Sewing Projects

Heirloom Style Petticoat

Having mastered the techniques on our sewing technique page (Luxurious Lingerie - part 2 (decorative stitching), Now try making this pretty and feminine petticoat by Lorna Knight.

This Heirloom Style Petticoat has been made in cotton lawn decorated with horizontal tucks and wing needle and decorative stitch detail. It uses the quarter pinning method (see part Luxurious Lingerie and Lacy Knickers for the waist and an alternative method for attaching lace (or Brodeire Anglais).

Please adapt the instructions below to suit the machine stitches available and your choice of decorative detail.

MATERIALS

• Cotton lawn or similar lightweight natural fabric
• Edging lace or Broderie Anglais
• Cotton thread to match for sewing up
• Cotton thread for stitch detail (Note; cotton works best but a rayon or silk machine embroidery thread will have more sheen and will be more visible)
• Tear away stabiliser to support the fabric when stitching
  Elastic with edge detail for the waist

The amount of each of the materials required will depend on the size and length of the petticoat. See below for details.

Cutting Out

Length:
Before cutting out any fabric decide how long the petticoat/waist slip will be.
Add 2 cm (3/4”) for the seam allowance at the waist and approximately 2 cm (3/4”) for each tuck. (We included three in our example so added 6 cm (2 1/4”) for the tucks and 2 cm (3/4”) for the waist seam allowance.)
This is the length required.

Width:
Take the hip measurement and add 3 cm (1 ¼”) for seam allowances. (NB: On larger sizes this may be wide enough for a ‘stride’ but smaller hipped women may need to add extra width to allow for comfortable walking).
This is the width required.

HANDY HINT: If the fabric width is not sufficient to cut the width in one section cut two equal pieces i.e. a front and a back.

Sewing

1. Make a centre back seam (or two side seams) using a French seam *. This encloses the raw edges neatly. Press the seam(s) to one side. (*French seam: With fabric WRONG sides together, stitch a seam with 6 mm (1/4”) seam allowance. Trim seam allowance to 3 mm (1/8”). Press. Refold with seam on edge and RIGHT sides together. Stitch seam again, 1 cm (3/8”) from edge, and stitching in same direction. Press).

2. Place the Broderie Anglais at the hem and mark the position on the hem where the broderie anglais is to be sewn. Fold the hem up to the inside and press. Lap the hem edge over the broderie anglais and pin the layers together.

3. Set the sewing machine to a blanket type stitch and fit a wing needle. On a scrap of fabric try out the stitch and adjust as necessary. Lengthening and widening the stitch helps to make this detail more prominent.

4. Place the stabiliser under the work to support the stitches and sew the lower edge to the broderie anglais.

5. Select the stitches to decorate the petticoat above the hem. We used three rows of wing needle stitch detail, three rows of 1 cm wide horizontal tucks and one row of a decorative stitch sewn with a standard needle.

HANDY HINT: Use the presser foot edge as a guide for positioning each row. Providing the hem edge is straight all following rows will be straight too.

6. Remove the tear away stabiliser carefully and to prevent flattening the stitches, press from the wrong side on a well padded ironing board.

7. To complete the petticoat/ waist slip attach the elastic to the upper edge following the quarter pinning method from last month.

Note: To measure the elastic take a waist measurement and deduct 1/5th or 20%.  For example, a waist measurement of 76 cm (30”) cut a piece of elastic 61 cm (24”).

Further Information