Need to keep your undergarments from showing when you raise your arms?
Here’s a quick tutorial on where to place hooks on your mid-19th Century (1850s, Civil War) waistbands and bodices to keep them connected.
The hooks are historically correct (although not the ones I recommend here) and also prevent your skirt from slipping around your corseted waistline.
Below is the right front hook on the bodice and it’s matching bar on the skirt waistband.
This shows the two bars on either side of the skirt side seam.
Here is the center back waist on the bodice. The two connecting hooks are placed toward the side seams, away from the side back/princess seams.
I have been searching for a way to do this without buttons for a long time. I finally found your video and this is awesome
i tried velcro and snaps for a cosplay ball gown that i made and last time i wore it i just had my friend sew me into it but ive been looking for a way to resolve this.
its so sinple i cant believe i didnt think of it. so thank you so much
So happy to hear this will work for you!
Hello and thank you!
I am planning to make a dirndl for my daughter and I wanted to be able to have the bodice as a separate piece, so that she can use the skirt oftener.
This post has help me to find out how.
Thank you very much!
Best regards,
M.S
Happy to hear this has helped you! Dirndl designs also include separate bodice and skirt pieces, which makes them interchangeable quite easily. The bodice is then called a “spencer”. Research dirndl spencer bodice patterns and you’ll find many you can use for how your daughter wants to wear them.
Thank you for all the information!
Thanks for this information! I am making a Halloween costume and was Googling how to attach a bodice to a skirt so it wouldn’t lift, show my belly, etc., but wasn’t wording it quite correctly! Your post was exactly what I needed!! Connecting hooks, perfect!
So glad you found it helpful, Jovanna! 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this- I spent last week at (SF) Dickens Fair not dancing in my new (first) Victorian ball gown because my bodice would show my corset. (of course I also had to re-hem my skirt which seemed great until I started moving quickly forward!)
I’m off to buy hooks right now! I can’t wait to check out the rest of your website for more tips.
Jennifer, this post is AWESOME ! One question though. How do you prevent the tension on the hooks while moving your arms from tearing the bodice fabric? Often if two different bodices are worn with the same skirt, one of those bodices is dressier and occasionally lighter in weight.
So glad you found it helpful Shirley!
The secret to your question lies in the fitting of the bodice. It should be long enough from your armpit to your waistline to not pull apart from the skirt on its own – with or without the connecting hooks. My post on this fitting may give you more insight. The connecting hooks will then keep the skirt aligned with the bodice no matter the fabric weight. 🙂
This is really useful…always wondered about where to place the hooks.
This is so helpful. I made a skirt with two different bodices, so naturally I did not want to attach the skirt and bodice together. My ballgown bodice is long enough to cover the waistband of the skirt, but my day bodice is a tad bit too short. I will have to go out and get myself some big honkin hooks and eyes 🙂
Thank you agian
I have been Googling for the proper placement of these hooks for a very long time (on and off for months). Your video and blog are VERY helpful! I should have checked your site sooner. Thank you!