The first petticoat

53 days to go and the first petticoat is complete.

A total of 31 rows of cotton cord have been sewn into petticoat to stiffen the hem and create this shape. The petticoat will also be heavily starched to help it stand up under the dress. A deep, shaped waist-band helps to minimise bulk at the waist. Although this is not common in extant petticoats, I have seen some examples with a deep yoke and when wearing multiple layers this helps immensely to preserve the line of the figure created by the corset.

The skirt is cartridge pleated and hand-stitched to the waistband. Cartridge pleats are formed when evenly spaced gathering stitches are drawn up to pull the fabric into pleats like a concertina. The back of each pleat is then secured with a stitch through the waistband. At the back, the pleats stand away from the waistband three-dimensionally and this helps to give the pleats a little extra kick to make the petticoat stand away from the body.

Cartridge Pleats in progress

Over this petticoat, a second flounced petticoat will help to add softness to the silhouette and bulk out the skirts, before a final, lace-hemmed petticoat is added to smooth over all of the layers. By the early 1850s, women had to wear multiple petticoats to support the increasingly large skirts that were fashionable - sometimes as many as twelve. The invention of the cage-crinoline, as oppressive as it may appear to modern eyes, was therefore undoubtedly a relief to many women as it was certainly lighter, cooler, less-restrictive and more hygienic than the huge quantities of petticoats they were used to wearing.

Structural engineering

56 days to go and work continues on the corded petticoat.

So far 24 rows, totalling 48 metres of cording have been sewn into the hem of this petticoat. The 1/4" cotton cord is sandwiched between two layers of cotton and sewn tightly into parallel channels to create a ridged effect. These cords will give the petticoat structure to support the skirts of the dress. The cording will continue up the petticoat to just below hip level. The top will then be cartridge pleated onto a waistband to draw in the excess fabric and create the bell-shape that was fashionable in the 1840s and early 1850s.

More cording...

64 days to go...

Whilst awaiting delivery of the front-fastening busk and some other notions for completing the corset I have begun work on the first of my petticoats.

Throughout the early Victorian period skirts became gradually more voluminous. However, it was not until 1856 that the steel cage crinoline was patented as a means of supporting these ever expanding skirts. Up until this point layers of petticoats had to be used to create the fashionable bell-shape of the 1840s and early 1850s. Various means were used to stiffen these petticoats including starch, petticoats made of fabric woven with horsehair (known as "crin", French for horsehair, hence the origins of the word crinoline) and cording. The photograph below of an 1830s petticoat from the Met Museum's collections show how closely spaced rows of cord sewn into a cotton petticoat created a structured undergarment that supported the shape of the skirts.

The Met, 1992.635, 1830s corded petticoat

For my petticoat, I am sewing rows of 6mm cotton cord between an outer layer of white cotton twill and a inner layer of thinner cotton sheeting. So far I have completed 12 rows at the hem. It's slow going but the effect is already apparent - the hem is stiff and padded, more than able to support multiple layers of fabric. I have a feeling that this is going to be somewhat heavy to wear though!

The corset construction progresses...

65 days to go and the corset is now almost ready to be boned...

All of the panels have been joined and the gores inserted to complete the two halves of the corset. The seams are sewn twice using two different stitch lengths. This helps to strengthen the seams so that they can withstand the tension exerted on them when the corset is laced without ripping apart as though perforated. The seam allowances are then pressed to one side and 3/8" channels are stitched to one side of each seam. It is into these channels that the steel bones will be inserted. Additional vertical cording also supports the wider side panel. The photographs show how the shaping of the pieces at the hip and the insertion of the gores create a three-dimensional form that will hug the body to create the desired silhouette.

Both sides of the corset, pinned in the centre to simulate the look of the final garment

Cording a corset

 66 days to go...

As well as rigid boning, cording is an age old method for stiffening fabric to create structure in garments. It involves sandwiching a thin cord between two layers of fabric held in place inside closely stitched channels to create raised ridges in the surface of the fabric. This method was widely used in the nineteenth century for stiffening both corsets and petticoats. It also serves a double purpose by creating visual interest and was often used decoratively as well as practically especially on early Victorian corsets.

Corded corset in the V&A Collections, 1825-1835

For this project, I decided to combine steel boning to support the seam lines with cording. In particular the back panel features diagonal and horizontal cording that was inspired by the 1844 corset shown in Norah Waugh's "Corsets and Crinolines" (Waugh, Routledge/Theatre Arts Books, 1954, p77).

I inserted the cording by stitching a single line through the outer shell and lining. I then placed the corded in position and pushed it as snugly against the stitching as I could with my thumbnail. Then, still using my nail to keep the cord in place, I sewed the other side of the channel as close the cord as as possible using the zipper foot on the machine. This worked like a dream and the corset now has beautifully corrugated sections.

Sewing the cording into position

The completed back panels