SWA[SP]P 2016- Frilled to Bits

I’d hoped to dodge the bullet, and not make a petticoat, but general opinion seems to be that, cosplay or not, I need at least one.  They all involve flounces [ech] so I thought hard about the shape.  Some of my outfits are bustle era, some are not, so I need something to be OK with as many as possible.

To clarify, for those not in the know with Victorian fashions.  You pretty much get the big round crinolines, [eg Scarlett O’Hara]then the more elongated, oval ones [eg The King & I], then the first bustle era, which is  a development of the full crinoline with draping.  

Then things went straighter, then a bit more slinky, called ‘the natural form’, then they got bustly again, until it all dies out with the Edwardian S-bend look [Gibson Girls] in the 1900s.

The shapes I’m going for are more in this second set of shapes, and maybe even later.  All have a fairly straight front, with all foof at the back. I was set on using up some curtain linings that I salvaged in my Great Tidy Up last week, so the ‘patterns’ were limited by fabric available.  I’d snagged 10m of rather nice pre-gathered 2.5″wide lace at the rag market too, to add to the foof.

I ended up cutting/tearing one piece of the fabric into 2 unequal rectangles, retaining the already stitched hem.  The front rectangle is about 20″ wide, the back is 30″.  1  9″ wide flounce to go all round the bottom, 3 flounces at the back, graduated in width, shortest at the top.

I joined the flounce lengths, overlocked both long edges, and zigzagged the lace on, letting it overlap one edge.  2 rows of gathering stitches along the other edge, quartering, and then sewn on again.  I attached the three top flounces at the back, joined the side seams, leaving an opening  at the left waist then added the bottom flounce, with a bit of finessing where the flounce above overlapped.

BORING!

All that was left was to add a waistband, button and elastic loop for comfort.

Frilled to bits!  Pictures when I get all gussied up.

PS.For those that like the historical stuff, here are the main Edwardian shapes:  my green walking skirt sort of blends into these.