Petticoats are incredibly easy to make. Mine are usually plain cotton or linen, and take an afternoon to make. I've hand-sewn this petticoat, since I'm going to wear it with my hand-sewn peplum jacket. I"m super excited about the final outfit now that the event is getting closer.
I purchased a striped twill a while back, and was going to use it for linings. But it's really pretty, and has a nice weight to it. Not to mention it's a woven stripe, not a printed stripe. I really prefer woven to printed stripes on plain fabric.
So this is the fabric:
I purchased 3 yards of 52" fabric. I measured the length of my waist to my ankles, and added a couple of inches for the hem. I also added a few inches to the back piece to compensate for the bum roll in back. If you're going to wear pocket hoops/ bum pads/ etc, you need to take their skirt displacement into account so your hem is even and flat. I added about 5" to the back to make up for the bum pad.
Then I pinned the halves together, right sides together, selvage edge to selvage edge. The selvage was fuzzy, so I trimmed it down, making sure not to cut the weave, just the loose thread ends. Then I whipstitched the skirt together, making sure the bottom hem matched up. I stopped sewing 9" from the front half (the shorter half) to allow access to my pockets underneath.
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| Fuzzy selvage edges pinned. They're a little too fuzzy to whipstitch. |
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| Trimmed and sewn selvage. |
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| The hemmed pocket slit on one side. |
I used 1.5" unbleached cotton twill tape for the waistband. I cut two pieces, about 30" each, one for the front half, and one for the back half. Each piece needs to be able to tie around your waist, with a little extra length to allow for multiple layers underneath the petticoat.
I pleated both halves of the petticoat, making the center box pleat 2.5", and the knife pleats radiating from the center box pleat about .5". I wasn't too meticulous about the pleats, I just eyeballed them and tried to get everything as uniform as I could. I sewed the pleats down before adding the twill tape, just to make sure everything was secure.
After both sides were pleated, I folded the twill tape over the pleated edge, making sure the edges of the tape were even on each side. Then I sewed the twill tape down.
I hemmed the cut ends of the tape so it wouldn't fray.
On to hemming!!!
I honestly detest hemming. I think a lot of people do. I'm always so excited that my project is almost done, and I can dance around my house in my pretty-much-done garment, so finishing the hem is a little bit of a let-down. The end is tangible, but hemming something is super tedious.
I want my super fetch Fugawees to show, so I'm hemming the petticoat 5" off the ground. ***** Always set your dress form to your height when wearing your shoes!!!! ***** It's so much easier than guessing and pinning and re-pinning, and you will always know what your garment will look like when you finally put it all together. No surprises here. My petticoat will be ankle length, and will also show off my tan knit wool stockings.
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| Please disregard the crummy ribbon ties. Some pretty BA cockades are going to be "Rev"-ing these up. |
I made a 1" hem, and used a hem stitch to finish it off.
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| Inside hem |
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| Outside of hem stitch |
And here is (Drum-roll, please):
The finished petticoat!
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| How the back half is tied. The front half ties the same way, like an apron. |
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| Petticoat side view with bum roll and under petti |
Up Next: Stays Part 2
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