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th
19 Century Corded
Petticoats
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Silhouettes – 1820 to 1860
1826 Vienna Moden
Late 1820s Modes de Paris
As the slim skirts of the Regency started to be cut out in shaped panels to widen the hem, petticoats
started to be worn to help hold the skirt out. This 1826 plate clearly shows later 1820s fashion with the
larger gigot sleeves and hemline. Notice the waistline is still flat. The plate with the black dress shows
more fullness at the waist due to additional petticoats that sit at the waistline.
Throughout the 1830s skirts continued to widen. Several layers of petticoats began to be worn, including
a corded petticoat or crinoline made with horsehair.
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1830 Modes de Paris
1837 February La Mode
1844 La Mode Parisiennes
1851 La Mode Parisiennes
By the 1840s and throughout the 1850s, so many petticoat layers were worn that the skirts took on a
distinct dome shape. Ruffles were added to skirts to assist in the visualization of wider skirt hems and
narrow waistlines.
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Early 1850s Le Follet-Graham’s
1855 Godey’s
The wired cage crinoline was invented in June 1856. As you can see in the Le Follet fashion plate, the
skirts are very full and fold softly at the hem.
Ginny can tell that those girls have
a few petticoats on under those
skirts! A fan would be a must when
at a ball and dancing.
As with all fashion, the corded petticoat did not disappear right away. However, with the freedom of
movement and less weight provided by the caged hoop skirt, I’m sure women would have adopted the
new undergarment quickly.
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The Back Story of Romantic Era Fashions
After the Prince Regent was crowned in 1820, and before Victoria was crowned Queen of England in
1837, these seventeen years came to be known as the Romantic Era. Of course these are not inclusive
dates, as fashion does not change, literally, overnight. Poetry by Poe and Longfellow became popular,
and early romantic music written by Beethoven and Chopin shaped social events.
The slender lines of Regency fashions in the late 1810s started to flare out – both at the shoulders and
the hems. The huge gigot sleeve developed in the late ‘20s and became even bigger in the ‘30s, and
panels were added to skirts to increase width.
Waistlines began to drop rapidly, from high under the bust around 1817 to just above the natural waist by
the late 1820s.
Queen Victoria, an icon of fashion trends, embraced romantic, feminine lines, demure in looks and
submissive in the downward pointing hair, shoulder line and pointed bodices, all popular in the 1840s.
The Undergarments
The wired crinoline, or hoop skirt, was first patented in the mid-1850s. Thin spring steel rows were
attached to twill tapes hanging vertically from a waistband. These undergarments were a blessing to
women as it freed them from multiple layers of petticoats.
But before then, women generally layered up to 5 petticoats at once. The corded petticoat or crinoline
was the 2nd layer out from the skin. (A narrow under-petticoat was the first layer next to the legs.)
If your goal is to wear the corded petticoat as an outer garment, to be seen rather than as an
undergarment, then study the sewing techniques. If you are building a new costume from the mid-19th
century, look closely at the skirt shapes of fashion plates and existing garments and photographs to sew
your petticoat as needed for the desired look.
With a bit of research and a few basic sewing steps, you can have your own foundation to the
proper mid-19th Century silhouette!
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Some Original Petticoats and Their Measurements
Petticoat
A
Hem
Width
82”
Length
34 ¾”
B
90”
37”
C
91”
37 ½”
D
92”
32 ½”
E
F
G
H
I
99”
100”
104”
105”
111 ¾”
37”
35 ½”
35”
38 ¾”
36”
Fabric
Cotton –
2 ½ panels
Cord Size &
Type
3/16” sisal rope
warp-woven
into fabric
Cotton with white
work
1/16” twisted
cotton sewn in
pintucks
Very lightweight,
semi-sheer
muslin
1/8” cotton
weft-woven
into fabric
Cotton muslin – 2
panels
1/8” cotton
weft-woven
into fabric
Medium weight
cotton muslin
3/16” sisal rope
and 3/16”
cotton cord
Cotton muslin – 4
panels
3/16” cotton
Heavy twill – 4
panels
Very lightweight
cotton
Very fine lightweight cotton – 3
panels
1/8” soft cotton
weft-woven
into fabric
# of
Cording
Rows
28 – 21
with ½”
space, 7
with 1½”
space
Distance
From Top
Cord to
Waistband
5”
20 with 1/8”
spaces
22”
40 with 3/8”
spaces
5”
36 with ¼”
spaces
13 – 3 at
hem in
facing, 10
in tucks
with 2-3”
spaces
29 – 8 at
hem in
facing, 21
in tucks
with 1”
spaces
45 with ¼”
spaces
1/16” tightly
twisted linen
cord weftwoven into
fabric
80 – 6
bands with
1/16”
spaces and
2” between
bands
1/16” twisted
cotton weftwoven into
fabric
134 – 24 at
hem, 18
groups of 9
with 5/8”
spaces
4”
9 ½”
9”
18”
4”
4 ¼”
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Thank you to Carolann Schmitt of Genteel Arts for her past research of corded petticoats, of which some of the above measurement
information was found on www.CWReenactors.com/forum.
You can see that most original corded petticoats varied between 80 and 112 inches.
That averages to 96” in width. With most muslin fabrics, you can use just two panels of 45” width to come
within that original average. I recommend staying within that range to have the proper weight and support
structure necessary for the petticoat to “work.”
