In the 1900s, ruchings were usually pinked. But because I don‘t have an antique pinking machine I had to cut the countless meters of ruching with pinking sheers by hand! Ouch! After pinking all these meters and meters of ruchings my hands hurt so badly. Besides, it took so long to cut the ruching by hand – I think I‘m never going to do this again!

My petticoat has two straight ruffles at the hem – ruffles were either cut on the bias or straight grain in the Edwardian era. The top ruffle of my 1900s faux silk petticoat is 345cm (135“) long and the bottom ruffle (hem circumference) is 675cm (265“) long. It is quite certain that the skirt means female dignity, not female submission; it can be proved by the simplest of all tests. No ruler would deliberately dress up in the recognized fetters of a slave; no judge would appear covered with broad arrows. But when men wish to be safely impressive, as judges, priests or kings, they do wear skirts, the long, trailing robes of female dignity. The whole world is under petticoat government; for even men wear petticoats when they wish to govern. The petticoat in western men’s dress, what would become known in later years develop into the waistcoat, was from the mid-15 th century to around the 17 th century an under-doublet. [11] The garment was worn in cooler months under a shirt for warmth, and was usually padded or quilted. [11] I used historically accurate rayon taffeta, which was also known as Heatherbloom taffeta in the Edwardian era. Faux silk petticoats looked like silk petticoats but were cheaper and didn’t have the disadvantages of silk petticoats. To the lower edge of the flounce is sewed a narrow, bias ruffle that holds the skirt out well from the figure and forms a dainty finish.’ ( The Delineator, 1896)Because the fabric of the petticoat is so thin, I had to stiffen the hem of the petticoat so that it could support the wide hem of the heavy wool skirt.

Cunningham, Patricia A. (2003). Reforming Women's Fashion, 1850-1920: Politics, Health and Art. Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press. ISBN 0873387422.Underskirts worn under non-Western clothing, such as the ghagra worn under a sari, are also often called petticoats. Sari petticoats usually match the color of the sari and are made of satin or cotton. [24] Compared to the Western petticoat, South Asian petticoats are rarely shorter than ankle length and are always worn from the waist down. They may also be called inner skirts [25] or inskirts.

For the modern undergarment sometimes called a "petticoat", see half slip. American petticoat, 1855–1865 Modern petticoat Various kinds of cords may be used. Piping cord, which is hard twisted, and cable or dressmaker’s cord, which is soft and loose. Wool makes an excellent cord for soft silks’ ( Clothing For Women: Selection, Design, Construction, 1916). The stomacher does not match the mantua and petticoat. It is made of ivory silk brocaded with silver filé, lined with lilac-coloured silk sarsenet and bound with ivory silk grograin ribbon. It is triangular in shape with false robings each with 3 narrow, short skirts at the bottom. The stomacher is reinforced with baleen; it has decorative lacing of silver cord and 1 remaining short loop of ivory silk grosgrain ribbon on each side for fastening. Planché, James Robinson (1879). A Cyclopaedia of Costume Or Dictionary of Dress, Including Notices of Contemporaneous Fashions on the Continent: A general history of costume in Europe. Vol.2. London: Chatto and Windus. pp.158–159.Higgins, Padhraig (2010). A Nation of Politicians: Gender, Patriotism, and Political Culture in Late Eighteenth-Century Ireland. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299233334– via Project MUSE. I made a short Edwardian faux silk petticoat to wear under my newest short Edwardian walking skirts. My main inspirations for this petticoat actually came from the short, almost 1950s-style petticoats of Edwardian showgirls and burlesque dancers! Now that so many gowns are made without lined skirts, it is absolutely essential that a good fitting petticoat be worn’ ( Los Angeles Herald, 1905). I used natural artificial silk taffeta fabric (made of cellulose fibers). This type of fabric was already used in the Edwardian era for dresses and petticoats. In the 1900s, this type of fabric was known under various names such as nearsilk, artificial silk, heatherbloom etc. Campbell, Jill. Natural Masques: Gender and Identity in Fielding's Plays and Novels, p. 21. Stanford University Press.