Crinolines and hoop skirts, stiff petticoats made of sturdy material used to extend skirts into a fashionable shape This example is made from an ivory silk brocaded in a pattern of stylised flowers and leaves. The abstract form of the motifs is accentuated by the non-naturalistic colours of the precious metal threads. Such a design is typical of French silk weavers and the fabric was probably imported. However it could also have been woven in London, as English weavers copied French designs very closely.

I am thinking of quilting a petticoat. My mom thinks that’s insane, but it really seems doable, even for an inpatient girl like me.a b Wilcox, Ruth Turner (1970). The Dictionary of Costume. London: Batsford. p. 267. ISBN 0713408561. All seams of my Edwardian faux silk petticoat are stitched fell seams. If you read my blog regularly, you know that this is my favorite historically accurate seam finish! 😉

Two bias layers of chiffon of different colorings are gathered to form one of the old-time ruchings and placed at the front of the skirt and on the drapery. Other pliable fabrics are similarly used.’ (Toilettes, 1910) In between the 18th-century use of the garment and its arrival in the V&A, the bodice had been used for 19th-century fancy dress. The adjustments to make it fit a 19th-century body included shortening the sleeves and removing the train. The petticoat had been taken apart entirely and reassembled, using only four of the original nine panels of silk that made up the skirt. The bodice was in seven parts, as was the petticoat. The silk was crumpled and there was evidence of considerable abrasion to the metal threads throughout the entire garment. There is no doubt that the flaring effect of the hem will be accentuated by using some methods of increasing the flare’ such as stiff linings or ‘silk covered cable cords […] If neither of these methods is employed, the desired result will be obtained by voluminous ruchings and ruffles along the lower part of the underskirts.’ ( Lewiston Evening Teller, 1904)

It is quite certain that the skirt means female dignity, not female submission; it can be proved by the simplest of all tests. No ruler would deliberately dress up in the recognized fetters of a slave; no judge would appear covered with broad arrows. But when men wish to be safely impressive, as judges, priests or kings, they do wear skirts, the long, trailing robes of female dignity. The whole world is under petticoat government; for even men wear petticoats when they wish to govern. I found some sage-blue silk for one petticoat, to match the yellow/blue stripe I bought several weeks ago, but the silk is not the right weave for a quilted petticoat. Those I have seen in various collections look to be made of satin, or something on the fairly soft-n-shiny side, so that is what I will be looking for next, in Hansa yellow. (They were also made of cotton, but I would rather pair silk/silk for this particular ensemble) Higgins, Padhraig (2010). A Nation of Politicians: Gender, Patriotism, and Political Culture in Late Eighteenth-Century Ireland. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299233334– via Project MUSE. Hugh Williams (2008), Fifty Things You Need to Know About British History, HarperCollins, pp.302–303, ISBN 978-0-00-727841-1

Sybil Connolly recalled how a red flannel petticoat, worn by a Connemara woman, inspired her first international fashion collection which took place in New York in 1953. [22] [23] She had travelled to Connemara for inspiration, where she saw a woman wearing a traditional red flannel petticoat. She bought a bolt of the same fabric from the local shop and made it into a quilted evening skirt, which was a huge success at the fashion show. [23] One of these skirts is part of the collection at The Hunt Museum. I thought about adding ruffles but I liked how the petticoat looked without trimming. So I left it as it is. To support the wide hem of early Edwardian skirts, petticoats were often stiffened with cords and decorated with ruchings. I stiffened my short Edwardian petticoat with three different types of cord: the top ruffle is gathered on two rows of soft cotton cord, the second ruffle is gathered on two rows of stiffer cotton cord; and I used two rows of the stiffest of the cords – hemp cord – for the hem of the petticoat. The quilted petticoats in the Colonial Williamsburg book “ Costume Close-Up: Clothing Construction and Pattern, 1750-1790 ” are constructed of 6 panels of fabric an average of 20-25 inches wide. Some of the quilting patterns are more complex than others – mine would be one of the simpler ones, with the hand quilting only about a foot deep at the hem. When you look at it this way, it doesn’t seem like such a crazy thing. Ruchings of all kinds are in again’ ( The San Francisco call, 1904). ‘Ruching, used excessively in all departments of dress, has been a real boon to the makers of petticoats, offering for many dainty yet inexpensive trimming effects, and a comparatively light colored petticoat may be made fairly serviceable by trimming it in narrow dark ruchings’ ( The Sun, 1903).

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Made with the same care as expensive silk petticoats, have the same delicate rustle and charming lustre, and wear three times as long.’ ( Ready-Made Petticoats Of Heatherbloom, 1907) A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries.

In the early 19th century, dresses became narrower and simpler with much less lingerie, including "invisible petticoats". [16] Then, as the waltz became popular in the 1820s, full-skirted gowns with petticoats were revived in Europe and the United States. The trimming flounce is decorated with two silk ruchings, the whole arrangement increasing the flaring effect and making quite an elaborate foot-trimming.’ ( The Delineator, 1896) And if you‘re wondering why this Edwardian petticoat is short: Not all petticoats in the Edwardian era were long! Most Edwardian under petticoats were usually just about knee length. I used natural artificial silk taffeta fabric (made of cellulose fibers). This type of fabric was already used in the Edwardian era for dresses and petticoats. In the 1900s, this type of fabric was known under various names such as nearsilk, artificial silk, heatherbloom etc. It is of real importance that the petticoats worn with these skirts should be perfectly cut and fitted, and when finished they should be one-half inch shorter than the skirt.’ ( San Francisco Call, 1908)

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French Lingerie". The Tipton Daily Tribune. 1965-12-04. p.2 . Retrieved 2018-01-26– via Newspapers.com. In the 14th century, both men and women wore undercoats called "petticotes". [3] The word "petticoat" came from Middle English pety cote [4] or pety coote, [5] meaning "a small coat/ cote". [6] Petticoat is also sometimes spelled "petty coat". [7] The original petticoat was meant to be seen and was worn with an open gown. [3] The practice of wearing petticoats as undergarments was well established in England by 1585. [8] In French, petticoats were called jupe. [9] The basquina, worn in Spain, was considered a type of petticoat. [10] The petticoat ‘can be trimmed with ruches of the material’ ( McCalls, 1904). ‘Deep flounces […] are headed with double ruchings […] around the bottom are rows and rows of narrow ruffles’ ( San Francisco Call, 1901).