The Idea and Inspiration:  

This crinoline was originally intended as a crinoline to wear under the 1860 Greek Key tea dress, but the shape turned out to be too late 1860s: not large enough, and too conical.

The crinoline is now a bit of an orphan: an undergarment without a dress to wear over it.  I guess I’ll have to fix that soon!  It does work beautifully as a demonstration of the change from the full hoopskirt to the bustled shape of the 1870s.

The pattern was courtesy of V&E Historic patterns, unfortunately, it is no longer available for download.

 

Fabric and Materials:

Heavy white cotton, wire hooping.

The Dress Diary:

The finished hoopskirt

The hoopskirt at a talk on historical underwear

The crinoline in action

Research:

• Waugh, Norah.  Corsets and Crinolines, New York: Routledge/Theatre Arts Books.  2004
• Cunnington, Phillis and C. Willet.  The History of Underclothes, London: Faber and Faber Limited.  1981