Decorative Techniques

I don’t usually think about the decoration before I make a pattern, however some of the decorative techniques change how much fabric to use when cutting out the petticoat. Therefore I’m going to talk about the decoration first, and then I’ll talk about the petticoat construction. This month I'll cover tucks and insertion, and then next month I'll discuss lace edging and embroidery.

There are four forms of decoration that together create all 6 of the decorative schemes in the petticoats being analyzed:

• Tucks
• Insertion
• Lace Edging
• Embroidery

 

Tucks

Grands Magasins, 1903-4	Grands Magasins, 1903-4

A decorative tuck is formed where a fold is sewn into place. When the tucks are very narrow they are called pin tucks. In Belle Époque underwear there are frequently multiple parallel tucks that follow the straight-of-grain.

1917 Illustration of graduated tucks	1917 Illustration of groups of tucks

Tucks are simple to sew; you simply iron a fold into the fabric and stitch a set distance from the fold. The hard part is measuring and folding them accurately. The 1879 Handbook of Plain and Fancy Needlework says, “Any carelessness or departure from the straight line is avenged upon the worker by her having to either to unpick it, or else turn out unsightly tucks.” When using tucks, you will need to add twice the width of the tuck to your pattern. In my experience, when sewing multiple rows of tucks by machine, always sew them in the same direction (e.g. right to left or left to right on all rows) to keep the fabric from forming odd stress lines between rows.

Plain Needlework, a compendium of Victorian sewing advice, gives the following guides on the size and spacing of tucks:

Garment	Tuck Width		Tuck Width	Suggested Spacing
Babies’ robes and corset covers	1/8”-1/4”		Narrow: 1/8” - ¼”	The space between tucks should be the width of the tuck
Frocks	¼”-1”		Wide: ¼”- 1”	The space between tucks should be half the width of the tuck
Chemises & nightdresses	1/8”-1/4”		Narrow tucks in groups	There should be no space between the tucks, only between the sets of tucks; the bottom edge of the first tuck touches the seam line of the second tuck.
Drawers	¼” – ¾”		-	-
Flannel petticoats	1”-2”		-	-

Five of the six petticoats being analyzed use tucks as a decorative feature. All of the tucks are sewn in exactly the same way, although they do not all follow the advice given in Plain Needlework.

 

Bess Moser Petticoat

 

Photo of Upper Panel	Reverse side
Tuck in Top Ruffle	Reverse side
Tucks in Bottom Ruffle	Reverse side

There are 28 tucks in Bess Moser’s wedding petticoat, which are all on the straight-of-grain. The tucks are grouped together in seven sets. Within the sets the tucks are mostly uniform (the red text in the table are the measurements that break the pattern). Surprisingly, the measurements for the two ruffles are not identical. All measurements are approximate, give or take a 1/16”, as the seams are not entirely even.

 

	Tuck width	Tuck Spacing (seam line to seam line)	Space above Set (to top seam line)
Upper Panel Set 1 (5 Tucks)
Tuck 1	3/16”	3/8”	1” from ruffle head
Tuck 2	3/16”	3/8”
Tuck 3	3/16”	3/8”
Tuck 4	3/16”	3/8”
Tuck 5	3/16”	1 5/8” ( to second set)
Upper Panel Set 2 (5 Tucks)
Tuck 6	3/16”	3/8”	1 5/8” from the seam line of tuck 5
Tuck 7	3/16”	3/8”
Tuck 8	3/16”	3/8”
Tuck 9	3/16”	3/8”
Tuck 10	3/16”	1 5/8” (to third set)
Upper Panel Set 3 (6 Tucks)
Tuck 11	¼”	3/8”	1 5/8” from the seam line of tuck 10
Tuck 12	¼”	3/8”
Tuck 13	¼”	3/8”
Tuck 14	¼”	3/8”
Tuck 15	¼”	3/8”
Tuck 16	¼”	1 ¼” (to seam line of the ruffle facing) 1 3/8” ( to ruffle)
Top Ruffle Set 4 (3 Tucks Above the Insertion)
Tuck 17	1/8”	5/16”	2 ½” from the bottom of the ruffle head
Tuck 18	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 19	1/8”	¼” (to hem seam line above the insertion) 3/8” (to insertion)
Top Ruffle Set 5 (3 Tucks Below the Insertion)
Tuck 20	1/8”	¼”	No space between insertion and the tuck 20
Tuck 21	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 22	1/8”	3/8” (to hem seam line above lace edging) 1” (to lace edging)
Bottom Ruffle Set 6 (3 Tucks Above the Insertion)
Tuck 23	1/8”	5/16”	2 ¾” from the bottom of the ruffle head
Tuck 24	1/8”	5/16”
Tuck 25	1/8”	5/16” (to hem seam line above the insertion) 7/16” (to insertion)
Bottom Ruffle Set 7 (3 Tucks Below the Insertion)
Tuck 26	1/8”	¼”	No space between insertion and the tuck 26
Tuck 27	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 28	1/8”	¼” (to hem seam line above lace edging) 5/8” (to lace edging)