Original Fabrics and Cording
The word crinoline comes from ‘crin’ meaning horsehair and ‘lin’ for flax that is used for making linen
fabric. Crinoline was originally fabric that was woven with actual horsehair to make it stiff. Sometimes the
hair was sewn into fabric.
An Original 1830s Corded Petticoat
™ Original Fabrics: Muslin, calico, cambric (cotton or linen), twill, organdy and sheer cottons, and
heavier polished cotton (chintz)
™ Original Cording: Cotton cord (most often), sisal or linen rope, and scrap strips of linen or wool
™ Original Waistband Closures: Cotton twill drawstrings, buttons
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Most corded petticoats were made from a cotton fabric that varied from light- to medium-weight. These
fabrics would be firmly woven with a natural stiffness or hand (the feel and drape of a fabric). Their
calicos imitate our modern muslins.
An Original 1830s Corded Petticoat Showing
the Sisal Rope and the Original Closure Ties
Historical Note: Fabric woven with
cording was not too hard to find in
the early 19th Century as cords were
woven into the fabric as it was made
on the loom. You could visit your
local dry-goods store and purchase
two to three yards, go home and sew
in a seam, hem the piece and attach to
a waistband, and you would have a
corded petticoat for tomorrow.
However, some women chose to
insert their own cording into their
own selected fabric. This was one of
those long-term projects as many
rows were needed to give support,
but all was done by hand as this was
before sewing machines.
The original cords that were used varied from
sisal rope (similar to hemp rope) to twisted
cotton and tucks stuffed with small pieces of
linen, cotton, or wool. Ginny has seen an
original corded petticoat that has both rope and
cotton cord sewn in. Sizes ranged from 1/8” to
1/4” in diameter.
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The Big Debate: Corded or Hoop?
The original 1830s petticoat
drawstring closure.
We’ll not go into great detail on historical use, but the general consensus is that once the wired hoop
Note that the twill
skirt/crinoline became widely manufactured, women jumped at the chance to free their lower limbs
drawstrings are just folded
from the layers of petticoats and did not retreat back to their corded petticoats. Hoop skirts were
over and tacked to the
inexpensive and readily available to nearly all women.
finished ends of the
waistband and hemmed.
When you adopt a new style/fashion or better-made clothing, you rarely go back to what you were
wearing before. Take, for instance, late-19th Century corsets. As more “health corsets” appeared on
the market, women adopted these new styles and let the waist-cinching,
heavily-boned corset fade away.
It is the same with the mid-20th Century girdle. Today we have much better “body shapers” in hightech fabrics to hold in all the unsmooth areas so that we no longer wear girdles.
So in my opinion, (and you can disagree), our ancestors put off wearing corded petticoats when the
freeing hoop came their way. But that does not mean the garment itself became obsolete. It may
have been many years before everyone stopped wearing them. Once a new contraption is on the
market, the older model is not written or talked about. The wired hoop skirt was created in June 1856.
However, women probably still wore corded petticoats and crinolines for a few years more.
Specifically speaking of American Civil War reenactors, much discussion is heard on whether to wear
a corded petticoat or a wired hoop skirt when working around campfires; which undergarment is safer.
In my own Civil War reenacting circles this is widely debated. However, within my specific group
(Historical Citizens Assoc.), our delightful cook, Miss Violet Johnson, prefers a small wired hoop rather
than layers of corded and plain petticoats. She stays cooler with the hoop. She also finds it easier to
maneuver around the cooking area in a hoop that has a slight “swing” to it. I have to agree.
But some say the softer folds of the corded petticoat are less likely to brush the fire. Possibly so. But
all of us must remember to practice attentive fire safety when around ANY campfire –
period setting or not.
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The Look of a Corded Petticoat
As an Undergarment
Let’s take a look at the effect of
wearing a corded petticoat.
In this series of photos, you can see
the effect of the corded petticoat
worn underneath a plain petticoat.
First is the plain layer without the
corded petticoat then what it looks
like over the corded petticoat.
You can see the width of the overpetticoat is slightly flared at the hem
and lies more evenly around over
the corded petticoat. You can also
see that by not taking the cords up
closer to the waist that only the skirt
hem is flared and the silhouette
becomes more bell-shaped rather
than domed.
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Now look at this one:
This corded petticoat has an 82” hem width with cords sewn high up to the waist.
You can see the over-petticoat lies smoothly around the corded petticoat. What is clearly
seen is the effect of the cording being sewn as close to the waistband as possible. This
gives a nice 1840s dome shape to the over-petticoat.
Related Websites & Books
The Civil War Reenactors –CWR Forums
The Sewing Academy – Elizabeth Stewart Clark
Wikipedia.org
Cunnington, C.Willett. English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century. Dover Publications,
Inc., 1992.
Cunnington, C.Willett and Phillis. The History of Underclothes. Dover Publications, Inc., 1992.
Hunnisett, Jean. Period Costume for Stage & Screen: Patterns for Women’s Dress 1800-1909.
Players Press, 1991.
Taschen. Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century. (Kyoto Institute)
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Want to learn how to make a
corded petticoat?
Simply click below to buy the
19th Century Corded Petticoats Workbook
to learn two of the best sewing construction methods.
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