After cleansing out the bad taste in my mouth from the farthinggale, it's time to move on to another piece of the gown.  The bum roll.  This little piece of 'equipment' is designed to hold the skirt out at the proper angle from the waist.  It is not designed to make the butt bigger.  It is not suppose to make you look like you have a shelf on your hips that will hold someone's ale.  It is suppose to make the waist look smaller and hips wider, as was the style.  In fact, after doing research, it's not even suppose to sit on the waist, but a couple of inches below it.  I can dig that.  Keep that waist small, I mean, that's one reason for the corset, right?

I do more digging on line and find two sites that have similar instructions on how to make a bum roll.  Decide to combine the two and go from there.  Those sites are: http://www.reddawn.net/costume/bumroll.htm and http://www.elizabethancostume.net/index.html under underpinnings.  Both sites have a tip to use aluminum foil to get the inner curve accurate.  Aluminum foil?  Not when I have.......PLASTIC TUBING!!  Ha ha!  What a way to get back at the farthinggale from hel!  (note to self, sometimes it's better to allow someone else the headache and just BUY the finished product). 

Get out the left over tubing and pull it out of the coil it's in.  Put a piece around my waisty area (yeah, that's a technical term )  I cut it where the ends are suppose to fall.  BTW, the ends are suppose to fall at the start of the front hip bone area, not the navel.  I take it off, and VOILA!  the thing holds the shape I had it in.  Exactly holds it.  Gee, who would have thought it would hold a curve?  Heh.  I take much satisfaction in using it for something creative.

Place the tube on the paper and trace the inner part of it.  Perfect curve.  On to the outer curve.

Both sites say to make the outer curve 8" from the center back.  8 inches???  Have my butt look like it's huge?  No thanks!  So now what?  Redirect my thinking?  No, just more research. 

Found a site that recommends having it smaller.  Much more to my thinking.  Those instructions can be found here: http://www.farthingales.on.ca/bum_roll.html

Now, after doing more and more research, most tudor gowns did not have a bum roll.  But for the gown to sit the way I want, I need one.  And I also want it to support the weight of the fabric I'm using.  So I finish up the pattern.  I went with 4 1/2" for the outer curve starting at the midback point and decreased the outer edge on the sides down to 2 inches.  And yes, I did put in a seam allowance when I cut it out.  

I start digging in my stash for some white fabric.  Found a nice white broadcloth that will work.  Cut the pattern out, sew it together, turn and iron.  Easy.  Left the opening to stuff it.  Start stuffing, and the fabric rips.  Guess I'm not suppose to use this material?  Back to the drawing board.  Found a nice piece of white cotton duck and start from scratch.  Lay pattern, cut, pin, sew, turn, iron.  Wonderful.  Pull on the edges to see if it will rip.  Nope!  Cool!

Stuff the crap out of this bum roll.  Suppose to be firm, not soft.  Good thing I have all this on hand.  It would cost me a mint to have to purchase it all.  I used a chop stick to get the thing stuffed tight.  I whip stitched the opening closed as I worked until I had a very tiny hole in which to stuff the remaining bits of fill in.  When I finally whip stitched the remaining hole closed, it looked like some form of contraption that would be worn as a jesters hat, if they wore them stuffed, and not a bum roll.  Is this the way it's suppose to look???  My husband laughed and asked me back, "How would I know??"  (as if I was asking HIM). 

I take the contraption down to the dress dummy.  Over or under the farthinggale?  Since the farthinggale was a tad too long, and I had already reset the waist, I put it under hoping to make the length shorter than it currently is.  It worked.  And the last site recommended the smaller ones under.  It doesn't look bad, in fact it doesn't look as if there is a whole lot of difference, except in the back which sticks out a bit more.  Not bad for a first try.  Let's hope everything works this way. 

Now, onto the chemise.  Can you tell I'm nervous about starting the gown???