In the first two articles in this series I talked about heirloom sewing techniques and how to decorate Belle Époque petticoats. In the last article I talked about how to achieve a specific shape through cut and decoration.

Now I’m going to talk about all the other construction details associated with Belle Époque petticoats. When possible I’ll compare the techniques used in the six petticoats we’ve been analyzing to the instructions in various Belle Époque sewing manuals.

The result is enlightening (and freeing) if you get hung up on trying to make all the details “right”. You’ll be able to see just how varied the methods were for basic things (like constructing a ruffle or inserting a placket) and be able to relax and sew your petticoat with confidence.

 

Ruffle Construction

Each of the six petticoats we’re analyzing is decorated differently. All have a highly decorated bottom ruffle, however, there are a lot of variations between these six petticoats vis-à-vis how the decorative ruffles were actually sewn, mainly in:

• The order the ruffle was constructed
• How the ruffle head is attached
• How the ruffle is hemmed

Seams in Tucks & the Order of Ruffle Construction

Vertical seams in the tucks are interesting to look at for the construction information it gives us; more than any other decoration they tell us the order the ruffle was put together, whether the ruffle was decorated while it was flat or after it was sewn into a circle.

Bess Moser Petticoat

Find the pattern for Bess Moser’s Petticoat here

The top ruffle has tucks both above and below the insertion. There are 3 vertical seams in the tucks above the insertion, which do not align with the 4 vertical seams in the tucks below the insertion, except in one case. That vertical seam goes though the insertion and both sets of tucks, suggesting that the tucks and insertion were added while the ruffle was still flat, and then it was sewn into a circle at this seam. The tucks were sewn after the other three vertical seams, but before this one.

The bottom ruffle also has tucks both above and below the insertion. There are 4 vertical seams in the tucks above the insertion, which align with the 4 vertical seams in the tucks below the insertion. One of the vertical seams in the ruffle goes though the insertion and as well, suggesting that the lace was inserted while the ruffle was still flat, and then sewn into a circle. In this ruffle, the tucks were sewn after all the vertical seams were put in.

Seam in tucks that aligns with a seam in the lace insertion and the lace edging	Reverse
“Standard” seam in the tucks	Reverse

Order of Construction for the Top Ruffle Sew the vertical seams in the two strips of cotton that make the top and bottom parts of the ruffle. Do not sew into a circle yet. Sew the tucks into the strips formed in Step 1. Hem the long edges that the insertion will be attached to, and the long edge that the lace edging will attach too. (E.g. hem all edges except the top one) Whipstitch the lace insertion and the lace edging into place, making a single ruffle. Sew the last vertical seam together, making the ruffle into a big circle and finish the edges of the lace.

Order of Construction for the Bottom Ruffle Sew the vertical seams in the two strips of cotton that make the top and bottom parts of the ruffle. Do not sew into a circle yet. Hem the long edges that the insertion will be attached to, and the long edge that the lace edging will attach too. (E.g. hem all edges except the top one) Whipstitch the lace insertion and the lace edging into place, making a single ruffle. Sew the last vertical seam together, making the ruffle into a big circle. Sew the tucks into the ruffle. Finish the raw edges of the seam in the lace insertion and lace edging.

Most of the seams are selvedge-edge to selvedge-edge, and are unfinished beyond being sewn together. The seam in the top ruffle that goes though the insertion as well as the tucks is the exception to that statement. It was sewn together; the non-selvedge-edge seam allowances are both folded in the same direction. The raw edges of the lace insertion and lace edging are whipstitched down, but the seam allowance in the tuck area is left unfinished. On the other seams there is no consistency regarding whether the seam allowance for the vertical seams is pressed flat or folded to one side; it sometimes changes between tucks.

Lacy Petticoat

Find the pattern for the Lacy Petticoat here

The seams in the tucks above the decorative ruffle are the seams of the main petticoat. They are very narrow (~ 1/8”) French seams. The tucks were sewn after the vertical seams were put in.

There are 6 vertical seams in the pin tucks at the top of the decorative ruffle. These seams are incredibly tiny (less then 1/16” seam allowance). All but one joins selvedge-edge to selvedge-edge with tiny whipstitches around the edges. The seam that is different has two raw edges, the seam allowance is folded over (both towards the same side) and a tiny whipstitch was sewn down the fold. The edges of the seam allowance are left raw. The pin tucks were put in after all the vertical seams were sewn.

 

Seam in the tucks above the decorative ruffle	Reverse
“Standard” seam in ruffle fabric with pin tucks	Reverse
Seam in ruffle fabric with pin tucks that has raw edges	Reverse
	Order of Construction of the Lacy Petticoat’s Ruffle Sew vertical seams in the bottom row of the ruffle fabric, making a circle. Repeat for the middle row and for the top row of fabric. On the middle and bottom rows, iron the seam allowance at the top and bottom of the fabric loop, towards the wrong side of the loop. Iron the middle and bottom rows in half, with the wrong side on the inside. Carefully measure and cut the lace for the two rows of insertion and the lace edging. Sew the lace into circles with French seams. Carefully whipstitch a row of lace insertion to the bottom of the middle row of fabric, catching the bottom folded edge of both ironed seam allowances. Carefully whipstitch the lace edging to the bottom of the bottom row of fabric, catching the bottom folded edge of both ironed seam allowances. Whipstitch the bottom of the row of insertion attached in Step 5 to the top of the bottom strip of fabric (the one with the lace edging on the other side). Add feather stitching along the top and bottom of the middle row of fabric. Repeat for the bottom row of fabric. Hem he top row of fabric and sew the pin tucks. Whipstitch the top row of insertion to the hem of the top row of fabric. Whipstitch the bottom of the insertion you just added in Step 10 to the top fold of the middle row of fabric, creating a single ruffle.

