Elizabethan Burgundy Gown: Yet More Undergarmets

I've been working on this project, but apparently haven't updated in a while. My stays are finished save for the grommets. They're made of a double layer of linen, boned with reeds with a wooden busk in the front and steel bones at the back center for reinforcement, and bound at the edges with burgundy bias tape. I was originally going to put in hand-bound eyelets rather than metal grommets, but have decided against it. Mostly because nobody's going to see the stays anyway, and hand bound eyelets will take a whole lot of time. So metal grommets it is. I did realize belatedly that being made of only two layers of linen, these stays are going to wear out quickly around the grommets. So I'm sewing another two layers of linen about 4 inches wide along each back edge. Hopefully this will keep them from wearing out as quickly.



I've also finished my Spanish farthingale and bumroll. The farthingale is made of two rectangular pieces of fabric for the front and back, with triangular gores at the sides, as described on the Elizabethan Costuming website (http://www.elizabethancostume.net/farthingale/period.html). I made a few adjustments to the pattern described here, mostly adjusting the width. I found a wonderful online resource for sizing farthingales (http://www.margaretroedesigns.com/calculator.html) from Margaret Roe Designs. This calculator has you input the desired bottom hoop circumference (115 inches for mine), length from your waist to the floor, waist measurement, and the number of rows of boning you want, and it tells you the circumference of each boning circle and how far apart to place them. I cut the two rectangular pieces for the front and back slightly bigger than my waist measurement, then adjusted the size of the gores to achieve the desired hoop circumference in each spot. It ties at the top with a ribbon drawstring. The bone channels are of bias tape that I made myself out of the same fabric (separate article to come on that later - making your own bias tape without buying a bias tape maker). The bones are just plain plastic-covered wire hoop boning. I connected them with a 4 inch piece of flexible plastic tubing that I got at the hardware store. The tubing wasn't quite as stiff as I would like; it still bends a bit where it's connected, as you may can see from the picture below. I also may have made it too long, but other than that, I'm pleased with it.



I've also made my bumroll. This one is made, once again, with instructions from the Elizabethan costuming page (http://www.elizabethancostume.net/bumroll.html). I cut down the measurements described there slightly, as those seemed really big. I made it about 6 inches in the back and 4 inches on the sides. It's stuffed with polyester batting on the ends, but I ran out in the middle, and stuffed the rest of it with fabric scraps.







As soon as I get my corset grommet-ed, I hope to start on the bodice for the gown. I may not get to it this weekend, but hopefully soon.