Starching and Ironing Petticoats

Starching 1860's Whites and Undergarments

Not all 1860's women could afford a silk moire dress or update her wardrobe every year with the latest fashions from Paris, but one thing all women could do to help make herself more presentable and put together. Fabric was expensive but starch was cheap and could be made from the water left over from rice, potatoes, and corn. It could even be made from soaking horse hooves in water for an even stiffer finish. 

Starching would elongate the life of garments, as it helped provide a layer of protection from dirt and sweat. Garments would come out cleaner when they were washed, keeping whites whiter. The swish of skirts that the crinoline era known for is created by the stiffened petticoats rubbing against each other. 

**** Remember to always blue your whites before adding starch****

Step 1. Make Starch

Different starches could be used, but I personally prefer to use corn starch. Using a large canning pot,  bring the water to a boil. In a separate bowl slowly add a  cup of starch to three cups of water. Stir this mixture into the boiling water. Continue boiling with stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens. Once thickened and cooled move to the area where you will be dipping the petticoats

Step 2. Dip the Petticoats

Gather petticoats and place them in the pot. Use laundry sticks to push the petticoat so it is completely submerged. Swish to make sure the water mix permeates the fabric

Step 3. Wring out 

Remove the garment from the water and and allow to drip dry. Wring out as hard as possible, relax it, then wring out again. Excess water will drip out of the garments while they are drying and can be quite messy. 

Step 4. Dry

While the garment is drying it will stiffen in the shape of how it is laid out. For pantaloons laid flat, the item will retain this shape and folding it will be crisp, more like folding a piece of paper than folding a piece of clothing. It is therefore very important to lay out petticoats over a round form or else they will strangely once laid out over a hoop or other undergarments. Leave it there until dry, usually overnight. 

Step 5. Iron

Once the garments is dry, it is ready to be ironed. This step really helps to take out the wrinkles and set the shape and stiffen the starch. Be sure to squirt with a spray bottle before running over it with a iron set at a high setting. Above you can see the difference between ironed and starched and only starched fabric. 

Tada, if all these steps have been done you should have  a beautiful and perfectly starched white undergarments ready to be worn and broken in until next time.