was absolutely correct. Much much much easier than the plastic stuff or even what buckram-coated wire would be. Also, it appears to hold its shape quite well. I'm sure when all 4 rungs are inserted, it will make a fine cage crinoline.

One thing I didn't plan on, though.  I DON'T OWN ANY HEAVY DUTY WIRE CUTTERS! Hmmm.... Always with the problems, I am.

Jumping through Hoops

Here's yet another example of why the proper choice of materials is essential to a project turning out correctly.  HOOP SKIRT IS A FAILURE. It was all going along so well. I had cut the basic skirt shape. I stitched up the seams. I put in a nice waistband borrowed from another pattern, and it's all so very lovely so far. Then I carefully measured and put in the twill tape in the rows and rows of rings that will be the casing for the hoop boning. So far, it's a happy Sunday afternoon.

Then, after taking a break to eat some grocery store California roll, I inserted the hoop boning that I'd just bought from Lacis in Berkeley.  My mistake was in picking the lower priced stuff ($8 a roll) because their spring steel hoop boning was $50 a roll. Quite a price difference!  BUT the plastic stuff does not hold its shape. It curls and warps every which-a-way.

No, this isn't me turning around. This is the shape it makes standing still.  Inconceivable!!  I hate to bad-mouth Lacis -- a landmark in Berkeley since forever -- but really, are those the only 2 choices?  I am forced to go elsewhere in search of the perfect hoop skirt wire.

Butterick 5831

I bought the Butterick pattern #5831 last year, when Joann Fabrics had their buy-a-bunch-of-patterns-real-cheap sale. It's marketed as a Civil War ear dress, but really the sloped shoulders make it acceptable for the Dickens Fair too. I've always wanted to try it, and this year I got the chance!

BTW, I prefer Butterick patterns because they have a clean, no fuss approach. The Simplicity patterns tend to have a lot of unnecessary steps and details which makes them a bit more work to adjust for size. I'm actually making this dress for my friend ("A") but except for my larger waistline we're almost sort of the same size.

My first decision -- and this made all the difference in the world -- was the choice of fabric. This is a "silkessence" polyester silk imitation, but it handles beautifully. It doesn't fray too much. It doesn't pucker. It is soft but not as impossibly slippery as gossamer, and with it's lower price it's not as scary to cut into as silk. Plus, I didn't make too many modifications to the original pattern. I was a good girl and followed most of the directions, including a cotton lining under the bodice that's a sort of fake chemise, and I put piping at the shoulder seams. The fabric was so thin and silky that I didn't need to do tedious cartridge pleats to gather the waistband. Whew! Also, I chose to make self-fabric loops for the buttons instead of button holes. I put a little modesty panel inside the front gap of the skirt. I hand-basted a lace collar that I got in the grab-bag at a rummage sale, and that really jazzes it up.

All I need to do is hem the bottom, which I can't do until "A" tries it on again, and which I can't ask her to do until I finish her hoop skirt. (Right now, I'm trying it on over my own ratty ol' hoop skirt.)  Glad her mom gave me that big bag of muslin to work with.