Decorative Petticoat Usage

[ohioreb]

My main impression is a rural working-class woman. Ladies in our group are trying to upgrade thier impressions, and they've asked me about some things I'm not as familiar with.

My question is:

How would you go about pinning up your dress so the decorative petticoat can be seen, and in such a way that you can work in the fields, etc.. without it falling down?

This type of thing would be accurate for a farm woman of rather limited means, correct?

I have seen tucks used at the base of decorative petticoats. I was under the impression the purpose of tucks was so the garments could be let out as children grew... Being a full-grown woman, would this sort of thing be appropriate?

Also, what kind of fabrics should be used?

Thank you for any and all input.

-Rachel Shifflett

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Decorative Petticoat Usage

Welcome, Rachel!

Can you give me a bit more information about the types of decorative petticoat they're wondering about? A few different types come to mind:

1: Decorative white underskirts, often embellished with clusters of tucks and whitework embroidery trims. These are used under better dresses, rather than in working settings. Good white batiste or cambric (very hard to find these days) can be ideal for this sort of underskirt.

2: Working underskirts, which may be patterned or print cloth (multi-color, rather than white), worn under dresses in working settings. The dresses may be pinned up out of the way, then an apron added over the top of the pinned-up dress and now-visible underskirt. This sort of arrangement is plausible for a working farm woman; the underskirt might be a print or patterned cotton, or a solid, print, or patterned wool.

Tucks are used as a growth strategy for children, but they serve a few purposes for adult dresses and petticoats, too. The tucks add body to the lower portion of the skirt, which helps it lay neatly over the skirt supports. They are also very decorative, without being difficult to launder, or a large added expense to the garment (needing only a few more inches of yardage). They can be done in narrow widths (1/2"), or in very deep sewn folds (6"+) that give a "flounced" or "tiered" look to a skirt without cutting or gathering a single flounce or tier (deep folds are one of my very favorite skirt treatments!)

What activities will be undertaken in the proposed underskirts? That can help pinpoint what sort of underskirt will be the most useful.

[ohioreb]

Re: Decorative Petticoat Usage

Well, it would definitely be a working underskirt. We'd be needin them for such things as working around the campfire, cooking, working in the fields, etc...
I don't think any of us are of a station where a white decorative underskirt would at all be practical.
Aside from that, where would we pin them? on the hip/hips? or in some other fashion?
Also- how would we go about pinning them up? I am pretty sure safety pins as we know them weren't around... :P
Thanks!
Rachel
Shifflett

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Decorative Petticoat Usage

Petticoats meant to be seen while working have been a recent topic discussed on the Sewing Academy forum. Perhaps those threads can answer your questions. Here's the links: http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=3215.0 & http://thesewingacademy.org/index.php?topic=4090.0

Hopefully helpful-

[KarinTimour]

Re: Decorative Petticoat Usage

Dear Rachel:

Just to add to Elaine's very helpful threads, you use straight pins. I've found that the ones sold by sutlers for Rev war reenacting are a little longer and are more likely to stay pinned, and not "unpin" themselves at inconvenient moments. I've also used modern straight pins.

I've used two different methods for pinning up skirts when working. Keep in mind that if you're planning to do this, you should have a colored fabric underskirt, not a white petticoat as the first layer under your skirt.

You'd turn up your skirt in front so that the front surface of the skirt wouldn't get dirty or have things spilled on. This keeps your dress cleaner. Working women want to avoid having to do any more laundry than necessary. They also want to be able to put their "best foot forward" if they have to answer the door when in the midst of a messy task. Wiping your hands on your apron, you can then take it off as you are moving to the door, unpin the front of your dress quickly and then answer the door as if you hadn't just been doing the dishes or washing windows or scrubbing the floor seconds before.

When working in the house/garden:

1. Easiest to do this the first time sitting down, and without your apron on.

2. Grab the front third of your dress, fold the hem smoothly up about 8-10 inches. The hem should be facing up, with the wrong side of the fashion fabric of your dress (and skirt guard if you've got one) facing out.

3. Fold it over a second time on itself, (and a third time if you're tall). Your underskirt should be showing from just about your knees down (give or take a few inches.

4. letting the folded hem lie flat on your lap, the first time pin it securely on each hip, and if need be, a couple places in the front so that the fold is smoothly up against the front of your underskirt.

5. Stand up. The back of your skirt is hanging normally, the front is rolled and pinned.

6. The material on the side of your dress will be loosely rolling and connecting between the securely folded and pinned section and the entirely free hem in the back. Imagine a direct line down from each hip. Where that line crosses the bottom of your dress, pinch a piece of the hem or the lowest edge of the fold, and pull it behind you. Pin each of these to each other behind you.

Then put your apron on over it. The point is to keep the fashion fabric on the outside upper surface of the front third of your dress as clean and dry as possible. The layers of fold, coupled with the protection of your apron will accomplish this in surprisingly dirty/wet conditions.

Second "Pinning up your skirts" -- for wet and/or muddy conditions

1. Standing in your dress, without your apron on, let your arms hang naturally from your shoulders. Where your fingers touch your skirt, take a pinch of the fashion fabric, and pull it straight up about six inches. Pin it there, letting the hem drape. Do this on each hip, then see how far your hem dips down.

2. Depending on the amount of fabric in your skirt, move your hands and pin a "pinch" at approximately the same level at two or three other spots on your skirt.

This will raise your hem about six inches, with a bit of your colored underskirt showing. Do not do this if you've got only white petticoats under your skirt. Some people sew hooks and eyes in the appropriate places on the underside of their skirt, so that they can dispense with the straight pins and don't risk having it come unpinned in the middle of a mud puddle.

Hope that's helpful,
Karin Timour
Period Knitting -- Socks, Sleeping Hats, Balaclavas
Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society
Email: Ktimour@aol.com

[VaTrooper]

Re: Decorative Petticoat Usage

Edit-
sorry, forgot to log my husband out before I posted!
-Rachel Shifflett

[ohioreb]

Re: Decorative Petticoat Usage

Well, lets try this again..
Thank you all ! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Your posts were very helpful.

I will get the knack of this yet...