 

Lacy Petticoat

 

Tucks above ruffle	Reverse
Pin-tucks	Reverse

 

There are six tucks in the Lacy Petticoat, which are all on the straight-of-grain. The tucks are grouped together in two sets. Within the sets the tucks are uniform. All measurements are approximate, give or take a 1/16”, as the seams are not entirely even.

	Tuck width	Tuck Spacing (seam line to seam line)	Space above Set (to top seam line)
Above Ruffle Set 1 (3 tucks)
Tuck 1	1/8”	¼”	Entire petticoat (to waist)
Tuck 2	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 3	1/8”	¼” (to top of ruffle head ribbon)
Ruffle Set 2 (3 tucks)
Tuck 4	1/16”	5/8”	1 7/8” (to bottom of ruffle head ribbon)
Tuck 5	1/16”	5/8”
Tuck 6	1/16”	3/8” (to hem seam line above the insertion) 7/16” (to insertion)

 

Eyelet Petticoat

Graduated tucks	Reverse

There are six tucks in the Eyelet Petticoat, which are all on the straight-of-grain. The tucks are grouped together in one set; this is the only petticoat being analyzed where the tucks within the set are gradually wider (e.g. graduated). All measurements are approximate, give or take a 1/16”, as the seams are not entirely even.

 

	Tuck width	Tuck Spacing (seam line to seam line)	Space above Set (to top seam line)
Above Ruffle Set 1 (6 tucks)
Tuck 1	1/8”	3/8”	5 ¼” from ruffle
Tuck 2	1/8”	3/8”
Tuck 3	1/8”	5/16”
Tuck 4	3/16”	3/8”
Tuck 5	1/4”	5/8”
Tuck 6	1/4”	1/2” (to seam line above the ruffle) 3/4” (to ruffle)

 

Embroidered Petticoat

 

Tucks above ruffle	Reverse
Tucks above insertion	Reverse
Tucks below insertion	Reverse

There are eleven tucks in the Embroidered Petticoat, which are all on the straight-of-grain. The tucks are grouped together in three sets. Within the sets the tucks are uniform. All measurements are approximate, give or take a 1/16”, as the seams are not entirely even.

	Tuck width	Tuck Spacing (seam line to seam line)	Space above Set (to top seam line)
Above Ruffle Set 1 (2 tucks)
Tuck 1	¼”	½”	1 ¼” from bottom of insertion
Tuck 2	¼”	¼” (to seam line above the ruffle) ¾” (to ruffle)
Above Insertion Set 2 (5 tucks)
Tuck 3	1/8”	5/16”	5 1/8” to ruffle
Tuck 4	1/8”	5/16”
Tuck 5	1/8”	5/16”
Tuck 6	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 7	1/8”	¼” (to hem seam above insertion) 3/8” (to insertion)
Below Insertion Set 3 (4 tucks)
Tuck 8	1/8”	1/8”	¼” from bottom of insertion
Tuck 9	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 10	1/8”	3/16”
Tuck 11	1/8”	¼” (to top of embroidery) 3 1/8” (to bottom tip of scallop)

 

Cutwork Petticoat

Tucks above ruffle	Reverse
Tucks above eyelet ruffle	Reverse

There are ten tucks in the Cutwork Petticoat, which are all on the straight-of-grain. The tucks are grouped together in two sets. Within the sets the tucks are uniform. All measurements are approximate, give or take a 1/16”, as the seams are not entirely even.

	Tuck width	Tuck Spacing (seam line to seam line)	Space above Set (to top seam line)
Above Ruffle Set 1 (5 tucks)
Tuck 1	1/8”	¼”	Entire petticoat (to waist)
Tuck 2	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 3	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 4	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 5	1/8”	3/16” (to hem seam above ruffle) ¾” (to ruffle)
Above Ruffle Set 2 (5 tucks)
Tuck 6	1/8”	¼”	11 5/8” from ruffle
Tuck 7	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 8	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 9	1/8”	¼”
Tuck 10	1/8”	¼” (to hem stitching above ruffle) ¾” (to ruffle)