February 21, 2018

Victorian Petticoats – Cotton Eyelet

This post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click through and make a purchase from these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

For my first petticoat I used the free instructions from Truly Victorian, and 8 yards of white cotton broderie anglaise. It went together very easily, though I deviated from the instructions a bit. Instead of sewing each strip into a loop before gathering, I gathered my 8 yard section onto my 4 yard section, did the ‘sandwich seam’ with the three layers, and THEN did the center back seam catching in all layers. It made very little difference to the result and it is much easier to gather when you can lay it all flat!

I did a placket for the opening, and basic waistband with hooks and eyes. I also added 1 inch horsehair braid to the hem, to make it stand out a bit more.

For my second petticoat, I needed something to add some serious volume since I wanted it to replace the hoop. I didn’t use a pattern, but based it loosely on the one above. I used 4 yards of lining fabric, and 6 yards of white petticoat net. I cut the net into four equal strips, each about 13 inches wide. These were gathered onto the lining fabric base, with the top of the top strip level with the top edge, the bottom of the bottom strip level with the bottom (selvedge) edge and the other two spaced in between.

The rest of the construction was about the same as the first one; back seam and placket, then all gathered onto a waistband with hooks and eyes. The hem of this one was also stiffened with 1 inch horsehair braid.

Both of these petticoats are about 36 inches long, which is long enough to properly support a full length skirt, but short enough that I can still comfortably move and dance in them. I much prefer wearing petticoats to wearing a hoop. My skirts move more naturally, it is easier to sit down, and I feel generally less like a ship in full sail!