The Final Petticoat

Photograph by:  Austin Simmons

Model:  Leigh Hawkins

Location:  studio at Shelley Smith's house

Materials:  Bra top is ivory 100% silk Duchess satin with natural cotton padded bust cups.

Corselet is 100% cotton tulle with grosgrain casings filled with spiral steel boning.

Skirt Yoke and Lining is 100% natural silk Double-face Satin with tea stained Valencienne lace trim and blue grosgrain ribbon bows.

Outer Skirt and Bustle is Silver Silk Metallic Tissue (warp is silk, weft is metal) with 3" white horsehair braid and tea stained Valencienne lace trim.

Finishing Touches to the Petticoat . . .

I attached a waist stay and added encased elastic.  The waist stay closes with a hook and eye.

Petticoat FItting . . .

 Petticoat (without the tissue skirt attached yet) fit on my model.  It is about 3/4" too big circumference.  I'm still trying to figure out the best way to resolve this.  I rechecked model's measurements to last time and how much I took the pattern in.  I had taken it in what I needed to on paper, but it still is not snug enough for the petticoat. 

The Duchess Petticoat . . .

 I tea stained the Valencienne lace trim for a nicer ivory color.

 I sewed this trim to the petticoat hem to cover the stitch line from sewing the horsehair in place.

This is 2 layers of silver silk tissue for the back section of the petticoat.  I think it needs another internal layer with more horsehair for support and structure.  I am using 3" white horsehair braid for the hems.  (Jenson kept sitting and posing when I was trying to photograph it on the form.)

This is the muslin of the gown with the tissue petticoat back piece pinned to the form.

 This is the muslin gown without the tissue petticoat underneath.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

Finally, I hand stitched the front of the bra top down. (The back portion will be stitched down after I finish the placket.)

I hand stitched grosgrain ribbon to the back side to form the boning casing. The ribbon was stitched close to the top of the bra top to allow the boning to go the full length of the bodice.

I hand stitched the seam allowances down. This created a flatter, smoother surface for the boning to lay against. I did not want the steel boning to fray the cotton tulle.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

Bra top attached to cotton tulle bodice. Bust cups sewn into place. The seam allowance have been overcast and stitched down.


For the lining of the bra top, I have backed the duchess satin with 400 count plain weave pima cotton. I chose the pima cotton because it is as strong as different woven interfacings but it is softer and a better match for the duchess satin. I attach the backing to each duchess satin piece by hand over casting around the edges. This holds the layers together while also keeping the duchess satin from fraying. On some of the pieces with wider curves, I also stitched a running stitch (or stay stitch) about 1/8" from the edge to give it a bit more stability.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

I have chosen to use 3/8" high quality grosgrain ribbon for the boning casing. First, I have hand stitched the ribbon down to one side of the cotton tulle seams. I will sew the back side of the casings on after I attach the bra top to the cotton tulle.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

I make the bust cups out of natural cotton batting.

Bust cups sewn together.

Pinning the pieces together.

Seam allowance trimmed off so edges are stitched closed.

Each piece is machine stitched around all edges.

Duchess Petticoat continued . . .

Cotton tulle pieces sewn together. Seam allowance topstitched down and trimmed.
Waistline has been thread traced.

Duchess Petticoat

The Petticoat for the Duchess gown will consist of a fully boned Swiss cotton tulle bodice, an attached duchess silk bra top with quilted bust cups, double satin silk silk with a multi-layered metallic silk organza skirt.

For the tulle bodice, I using 2 layers of cotton tulle. One layer is cut on the straight grain and the other layer is cut on the cross grain. I hand baste both layers together around all sides of the pieces before sewing the seams. This ensures that the 2 layers will not move around when I sew them.

Cotton tulle bodice pieces lined up after being hand basted.

Close up of hand basted tulle bodice pieces.

The full Duchess Petticoat bodice pattern after corrections.

Cutting the tulle on straight and cross grains.

Pattern Changes