1850s Quilted Petticoat

For a while now I have dreamed of making a quilted petticoat. We may live in Australia, but in my house it has very regularly been below 0C. We also do a lot of camping in winter conditions.

One of the reasons that I put this off was the cost. Finances have been a lot tighter this year. Cotton and wool quilting are very expensive. We recently decided to turn our guest bedroom into a sewing and storage room that is cat free. We sold our guest bed and as a result, I had a 10 year old woolen quilt that I could strip and cut up. There was enough of the wool that I was able to give half of it to Jessie, so that she could also make a petticoat. I had also found a perfect plaid cotton at an opportunity shop for 50 cents.

The petticoat has a 90 inch diameter and is quilted 3 thirds of the way up. It is amazingly comfortable to wear. I wore it 3 days straight last week. Even my cats love it. It provides great shape with just a petticoat and skirt and also sits beautifully under a crinoline.



The Challenge: #12 Shape and Support
Fabric: Cotton fabric and wool inside
Pattern: None, inspired by the various originals available in online museum searches (Pinterest)
Year: 1850s
Notions: Cotton Tape, Cotton Thread
How historically accurate is it? maybe around 90% only concern was that I sewed it completely on the machine using a quilters walking foot. I really should start using my period correct treadle machine.
Hours to complete: about 12 hours
First worn: 2 weeks ago for warmth around the house
Total cost: about $5