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Do I REALLY need 3 Victorian/Edwardian petticoats?

     This is the last installment of my blogs on my new Edwardian undergarments set. I have 3 petticoats. I shall write about them in chronological order as I finished them.

    The first is a white cotton petticoat trimmed with lace, shown below. I made it at least 4 years ago or more. I used the Free Hoop Petticoat Diagram on the Truly Victorian website for cutting directions. I don’t think I followed it exactly to the letter. I just did two tiers total. It was way too long, but I had already attached the lace at the hem, so I couldn’t just cut it. So I instead made rows and rows and rows of tucks at the hem. It only took 5 million hours. It is beautiful, though. This was simple to make, but tedious. This will continue to be a theme as I write about each petticoat. The top edge is pleated and sewn to a ribbon for a waistband. This is meant to be worn under my Belle costume, so I chose a pretty scalloped lace for the hem to match her petticoat. One can occasionally catch a glimpse of her petticoat in the famous ballroom scene.


    I sewed the second petticoat in 2020. This was the time when I was making the rest of the green set. I used the skirt portion of Butterick 5790, slightly altered. I found a green sheet at the thrift store that I loved. It went beautifully with the rest of my Edwardian set I had previously sewed. This time, I lengthened it purposefully so I could sew tucks on the hem again. It has a placket and is closed with hooks and bars. It is sewn with french seams. I just adore that seam finish. I love the look of it. It’s not as practical as the others, since it’s green and not white, but I still love it. 



    For the third petticoat, I used Truly Victorian’s Victorian Petticoats pattern. I made view D, and it’s noted on the pattern as being appropriate for 1890-1897. This one is gorgeous. It is made of three tiers, and it has darts and shaping in the top part not present in the other petticoats. I used embroidered cotton from my stash. I had cut it up already, intending to make a petticoat in a certain way. But now I had an actual pattern. Sadly, the fabric pieces didn’t fit the pattern so I had to do some clever piecing to make it fit. The ruffles are so full that one can’t even see the piecing, so I’m ok with it. 



    I am very happy with the way all these petticoats turned out. Did I really need three? Who knows. But I am also very happy to be done with petticoats for at least a little while. Until I start a completely new era of fashion. Which may be sooner than you think.


Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust


Sarah
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