Thank goodness... (or, the Case of the Weirdly Shaped Farthingale)

[Lady Rosalind]

I very nearly posted this question about 15 times this week...

I am in the process of building our Queen and King's new Royal Wedding Clothes (no pressure there, right?). Lynne, who plays the Queen, dropped off her new hoop on Wednesday, along with trim, and we went to lunch without throwing the hoop on the dress form to check it out.

Later that night, I threw the hoop on the form, and my jaw dropped. Holy crap, the shape was beyond weird. The top hoop, right below the hips, was abnormally small in comparison with the four other hoops. So, to illustrate:


Hoop silhouette

In other words: OMG!!!

Anyway, we tried to come up with ideas, including lowering the waist drawstring (nope - would make the bottom hoop too high), and trying to fix it with a half-slip of tulle (awkward as heck). In the end, last night as I was drifting off to sleep in front of the TV, it occurred to me that maybe I could reduce the size of the hoops, even if we had to buy new hoop connectors, it would be worth it.

This afternoon, I finally had a chance to look at the hoop steel, and discovered that it would be ridiculously EASY to reduce the hoop circumference! The steel was overlapped anyway, with rubber-like guides that were easy to slide off and on. This was incredible news, considering that the bottom hoop had been about 20 inches wider than it should have been, and I was dreading ending up with a ridiculous looking set of skirts.

So, a little elbow grease, and about 25 minutes of work, and we have achieved Normality™. Now I can finally hem that underskirt and forepart, and get back to work! 

Moral of the story: don't despair! The solution to that stupid problem you face may be easier to find than you think....

[mollymishap]

LOL!!!  I came across the exact same issue with my first farthingale, AND that first hoop was placed so high (close to the waist) that it just (forget looking bad) FELT bad to wear. 

I wound up removing all the hoops, re-spacing them so that the first hoop was in a more anatomically pleasing location, and while I was at it, I added a permanent cotton petticoat/cover which attaches at the waist so as to minimize the dreaded (for me, at any rate) hoop-bleed-through* issue.

I would also recommend going out (to any old hardware store) and getting a little more of that plastic tubing, and cutting it in longer lengths, because the short little stubby ones that came with mine didn't do a very good job of keeping the ends of the hoops at the length you want them to be.  ALSO, you might consider epoxying the little metal covers on the ends of the hoop wire TO the hoop wire since these also have a tendency to come off.

*Hoop bleed-through being what I call it when the hoops show through all layers of the gown by pushing the outer fabrics out.  I'm sure many don't mind it, but it's a pet-peeve with me, personally.  But I'm a fanatic about a lot of things, so don't take my opinion as a must-do, PLEASE.  I'm just expressing a personal preference.

[Lady Rosalind]

Thanks for the tip out the plastic tubing, molly! I'll definitely use it if it seems like the smaller bits don't hold up well.

We're trying to get to the point where we can see if we are going to have hoop-bleed. The underskirt is a silk jaquard, and the overskirt is a heavy taffeta, so I think we'll be fine. I hope we'll be fine, because I don't know if she'll want to wear another layer...

[silverstah]

I wound up removing all the hoops, re-spacing them so that the first hoop was in a more anatomically pleasing location, and while I was at it, I added a permanent cotton petticoat/cover which attaches at the waist so as to minimize the dreaded (for me, at any rate) hoop-bleed-through* issue.

Yeep!  That's one of my pet peeves, too!  Thankfully, it doesn't sound like it'll be an issue - the fabric Lady Rosalind is working with for the over/underskirt sound thick enough that it shouldn't be a problem.  (Hopefully! *fingers crossed*)

Great solution, Lady R! A little elbow grease and a little ingenuity will solve just about every costume issue.  

[Adriana Rose]

Ugh that drives me nuts! nothing ruins a fab gown faster than hoop bleed through!