Hoorah! We’re to that point – the point where you get to put your boning in your paniers, and they really starts to looks like a real garment. When we finished the last step your panier bag was fully assembled, and looked like this: Now we put the  hoops in. First, from the inside, measure along each hoop channel, and make a note of how long it is.   They should be 24″ long, but it still pays to check.  Mine all came out at 24 1/4″, so that is how long I cut each of my pieces of boning/hooping: You can use all sorts of things as hooping (I covered them in my materials list), but the most common, easiest to work with and most period accurate are cane and wire hooping. I’m using cane hooping, which is the most period accurate, and is quite easy to get (available at a lot of craft stores, and online), and very affordable (mine cost lest than NZ$8).  The one drawback to cane is that it needs …

On Monday I showed you how to sew the bottom of your paniers to the side piece, and how to sew the panier inside piece to the bottom.  Now we need to attach the panier inside piece to the panier side piece, so that you have your full assembled bag. Before we can do this though, we need to do a quick check of how your fabric will pleat into your waistband.  I’m making my panier out of midweight linen, so it pleats together without being too bulky.  If you are making your paniers out of a thicker fabric it may be too bulky when you pleat the panier outside piece (the one with the hoop channels) and your panier inside piece together at the waistband. To check if this is going to be a problem, quickly pleat the top of your panier outside piece, and your panier inside piece together until they measure 7″ across (or 3.5″ on each side of the panier pocket slit). It will look like this on the outside, with …

When I last left you in the Panier-Along we were all sewing on our hoop channels on the panier outside.  Here are mine all hand-sewn on with linen thread: Today, we’re going to assemble our panier bags, which is the point where your paniers really start to look like something. First, mark the centre point of the bottom of your panier outside piece (straight down from the pocket slit), and the centre point of the panier bottom piece. Matching these points, pin the bottom edge of the panier outside piece and the large outside curve of the panier bottom piece together: Sew that curve 1/2″ from the edge, just below your first hoop channel.  Start your line of stitching 1/2″ from the short vertical edge, at the same point where the hoop channel starts: There is your bottom sewn on!  Time to sew on the panier inside piece. Pin the bottom edge of the panier inside piece to the shallow curve of the panier bottom piece. Beginning at the point where you began sewing the …