Simplicity Pattern # 9764
Civil War Hoop Skirt (Crinoline) and Petticoat.

I did follow the instructions but made some minor variations. I pressed all seams going in the same direction except the two side front seams and I pressed both of them toward the back (this was important later) and I top stitched all seams at ¼" as depicted in the instructions. I sewed the twill tape casings on the outside of the garment so that they are visible, as this is important for my purposes. Sewing the casing on the outside does make sliding the steel in easier as the steel does not catch on any seam allowances. If you sew the casing onto the inside then be sure that when you slide your steel in you are going in the same direction as the pressed seams, to avoid getting caught in each one.

The pattern instructions suggest applying the waistband at step #4 but I left this until all my casings had been sewn as I was concerned the gathering at the waist would complicate the process and limit the access to the top casings. Always looking to simplify a process I changed a few other steps. I did not turn up the hem edge ¼" and then the full amount but serged it, I then ran a gathering stitch along the lower edge of the serging, folded up the hem along the marked line, lined up the seams and pinned them in place. Then between each seam I tugged gently on the gathering thread to ease in the hem edge to fit between the seams. I pressed both the hem edge and the gathered edge and stitched, with the right side up and the gathered edge against the machine feed dogs, on top of the gathering stitches.

I used only one hook and eye on the waistband as my hooks are quite large (91-7060-NE and 91-7060-NH). I used the same eyes on the inside for the lacing but I sewed them facing the back, attaching them to the inside steel casing about ½" back from the front seam. This helped the steel get pulled into place without causing puckering at the front seams.

The top three hoops are not as long as the casing! So it is necessary to stitch them into place. There is a measurement chart for the hoops in the pattern. I found the measurement for the top hoop was too long, perhaps I made an error somewhere, and it would not fit into the casing without creating a very strange shape. I made the size 14 and had to trim the top hoop from 43" to 40" and the length included my tips. Each of the top three hoops needed to be shaped slightly and I did this after they were in the casing as I could then see where the shaping needed to be.

I simply stood beside my mannequin and squeezed the hoop gently until it took the shape required, I then went to the other side and repeated this for each hoop. You want the shape to be fairly flat at the front and fuller to the sides and back.

Getting the laces to the correct tension takes some fiddling, take your time and keep checking the shape. Be careful getting into and out of the hoop petticoat as the laces tend to catch on your body/mannequin parts.

Profile before being pulled into place by ties underneath.

After being pulled in too far illustrating the potential effect