Polka Dot Petticoat

A
Jul 4, 2021
2 min read

I fell in love with this cute turqouise polka dot fabric, and had to have it. I'd been watching the Burnley and Trowbridge Sew-a-longs on You-Tube, so that was in the back of my head when I saw it. Yes, of course I know that it's not a period fabric, but it brings me so much joy! So now, here I am with 2 yards of cute polka dot fabric and the desire for a 17th century peticoat with pocket slits.

The fabric was purpose-purchased, but the rest of the garment came together from the stash. I love these colors so much, that I had thread and bias tape that perfectly matched the fabric. I used the some narrow double-fold bias tape as a waist band, and only had 4 inches left over! So I think that that package is spent. I clearly did not have enough to do the waist ties, but I did have some twill tape left over, so I just cut that into fourths and attached it to the ends. It turned out to be about the right length.

I know that with 17th century garb you're supposed to hem the skirt first, but I was afraid that I would mess it up if I did it that way. It's just so foreign to me. Instead I took my piece of fabric that was roughly 45" by 72", and tore it in half so that I had 2 pieces approximately 45"x36". I made the skirt length the 36", and pleated the 45" widths into the waistband. Since the fabric was printed with evenly spaced polka dots I used the polka dots to measure my pleats and keep them even. After pinning the pleats I basted them in place near the edge of the fabric. Then I bound the edge with the bias tape.

After finishing the waist I measured down a fair bit on the sides (about 11" or so), and sewed down the side seams with a running backstitch. Then I evened out the hem. Since the fabric was cut roughly rather than strictly along the grain it was a little uneven, and that was the only waisted fabric in the whole project. Now I could iron and stitch the hem.

Last step was to attach the waist ties. I made sure that they were folded over on themselves where they attached to the petticoat, and I cut the hanging bits on an angle to help prevent them from fraying.

And now I have a cute new petticoat that makes me so happy! I haven't decided how much of a 16th century ensemble I want to make, but if nothing else I need fun pockets to wear under this petticoat.