Historical Sew Forthnightly: No Buy July


Historical Sew Fortnightly No buy July: Making a Petticoat from an old sheet


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What the item is: An 1860's style cotton over hoop petticoat

The Challenge: No buy

Fabric: 100% cotton

Pattern: Self made

Year: Early 1860's but it also works for most of the crinoline era

Notions: one bone button, cotton thread.

How historically accurate is it? about 5/10, the shape and the tucks are accurate, but it is machine sewn and a cotton petticoat would normally be pure white rather than a pattern such as this.

Hours to complete: About two. 1 hour to sew the main body, 45 minutes to do the tucks, and 15 minutes to do the handsewing and making the button/ buttonhole

First worn: Dancing and spinning around the house singing 'Once Upon a December" while the animals ran in terror

Total cost: no cost, the sheet was given to me, and the button was reclaimed from another outfit
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This sheet came with a ruffle and unfortunately before cutting or measuring it had to go. 

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To really make the item correctly, it has to be done in panels rather than a continuous length. I decided to do three panels 44" by 50". I wanted a petticoat 38" long so left the 2" for seam allowance and for tucks. 
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Now sew the panels together on the side that is 44" long. except for the side that has the opening

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For the opening side, I measured 10" from the top and put a pin there to mark the spot.

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Sew the opening side from the bottom to the pin, making sure to tack stitch a few times. The stitching in the area right below the pin will be high stress and needs to hold well. 

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Do a rolled over hem on either side of the 12" opening. 

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Grab some button thread and be ready to do a gather to waist measurements. Remember to leave 1/2 to 3/4 and inch for overlap at the buttonhole

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gather and sew into the waistband. Hand sew a buttonhole and choose a button to use as your closure.
In the end you should have something similar to this. This is over my flounced petticoat which really filled out the space beneath. I added four pintucks to it later on, giving it just a little extra prettiness

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