Blue Silk Quilted Petticoat
Subject
Clothing and Dress
Title
Blue Silk Quilted Petticoat
Date
ca. 1750 - 1790
Description
This light blue petticoat is made from a silk outer fabric lined with wool and wool used for the batting. Three full widths of the silk were sewn together and pleated, along with the lining of a similar size, to a cotton waistband.
Originally the hand quilting, done in a matching thread, included a soft-edged diamond pattern along the top two thirds of the petticoat with a serpentine feather pattern, heavily quilted with half circles and channel stitching, decorating the bottom third. The upper part of the diamonds has been unpicked, indicating that the petticoat has been altered.
Ready-to-wear quilted petticoats were widely available in England in the late 1600s. It was a staple item worn by women of all classes. Workshops produced the quilted petticoats for winter wear. As an undergarment, petticoats, known simply as "coats" in the eighteenth century, were not meant to be seen, particularly in public places. Quilted on frames, these were often worked on by several hands. Inspiration for the designs can be traced to books on birds, animals and horticulture as well as patterns from metal and embroidery.
The simplicity of the product appealed to English manufacturers. Typical petticoats consisted of a solid-colored silk or satin top fabric, wool batting, and a solid color lining of glazed or unglazed wool. This sandwich of fabrics was quilted and then sewn to a narrow piece of unquilted fabric and lining. Openings were cut and bound at the two sides for pocket access and the hem finished with matching fabric. The petticoat was then pleated onto a waistband with ties that allowed for adjustment to fit the consumer. A petticoat could also be sold as a flat, quilted rectangle to be finished by the wearer. One seam in this petticoat suggests that the owner finished the last seam annd a waistband to fit.
Throughout the eighteenth century, the American colonies depended on Great Britain for their textiles. Quilted petticoats, since they were easily sized with the addition of a waistband after purchase, were one of the earliest garments to be made en masse and exported to the colonies.
With changing styles of dress, the front of a woman's skirt became a place to display fancy needlework; the petticoat was a perfect surface for elaborate quilting. As a fashion item it offered an alternative to wearing a matching gown and could be worn with multiple gowns short gowns and other garments.
References
Baumgarten, Linda. What Clothes Reveal. Williamsbsurg, VA: Yale University Press, 2002.
Lemire, Beverly. "Redressing the History of the Clothing Trade in England: Ready-made Clothing, Guilds and Women Workers, 1650 - 1800." Dress 21. Earleville, MD: The Costume Socety of America, 1994, 61 - 74.
Originally the hand quilting, done in a matching thread, included a soft-edged diamond pattern along the top two thirds of the petticoat with a serpentine feather pattern, heavily quilted with half circles and channel stitching, decorating the bottom third. The upper part of the diamonds has been unpicked, indicating that the petticoat has been altered.
Ready-to-wear quilted petticoats were widely available in England in the late 1600s. It was a staple item worn by women of all classes. Workshops produced the quilted petticoats for winter wear. As an undergarment, petticoats, known simply as "coats" in the eighteenth century, were not meant to be seen, particularly in public places. Quilted on frames, these were often worked on by several hands. Inspiration for the designs can be traced to books on birds, animals and horticulture as well as patterns from metal and embroidery.
The simplicity of the product appealed to English manufacturers. Typical petticoats consisted of a solid-colored silk or satin top fabric, wool batting, and a solid color lining of glazed or unglazed wool. This sandwich of fabrics was quilted and then sewn to a narrow piece of unquilted fabric and lining. Openings were cut and bound at the two sides for pocket access and the hem finished with matching fabric. The petticoat was then pleated onto a waistband with ties that allowed for adjustment to fit the consumer. A petticoat could also be sold as a flat, quilted rectangle to be finished by the wearer. One seam in this petticoat suggests that the owner finished the last seam annd a waistband to fit.
Throughout the eighteenth century, the American colonies depended on Great Britain for their textiles. Quilted petticoats, since they were easily sized with the addition of a waistband after purchase, were one of the earliest garments to be made en masse and exported to the colonies.
With changing styles of dress, the front of a woman's skirt became a place to display fancy needlework; the petticoat was a perfect surface for elaborate quilting. As a fashion item it offered an alternative to wearing a matching gown and could be worn with multiple gowns short gowns and other garments.
References
Baumgarten, Linda. What Clothes Reveal. Williamsbsurg, VA: Yale University Press, 2002.
Lemire, Beverly. "Redressing the History of the Clothing Trade in England: Ready-made Clothing, Guilds and Women Workers, 1650 - 1800." Dress 21. Earleville, MD: The Costume Socety of America, 1994, 61 - 74.
Source
Donor: Robert P. Bainbridge
The Bainbridge Collection
The Bainbridge Collection
Identifier
URI 2003.12.243
Contributor
Mary Juillet-Paonessa, MS '05
Meredith Wilcox-Levine, MS '15
Meredith Wilcox-Levine, MS '15
Relation
The Bainbridge Collection
Collection
Citation
“Blue Silk Quilted Petticoat,” Historic Textile and Costume Collection, accessed April 24, 2024, https://uritextilecollection.omeka.net/items/show/330.