I'd do it the way Suzi suggests too. I've never managed to find the "watch spring" that the originals were made from, and am no longer sure if it's made in large quantities any more (though if anybody knows otherwise, do let me know!)
Though last time I used the narrowest flat steel I could find, and encased it in bone casing that I had, and ordinary cotton twill tape for the verticals, and I hand stitched the hoops in at the intersections, through the casing and the tape. I also made the flounce at the bottom separately and attached it using buttons at regular intervals, so it could be removed for washing (it was for a wedding dress to later be used for re-enactment and so likely to be dragged around a muddy field). Would like to do the 'uber-authenitc' type, but it's one of the many things on my list that I want to make for fun (rather than for customers), that I never seem to find the time for :-( Debs _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