Woven Lace Petticoat

Find the pattern for the Woven Lace Petticoat here

The woven lace petticoat does not have any tucks to tell us how it was made. However, there is only one seam in the entire lace ruffle. The lace ruffle was woven as a 12 ¾” wide lace. It is woven in a graduated pattern, so that the rows get progressively longer:

 

Eyelet Petticoat

Find the pattern for the Eyelet Petticoat here

There are four vertical seams in the tucks, three of which are selvedge-edge to selvedge-edge and do not line up with any seams in the eyelet ruffle. The seam allowance for these seams is folded over in the same direction, and then the tucks were sewn into place.

The forth seam aligns with the seam in the ruffle. The tucks were sewn before the seam was put in. This suggests that the tucks were put in and the eyelet was attached while the fabric was flat, and that this is the seam that made the ruffle circular.

The seam allowance for this seam is folded to the side and whipstitched together.

 

There are four vertical seams in the tucks, three of which are selvedge-edge to selvedge-edge and do not line up with any seams in the eyelet ruffle. The seam allowance for these seams is folded over in the same direction, and then the tucks were sewn into place.
	“Standard” seam in the tucks	Reverse
The forth seam aligns with the seam in the ruffle. The tucks were sewn before the seam was put in. This suggests that the tucks were put in and the eyelet was attached while the fabric was flat, and that this is the seam that made the ruffle circular. The seam allowance for this seam is folded to the side and whipstitched together.
	Fourth seam (through both the tucks and eyelet ruffle)	Reverse

Order of Construction of the Eyelet Petticoat’s Ruffle

1. Sew the vertical seams in the top part of the ruffle, but do not sew it into a circle yet.
2. Sew the tucks
3. Sew the vertical seam in the eyelet ruffle, but do not sew it into a circle yet.
4. Attach the eyelet ruffle to the top ruffle while the ruffle is flat. See the instructions in the ruffle attachment section.
5. Sew the long vertical seam though both the tucks and the eyelet ruffle. Finish the seam allowance by whipstitching the edges together.

 

Embroidered Petticoat Find the pattern for the Embroidered Petticoat here In the ruffle, the seams in the tucks above the insertion do not line up with the seams in the tucks below the insertion. There is no seam that goes though both the tucks and the insertion, suggesting that the tucks and the insertion were attached in concentric circles, after the ruffle was sewn into a loop.
The four vertical seams in the tucks above the decorative ruffle are the side seams of the petticoat, and the two small side gores. The side seams are folded over and whipstitched down. The small side gore is attached selvedge-edge to selvedge-edge with about a 1/16” seam allowance. The tucks were put in after the seams were finished.
	Seam in tucks above the ruffle	Reverse
There are three vertical seams above the insertion; all three are joining selvedge-edge to selvedge-edge. The seam allowance is folded to one side and no further seam finishing was done. The tucks were sewn after the vertical seams were put in.
	Seam in tucks above the ruffle insertion	Reverse
The fabric that makes the below-the-insertion tucks is also the embroidered ruffle fabric. There is only one seam in this fabric. The tucks were put in before that seam was sewn. The seam allowance is folded together and may have been whipstitched together, but if so, the remaining stitches are lost in the fraying edges.
	Seam in the tucks (and embroidered ruffle) below the insertion	Reverse

Order of Construction of the Embroidered Petticoat’s Ruffle

1. Sew the vertical seams in the top part of the ruffle, forming a circle.
2. Sew tucks into the top part of the ruffle.
3. Sew tucks into the embroidered ruffle.
4. Sew the vertical seam in the embroidered ruffle, creating a circle.
5. Sew the vertical seam in the insertion, creating a circle.
6. Attach the insertion to the top part of the ruffle and to the embroidered ruffle. See the instructions in the Embroidered Petticoat (Insertion in the Ruffle) section in 1890-9010 Petticoats Part 2.

 

Cutwork Petticoat

Find the pattern for the Cutwork Petticoat here

The vertical seams in the above-the-ruffle tucks are the seams of the petticoat body. They were sewn together, and the seam allowance pressed open before the tucks were sewn. The seam allowance has no edge finish, even when it is not the selvedge-edge.

There are three vertical seams in the tucks in the decorative ruffle. They are all on selvedge-edges; the seam allowance was pressed open before the tucks were sewn. None of the seams lines up with a seam in the cutworked ruffle, which suggests that the tucks (and the ruffle) were put in after the fabric was sewn into a circle.

 

 

Order of Construction of the Cutwork Petticoat’s Ruffle Sew the three vertical seams in the top part of the ruffle, forming a circle. Sew the tucks into the ruffle. Sew the single vertical seam in the cutwork ruffle, forming a circle. Attach the cutwork ruffle to the top part of the decorative ruffle. Se the ruffle attachment section for instructions.
	Seam in tucks	Reverse