I was a bit nervous about making the petticoat because I knew I had to cut into my gown fabric. As I said last time, I only brought what was hopefully going to be the exact amount I needed. I saw a video on Youtube a while back of someone using their nice fabric for the front of their petticoat and some plain fabric for the back. Luckily, I remembered this about a week before I was planning on starting this petticoat. I can't remember who the video was by, but if I do, I'll link it here. Anyway, I raced out to my local sewing shop (They don't have a website sorry) and grabbed two meters of some white cotton twill that was on sale.
When I started the petticoat, I cut the cotton first. I wanted to make sure I got the book's instruction right before I moved onto the silk. I also had to cut down a side of the cotton as it was 10cm wider than the silk. Once it was cut, I sewed two false seams 46cm in from each selvage edge as the book instructs for a more historical look.
I cut the top edge according to the book then pinned it to my dress form over all the underpinnings and was quite happy with how it looked. It was now time for the silk. I have never used silk dupioni before, but I loved how my scissors just glided through it, leaving me with a nice straight edge. I again made two false seams before cutting down the top edge and pinning it to my dress form. I did want to use silk thread on the silk, but it is still coming in the post, so my polyester will have to do for the time being.
Once the trim was finished, I pinned and sewed it onto the front panel. This took longer than I thought, but that is mainly due to our new puppy needed a lot of playtime that day. I had to use a mantua maker's seam for the second side seam as the cotton edge was raw from when I trimmed it down to be the same size as the silk. It is quite a smart way to do a seam, but in the future, I'd probably just hem it like I did with the other side so it keeps it looking the same. I did leave 10 inches at the top of the side seam unsewn for pocket access.
Now for the pleats. This could be my complete downfall. I really struggled with getting the pleats to reduce the fabric to my waist size on the under petticoat so was quite nervous about doing the pleating on this. I followed the instructions of the book, then basted the pleats once they sat right. I pinned it to my dress form and was guttered as the pleats had not reduced enough of the fabric to fit around my waist. There were about 8 inches of excess fabric on both the front and back panels. I took a small break and went to talk with my mum about it. We decided to put me in the undergarments and do what I had done for my under petticoat where I hide excess fabric within one or two pleats but kept the outer look of the pleats the same. Once dressed, I did the front while my mum did the back. After about 15 minutes of fiddling, we were quite happy with it. I took it all off and basted the pleats again. I put it back on my dress form and with a smile, continued to the next step.
The way they get you to put on the waist tap was quite interesting to me as I had never encountered it before. They want you to sew it on the right side of the fabric before flipping it to the inside. It is quite a smart and easy thing to do. I didn't really have any issue with this and I've gotten quite quick at doing a hemming stitch so finished this for the front and back panels in a night.
I left my petticoat to hang for half a day while I finished a commission. I then put my dress form on my table and leveled out the hem. I've never been particularly good at leveling a hem, but have to say that I think this is the best leveling I've done. I then hemmed it, hemmed the bottom trim, and it was all done!
I actually really enjoyed this project. I'm really happy with the result and love the way it falls over the pocket hoops. I gave myself a time frame of getting this done within five days and am really glad that even with the setbacks, I got it done in four days, under target. I'm really excited about this project right now and can't wait to see the finished project.
I'll talk to you soon. Have a swell day!
-Maysie
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