noelle o designs

creativity + sewing + upcycling inspiration

costumes, fabric, holiday, sewing, tutorials

Hoop skirt | fancy dress


Here is costume number two- renaissance princess, southern belle… I guess it could be a lot of things depending on what you put with it. M seems too be very happy about it- especially the hoop. I have been making hoop skirts for my daughters for years. With an old sheet, a few dismantled hangers and duct tape (for connecting the metal ends into circles), bias tape and some elastic for the waistband, it’s a pretty simple job and one of the best accessories you can have in a dress up chest.

This hoop it official. I got it in downtown LA in the garment district. There are shops on every corner with every size hoop, tiara, lacy trim, cake topper or fancy, sparkly, girlie thing you can imagine for a wedding or Quinceañera party- absolutely fabulous.


I made the bodice a little big, just in case (I didn’t want to have to pick it out and redo) and so it can be worn by other grown up gals too. It was looking a little baggy on M (age 11) so I had to come up with an easy way to tighten things up. Ribbon would have worked too, bias tape or fabric- it just so happened I had rick rack close at hand and in the right color.


I sewed the rick rack right to the outside of the bodice at about 1 inch intervals but not paying too much attention to it matching the other side (as you can see from the top), it will likely never be noticed if it’s not perfectly straight when laced.


Once again, I needed something to use to lace up the back- without having to run to the store. After searching all the drawers the house for a black shoe lace or the like I dug through the ribbon bin and found a roll of this black stripe ribbon.


I thought this specific ribbon might be a temporary fix, but I think I like it- even with the black side/white side look. The rick rack seems to work fine and should hold up to the tightening and loosening that will come with the job.


It seems to be working, even with a bit of soccer practice.


What is it about a hoop that makes every gal smile and feel like a princess?


We’ve got a little black velvet hat, with some feathers and netting, a black fur stole and muff to round it all out for Halloween. Maybe some gloves and a little bag too. I need to look up a tutorial on making ringlets for a hairdo- this gals got the hair for it. Secretly, I’d like to see her pass for a blonde Scarlett O’Hara.
I say secretly, because she has now idea who Scarlett O’Hara is. I think it’s time to set aside 4 hours on a chilly winter Sunday afternoon, curl up with the kids and some popcorn and let the next generation in on the cinematic brilliance of Gone With The Wind. Perhaps then they’ll stop rolling their eyes at ‘old time’ movie references and show some respect, dammit.

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