My SCA goal for the year was to create a completely period outfit from the skin out. Since I pfaffed the summer away, I won't meet the goal, but I am still making progress toward it. I finished the first part in the spring when I converted a plain, gathered neck chemise into a striped, round neck chemise. This past week I have finished the corset (minus the shoulder straps) and now on to part 3 - the farthingale.
Spanish Farthingale History
Farthingales are seen in Spanish paintings as early as 1470. In their early incarnations they were worn as visible under-dresses or as the sole overdress (see the pic at right). This style saw contrasting colored bands used to cover the hoops and was somewhat short-lived, dying out before the turn of the century. Although the visible farthingale style died out, farthingales continued to be an integral part of the female shape throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. The primary changes during this 200 year period are the shape of the farthingale. In the early version, the shape is a gently rounded bell, somewhat narrow in size. During the Tudor period the shape became more of an triangle - more angular. Throughout the Elizabethan period the shape remained angular, eventually getting quite large (the more fabric you were able to use, the greater your status, etc...).
The Project
Using the Algeca pattern layout (above), I worked with the idea of making the circumference of the bottom the of the skirt around 110 inches. In rough, my front and back center bottoms were 15" (cut on the fold), and the side gores were each around 14", giving me a total circumference of around 116". This seems large, but I then french seamed all of the seams (but two due to a miscalculation on my part) so each seam is probably a good 1/2" or so when all is said and done. Each piece is roughly 44-45 inches long.
When looking at the pattern, part 'bmA' (from left to right) is the center front, 'bmB' is the center back, triangular gore A is a side front gore, and B is a side back gore. bmA and bmB are both cut on the fold (fold is on the bm side). When putting the pieces together, the trick is not to sew any bias pieces to another bias piece, this keeps the skirt from drooping through fabric stretching.
I am making my farthingale out of washed white cotton sheeting that was 45" wide, and approximately 4 yards long. The boning channels are burgundy bias binding, with poly-tubing for the actual boning. Yes...yes....poly tubing is hardly period, however I don't have the money for other types and I want a farthingale that is easy to wash (just pop the hoops out) and easy to pack for events.
The Process
I cut out the pieces and sewed them together except for the last seam. At this point I evened up the top of the skirt and sewed a channel across the top for cording. Originally I was going to pleat the skirt onto a waistband, but since I am working to lose a significant amount of weight, I decided that for the moment a gathered waistband makes more sense.
The boning channels have been sewn on from the waistband down, with the first horizontal channel placed 9" from the top of the waistband, roughly the middle of my palm. The thinking here is that when sitting I can easily grasp the top hoop and pull it up a bit which should bring the next lower hoop up enough to settle under my upper thigh. From the top 2 hoops I am placing the rest approximately 7-9 inches apart. At the moment it appears that the skirt will have 5-6 hoops, with the last hoop being the bottom of the skirt.
I am putting the boning channels on a slightly different way than most farthingale dress diaries. Basically, I am 'binding- challenged'....when putting it on a 'round' item, I can never get both sides of the binding on in a way that looks good. So, for this version of the farthingale, I am using 3/4 inch wide, double fold binding and just sewing it onto the skirt folded, with stitching along the open side to hold it in place. Then I plan to run the binding through the channels. I will either leave it like that, or hand stitch the other side of the binding down once the hoops are in place.
I will add the bottom hoop after Ken gets home as I want his help. In reading about farthingales, the general consensus is that the bottom hoop should be approximately 4 inches above the ground so that you don't catch the hoop with your foot, and also so you can walk comfortably. So, I plan to have the bottom hoop around 4 inches from the floor, when wearing my usual 'event' shoes (Doc Martens - yes...they aren't period, but they are waterproof, bug proof and there is no way I'm going to fall over at a slippery camping site! -- that said, Ken and I are discussing making me some period shoes).
Spanish Farthingale History
Farthingales are seen in Spanish paintings as early as 1470. In their early incarnations they were worn as visible under-dresses or as the sole overdress (see the pic at right). This style saw contrasting colored bands used to cover the hoops and was somewhat short-lived, dying out before the turn of the century. Although the visible farthingale style died out, farthingales continued to be an integral part of the female shape throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. The primary changes during this 200 year period are the shape of the farthingale. In the early version, the shape is a gently rounded bell, somewhat narrow in size. During the Tudor period the shape became more of an triangle - more angular. Throughout the Elizabethan period the shape remained angular, eventually getting quite large (the more fabric you were able to use, the greater your status, etc...).The Project
Using the Algeca pattern layout (above), I worked with the idea of making the circumference of the bottom the of the skirt around 110 inches. In rough, my front and back center bottoms were 15" (cut on the fold), and the side gores were each around 14", giving me a total circumference of around 116". This seems large, but I then french seamed all of the seams (but two due to a miscalculation on my part) so each seam is probably a good 1/2" or so when all is said and done. Each piece is roughly 44-45 inches long.When looking at the pattern, part 'bmA' (from left to right) is the center front, 'bmB' is the center back, triangular gore A is a side front gore, and B is a side back gore. bmA and bmB are both cut on the fold (fold is on the bm side). When putting the pieces together, the trick is not to sew any bias pieces to another bias piece, this keeps the skirt from drooping through fabric stretching.
I am making my farthingale out of washed white cotton sheeting that was 45" wide, and approximately 4 yards long. The boning channels are burgundy bias binding, with poly-tubing for the actual boning. Yes...yes....poly tubing is hardly period, however I don't have the money for other types and I want a farthingale that is easy to wash (just pop the hoops out) and easy to pack for events.
The Process
The boning channels have been sewn on from the waistband down, with the first horizontal channel placed 9" from the top of the waistband, roughly the middle of my palm. The thinking here is that when sitting I can easily grasp the top hoop and pull it up a bit which should bring the next lower hoop up enough to settle under my upper thigh. From the top 2 hoops I am placing the rest approximately 7-9 inches apart. At the moment it appears that the skirt will have 5-6 hoops, with the last hoop being the bottom of the skirt.
I am putting the boning channels on a slightly different way than most farthingale dress diaries. Basically, I am 'binding- challenged'....when putting it on a 'round' item, I can never get both sides of the binding on in a way that looks good. So, for this version of the farthingale, I am using 3/4 inch wide, double fold binding and just sewing it onto the skirt folded, with stitching along the open side to hold it in place. Then I plan to run the binding through the channels. I will either leave it like that, or hand stitch the other side of the binding down once the hoops are in place.
No comments:
Post a Comment