After the evil fitting of the first set, I needed to cut down my next set to make them a little more suitable for my shape. I’m incredibly pleased with how these ones came together and the whole process was so much faster given that I knew what I was doing and what was next.
The other tedious part of getting the undergarments ready are the petticoats. The layers and layers of petticoats that help give the bell shape of the 1830s. So, here are what I have made to go over my chemise, drawers and stays:
1. Cotton petticoat. This is a lightweight undergarment that is used for warmth, modesty and to protect your legs from any roughness in the corded petticoat. Mine is made out of cotton voile. In fact, I pulled the fabric from the regency petticoat that I ripped last year.
2. Corded Petticoat. So much cord and so much time went into making this. But keep an eye out for a write up of how I went about it.
3. Bum pad. This is a stuffed tube with a few frills that ties on to help fill in the gap between the waist and your butt. It smooths things out lovely and helps give a good backward thrust to the skirts.
4. Cotton petticoat. Just adding on the layers now. This one has a bunch of pin tucks which help the bottom sit out nicely, adding fullness.
5. Cotton organdy petticoat. A super stiff cotton fabric that helps pop the fabric out really well. Again we’re going for froof, so the more the better.
I was going to add a taffeta petticoat as a layer to help stop the silk of the skirt sticking to the cotton, but the cotton organdy should solve this issue. I may come back and add one once I’ve finished the skirt, but I’ll have to see how it goes.
