Hello all!
I have been a "just for fun" garber at Fairs for a few years now. This year, I decided to update my "noble" outfit and bought myself a hoop skirt online. I thought I would look smashing in it, but now that I have it...I feel a bit silly. It just doesn't look quite right. I could some help from anyone with experience in wearing one please!
It is a 4-hoop skirt, the bottom is 125". When tied at the waist, the lowest hoop falls about mid/lower calf, and the top falls at an, um..."awkward" place. The hoops are adjustable in circumference, so I can change the size.
If some kind person could tell me how large most ladies wear these, or any other pointers or hints so I don't horribly embarrass myself I'd really appreciate it!
If someone can take a photo of you wearing the hooped slip, we might be able to better assess where the problems lie.
On most hooped slips, the first rung should set at the lower hip line. The bottom, 1" to 2" above the floor so that it does not drag.
I wear hoops for the mid-19th century stuff. I like it no longer than my mid-calf; otherwise I will trip on it. My first hoop is over my hips - no big deal.
Do post pictures - that helps a lot to see what may be wrong or correctable.
I'm 5'4", and I feel like my hoop is too wide at the bottom. It's 108".
(http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL417/1033223/22511199/373963735.jpg)
But... designer Andrea Schewe recommends a hoop with a bottom circumference of 115" for her Elizabethan gown/3782, and to my eye it looks just right (I'm guessing the model is taller than I am):
(http://images.patternreview.com/sewing/patterns/simplicity/3782/3782.jpg)
Now, all of that said, now that I see those pictures together, they really look about the same. LOL
The secret is to wear an over-the-hoop petticoat in all cases, to avoid the dreaded "lampshade" effect. You don't want the rungs to show, even the bottom one. I made a big petticoat using a king sized ruffled cotton bedskirt that I bought for $4 at a thrift store... cheapest way to find lots of ruffled fabric! No one else is going to see it, but it definitely makes your skirt look as if it's floating, not sitting on a metal cage.
I know mine shows (oooh, dread!). It doesn't bother me. :P (You will note that I am also *wet* in that picture, from playing with a Newfoundland that had been frolicking in the Fair fountain, so you may correctly surmise that very little bothers me about what other people think of how I look.)
So I took a few pictures and uploaded them. The links are below. The first is of the hoops + over skirt, the second is just the hoop skirt. I figured out how to adjust the circumference of the bottom hoop, so I am not quite as wide, but now I just need to figure out how to sit down in the silly thing without breaking the skirt! Thank you for your help thus far though!
http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii45/tiggeroccon/?action=view¤t=DSCN2978.jpg
http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii45/tiggeroccon/?action=view¤t=DSCN2976.jpg
The circumference looks about right to my eye when I look at the pics.
I took out the topmost hoop in both of mine to make it more comfortable for sitting. It doesn't seem to have affected the drape any for me.
I think it looks fine. (I think this is one of those things that just looks weird on yourself, but fine on other people!)
Sitting in hoops is dead easy. You lift them up (out of the way) and sit normally, then drop them back down around yourself. You should never be sitting ON a hoop.
This is a little trick another costumer shared with me regarding measuring the hooping for farthingales that I will pass on.
Starting with the bottom rung, I measure the hoop steel 120". I have an overlap of at least 3"-4" on each end to overlap so that the steel does not come undone. That means the circumfrence of the bottom run is little over 3 yards around.
Then I measure each additional rung of hoop steel 10" less with 3"-4" overlap at each end.
There are 10" between each rung or row of channels to achieve more of an A ahape to the farthingale than a bell shape. The 4th rung just below the hips that measures 70" when cut and then overlapped, should have room for the hips.
Though the hoop steel can be adjusted for the best fit and shaping. Farthingales made froma sturdy Drapery Cotton lining will hold up better than those made from Nylon or a sheerer coton. I use Single fold Wide bias tape than twill tape for the channels.
Thank you all for your help and advice! This novice really appreciates it! ;D
I think if you adjust the bottom hoop to be smaller, things should align better. As far as sitting in it, one of our lovely younger ladies sat down very quickly our opening day (first day in the new hoops), and promptly ended up showing more than she expected to. A quick lesson in the art of sitting in hoops - SLOWLY was instilled, and she had no more issues. Incidentally, this is another reason why bloomers are a very good idea. ;)
as an aside: I've noticed, from seeing 3 of our court ladies purchase hoops online, that for some reason, the silly things are sent with the bottom hoops at maximum circumference, while the top has barely room for the hips. I spent a great deal of time (kneeling on a cement floor of our feasting hall) with all three in the hoops, while I adjusted things to have a straighter slope, rather than a jutting bunch of circles at the bottom. I've had to overlap more than a foot of steel in some cases, and I usually end up ripping that bottom ruffle off, because it drags on the ground.
Here is the Farthingale just finished for Lady De Laney.
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs340.ash1/29166_428191811279_568686279_5911907_269918_n.jpg)
(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs340.ash1/29166_428192261279_568686279_5911912_5942592_n.jpg)
As writen in a previous post, each channel for the hoop steel is 10" apart. I sewed lace over the channels to prevent the hooping to be seen from underskirts.
The Drapery Cotton Lining is 54" wide, folded over twice to get 6 -44" pieces. I drew the pattern on the fabric as detailed in the Janet Arnold Pattern of Fashion book. The farthingale measures 42" from waist to hem. There is a 1" casing and hem as well.
Lace or ruffles over the channels is a great idea to conceal the hoops from showing.. that is a beautiful farthingale!
Thank you Lauren.
Each farthingale is made out of sturdy fabric to withstand many wearings and support the skirts. The ones made from sheer nylon fabrics do not wear well or last as long. They may be less expensive, but nor do they last as long.
I have seen farthingales with tubing rather than hoop steel. Nothing worse on a lovely ensemble than being able to make out tubing through an underskirt.