Woman's Quilted Petticoat - Fragment
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Description
The petticoat has an odd configuration of fabrics, wool calamanco on the front and silk on the back. If petticoats contained silk at all at that time, the silk fabric was usually the face fabric and a wool fabric was the backing. If petticoats had a wool fabric on the front, they also had a wool fabric as the backing (Baumgarten 2007: 16). This odd configuration of facing and backing fabrics in this petticoat may be unique or very rare. Wool petticoats were glazed to mimic the shine of the silk-faced petticoats (Baumgarten 2007: 14). Wool takes on a high-gloss sheen when treated with high heat and pressure (Baumgarten & Watson 1999: 31). Glazed wool or calamanco was a cheaper and warmer alternative to a silk facing, with similar aesthetic qualities, but would last longer and hold up well for working women or during outdoor activities (Baumgarten 2002: 114). The petticoat is hand sewn and hand-quilted with silk thread, dyed pink, and shows an intermediate-level sewing skills. This suggests that the petticoat was made at home and was not imported from England. This is supported by the unusual combination of face and backing fabrics.
Quilted petticoats were important to the culture of the mid-1700s as they added warmth, color and extra fullness to a gown. They were part of a layered wardrobe system, which allowed women to mix and match colors and patterns. Outer petticoats were meant to be seen with the open gowns that were popular at the time. The various fabrics and styles would show the wealth and status of the wearer. Quilted petticoats were so popular and utilitarian that they crossed social lines, and women of all social classes wore quilted petticoats (Baumgarten & Watson 1999: 38).
The URI petticoat appears to belong to a grouping of similar petticoats from the Connecticut and Rhode Island area, dating from the late 1740s to about 1761 made under the influence of one common design aesthetic (Baumgarten 2007: 19-20). They have worsted or silk fronts, wool batting and heavy wool backings. The group also had narrow, slanted parallel lines in the background of the quilted designs and the designs were drawn from nature, featuring animals and scrolling floral motifs. The design of the URI petticoat does not contain animals like the other petticoats of this grouping. But since the petticoat is only a small fragment of the original garment, the rest of the pattern may have contained animals.
References
Baumgarten, Linda, John Watson, and Florine Carr. Costume Close-Up: Clothing Construction and Pattern, 1750-1790. Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1999.
Baumgarten, Linda. "The Layered Look: Design in Eighteenth-Century Quilted Petticoats." Dress 34.1 (2007): 7-31.
Baumgarten, Linda. What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America. Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2002. Print.
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wool batting
plain weave silk backing
silk thread for sewing and quilting