Judith contacted me wanting two set of panniers for a show she is doing.

This is the first set, a hoop pannier based off of my 1770s yellow panniers (which are based off a set in the KCI)

The panniers will be worn as outer wear, so we chose fabrics a pretty, but inexpensive poly-cotton with a faux indigo-dyed chintz type pattern.

The fabric

The print evokes the 18th century without being too obvious, and the allover patterns of winding flowers work well in the tight gathers of the hoop panniers.

The hoop panniers, front view

Rather than using the nifty plastic hooping I used on my yellow pair (which I, unfortunately, haven’t been able to source since), I used hoop wire from Lacis.  It actually worked even better than the plastic.  The uprights hoops stay up really well, and the whole thing is a bit lighter.

The gathers over the upright hooping

Sewn-in tapes underneath hold the panniers in their elongated shape:

The hidden support tapes

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the panniers and the pattern as a whole.  It’s such a nice melding of 18th century accuracy and the taste and needs of the client.

Panniers, side view

Next week I’ll show you Judith’s other panniers.