A Modern Farthingale

The purpose of this project was to create an interesting design using striped fabric. We were encouraged to experiment with different and challenging fabric manipulation techniques with the goal of creating an interesting design. Most of the top was made with a plain, black and white striped fabric. The skirt was made with a solid, black suiting fabric. I wanted to create a bustier that followed the silhouette of a Spanish Farthingale, while also experimenting with several pleating techniques. I chose each technique based on how it would affect the appearance of the striped fabric. One of these techniques is the cartridge pleat. I learned about it through my job in a theater costume shop. This kind of pleat was used in sixteenth century to control large amounts of fullness at the waist in skirts. But rather than simply repeating a design from a sixteenth century history book, I wanted to create a more modernized look.