A corded petticoat (1830s/1850s)
What is exactly a corded petticoat?
I'm sure you already came across this therm in your costuming journey. Before the invention of the cage crinoline, the fashionable bell shape was achieved wearing multiple layers of petticoats. With multiple, I mean a lot. Of course all these layers needed a foundation garment to support the weight: the corded petticoat.
Made of several rows of cording, the petticoat helped to support the weight of all those skirts needed to achieve the desired silhouette. The position, dimension, layout of the cording could vary, as well the length of the petticoat itself. There are examples of shorter petticoats, and some were corded only at the bottom. There are two ways to make a corded petticoat.
Method 1: two layers of fabric (cotton or linen) and the cording sandwiched in between (you can use a zipper foot on your machine or a regular one, as I did)
Method 2: corded tucks, the way I chose, keeping in mine that every tuck will make your petticoat shorter so a little bit of math will be involved. Tucks will also add weight to the petticoat.
After this, you can pleat of gather the upper part of the petti before adding the waistband.
Corded petticoats may sound intimidating but they're not. They require time, yes, but I find them lovely to make. They're not something you can do a day before your event. Plan ahead. Plus they also need to be starched but I will talk about this step later.
After the corded petticoat, the standard petticoat comes next. Lot of variations here: plain, tucked, with ruffles or frills, in linen, cotton or silk. I chose to make one in cotton lawn from stash, using several tucks to add weight and reduce waste. My fabric was very long (140 cm) and since I already knew I would have never used the leftovers, I decided to use the full length using tucks. I ended with a petticoat of 93 cm approx without losing a cm and zero waste. So historical accurate after all!
After finishing the petticoat, I gathered the upper edge and added a waistband.
Now the fun part: starching! Starching is an essential step when making Romantic and Early Victorian era undergarments. Starch gives strength and helps to keep the garment itself clean, asking for less frequent washing. Also here there are several ways to make or use starch:
Premade starch: chemical, but will save you some time
Homemade starch: natural, made of rice, corn, potatoes.
In every case you need to boil your water and soak your undergarments in a bowl, letting them to dry outside. Once damp or fully dried, iron it and see the magic happen: the starch will give a "paper effect" to your petticoats, which will make an incredibly lovely sound when moving! Check the videos below:
I'm sure you already came across this therm in your costuming journey. Before the invention of the cage crinoline, the fashionable bell shape was achieved wearing multiple layers of petticoats. With multiple, I mean a lot. Of course all these layers needed a foundation garment to support the weight: the corded petticoat.
Some extant examples...
An original petticoat from MET museum
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Corded petticoat from 1850s
Made of several rows of cording, the petticoat helped to support the weight of all those skirts needed to achieve the desired silhouette. The position, dimension, layout of the cording could vary, as well the length of the petticoat itself. There are examples of shorter petticoats, and some were corded only at the bottom. There are two ways to make a corded petticoat.
Method 1: two layers of fabric (cotton or linen) and the cording sandwiched in between (you can use a zipper foot on your machine or a regular one, as I did)
Method 2: corded tucks, the way I chose, keeping in mine that every tuck will make your petticoat shorter so a little bit of math will be involved. Tucks will also add weight to the petticoat.
After this, you can pleat of gather the upper part of the petti before adding the waistband.
My CP in the making... of course over a non Victorian dress.
After the corded petticoat, the standard petticoat comes next. Lot of variations here: plain, tucked, with ruffles or frills, in linen, cotton or silk. I chose to make one in cotton lawn from stash, using several tucks to add weight and reduce waste. My fabric was very long (140 cm) and since I already knew I would have never used the leftovers, I decided to use the full length using tucks. I ended with a petticoat of 93 cm approx without losing a cm and zero waste. So historical accurate after all!
After finishing the petticoat, I gathered the upper edge and added a waistband.
Of course Tiffany had to join.
Now the fun part: starching! Starching is an essential step when making Romantic and Early Victorian era undergarments. Starch gives strength and helps to keep the garment itself clean, asking for less frequent washing. Also here there are several ways to make or use starch:
Premade starch: chemical, but will save you some time
Homemade starch: natural, made of rice, corn, potatoes.
The starched standard petticoat.
In every case you need to boil your water and soak your undergarments in a bowl, letting them to dry outside. Once damp or fully dried, iron it and see the magic happen: the starch will give a "paper effect" to your petticoats, which will make an incredibly lovely sound when moving! Check the videos below:
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