Crinoline mania continues: 1860s elliptical crinoline

I have always loved the crinoline silhouette of the mid-19th century despite its unpracticality. Finally, I decided that it was time for me to make myself a crinoline outfit. Naturally, I had to start from the basics and make the crinoline. I took my inspiration for my dress from the painting “Women in Garden” by Claude Monet. It was painted in the 1860s and features three women in elliptical crinolines that were the height of fashion during that time.

I used the Elliptical Crinoline pattern by Truly Victorian:

I used an old bedsheet to make the lower skirt of the crinoline. I also used the sheet to make casings for the bustle steel wires. I doubled the vertical cotton tapes and made channels for the hoops.

I didn’t follow all the pattern instructions to the letter though. I made the skirt like it was in the instructions but I didn’t have casing for all the steel hoops. That meant I needed to improvise a bit.

I got an excellent tip from a friend that the spring steel used in drain cleaner tools like these is the perfect material to make crinoline hoops as they don’t bend out of shape. She was completely right! The only problem is that the steel is hard and you need something stronger than a pair of pliers to cut the wire in pieces.

Here is the video of the whole process with some little intro into history of crinolines:

And here is the finished crinoline:

Thank you so much for reading and see you soon! Happy Sewing!

Katja