Crinoline!
September 1st, 2011
While I was stitching away on my petticoat seams tonight (they’re all done, and the hem — which is masquerading as the first tuck — is pinned in), I found this picture in the Met Museum’s collection database.
It’s dated 1840s, and boy is it a beauty! As I prepare to put my new cage crinoline together, I’m also eager to make a recreation cloth crinoline. Sadly, real crinoline — from the French word crin, a reference to the horsehair that provides its characteristic stiffness — is no longer available. But I am always on the hunt for a reasonable substitute.
Now at least I know what the finished product should look like.