18th c. Quilted Petticoat Progress

I realize I did a lot of work for my trip to Colonial Williamsburg that I then didn’t finish in time…and didn’t share with you.

Followers on Facebook will know I found a large satin quilt on eBay, with the intent to turn it into a quilted petticoat, which I gleefully started as soon as it arrived, abandoning all other projects remorselessly!

The quilt laid out, ready to cut

I cut the quilt up into panels, 3 for front and 3 for back, then wrestled the bulky thing through the sewing machine, attaching extensions to the waist to reduce bulk in the waistband. It was difficult, and at some point in there I stopped working on it.

I ended up slightly goring the panels, to reduce some of the bulk and weight at the waist. It certainly gives a lot of volume, and looks lovely.

I decided I didn’t have room for the petticoat in my suitcase, and when planning out all the mix-and-match, there was only one gown completed that the petticoat would go with. So I abandoned it remorselessly!

After freezing my stockings off in the wet weather in CW, I wish I’d finished the quilted petticoat and taken it! It’s still not quite done (close, though), but I have an itch to finally put together the little pierrot jacket that’s been on my list forever, which will go perfectly with the petticoat…just in time for Summer, right? Ha!

The Colonial Williamsburg reproduction fabric I brought back several years ago, still waiting to become a jacket

I’m still in sewing recovery mode, but the inspiration and motivation are starting to come back, so I may settle down and finish the petticoat soon, then put the jacket together – a nice, quick, simple project (famous last words?). More later!