Petticoat

“ This type of petticoat was popular in Spain in the late 15th 73 century,19 but was not adopted in France, Italy, and England until the second half of the 16th century.
Figure 8.—Dress of a French woman (back view) showing the manner in which the bodice was laced and the hood fell at the back. The skirt is raised, revealing the farthingale petticoat with the roll at its hem which contained cane stiffening (verdugo) . From Omnium gentium habitus . . . , 1563 ed. (Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum, London.) ”

“ Say, you waitress!”
Of the love-making of Warble and Big Bill Petticoat there is nothing to be reported which may not be read in any Satevepost serial, which may not be heard at any summer resort, in any winter garden. They were zoology and history. Their speech was free silver and their silence was golden.
It was a non-stop courtship. All the plump beauty of youth and all the assured complacence of a well-to-do married man kept them up in the air. ”

“ Big Bill Petticoat was far from being effeminate. He was found of aesthetics and anaesthetics, and his chief interests in life were beauty and his big bills.
“What's the use of beauty, if a thing isn't useful?” Warble would ask, and Petticoat would reply, “What's the use of use, anyway? There's no use in having anything that isn't beautiful.”
And as the house was under Petticoat rule, Big Bill won out.
“You must have a party, Warble,” Petticoat said, as he fitted a long, slim cigarette into a long, slim holder. ”

“ The petticoat was of serge, flannel, or tabby, a species of colored silk cloth; it was also made of printed linen or dimity, and was trimmed with silk or silver lace. An outfit of gown, petticoat, and green stockings, composed of woollen material, is often entered in the inventories. The coverings for the head were of several kinds; there were sarsnet and calico hoods, palmetto hats [134] and bonnets trimmed with lace, to be used on special occasions. Black tippets were worn on the lower portion of the arms, and the hands were concealed by thread gloves. ”

“ For him the universe did not extend beyond the circumference of her petticoat, and he reproached himself with not loving her. ”

“ I think it is obvious that the utmost extent to which we ought to go, in yielding to the fashion, as it regards form, is to use three pieces of clothing—the shirt, the petticoat and the frock; all of which must be as loose as possible; and before the infant begins to crawl about much, the latter should be long, for the salve of covering the feet and legs. At four or five years of age, loose trowsers, with boys, may be substituted for the petticoat; but it is a question whether something like the frock might not, with every individual, be usefully retained through life. ”

“ “The toxin generates the anti-toxin. The end lies concealed in the beginning. All bodies grow around a skeleton. Life is a petticoat about death. ”

“ You will see that little pleats are made instead of gathers to bring the petticoat to the size of the band; the pleats set better in the flannel than gathers.
Finish the bottom of the petticoat with a hem and tuck. How to make a tuck was described on page 18.
The set of underwear illustrated was made for a doll 18 inches high, measuring from the top of the head to the sole of the foot. For this size set, about one yard of nainsook and a quarter of a yard of flannel will be sufficient. Two yards of lace edging, a yard of embroidery edging and two yards of bébé ribbon will also be needed. ”

“ She was in a petticoat now, and corsets which bulged, and unaware of being seen in bulgy corsets. She had become so dully habituated to married life that in her full matronliness she was as sexless as an anemic nun. ”

“ That instinct showed itself in many little ways. She was sometimes extravagant—bought a silk petticoat when a cotton one would have done just as well, but, oh heavens! it was cheap! You would scarcely have thought it possible to buy silk petticoats at the price. And no doubt the appearance of the silk was only superficial. But it gave her a great deal of pleasure. When any lady stepped down from her carriage to go into one of those West End shops, Sally always noticed the petticoat that she wore. Women will—men too, perhaps. ”

“ False hips in 1709 soon gave way to a hoop or mild compressible whalebone frame-work under the skirt or petticoat. These petticoats were numerous and variable, made of rich material; we hear of black Russell petticoats flowered, of ash colour silk quilted petticoats, of scarlet and gold Atlas petticoats edged with silver, of yellow chintz petticoats, black velvet petticoats, &c. But if women were thus fanciful over their hoop petticoats, men were quite as particular over their wigs. The wig dominated all good dressing, and was to be found on men and even boys of every class of society. ”

“ I come from Yemen. My race is that of Asra, and when we love, we die."
And likewise a voice kept saying in my heart, "If ever you find your Golden Bride, be sure she will die."
CHAPTER XIV THE MYSTERIOUS PETTICOAT
The sad thoughts with which this incident naturally left me were at length and suddenly dispersed, as sad thoughts not infrequently are, by a petticoat. When I say petticoat, I use the word in its literal sense, not colloquially as a metaphor for its usual wearer, meaning thereby a dainty feminine undergarment seen only by men on rainy days, and one might add washing-days. ”

“ The women's dress is a short petticoat, made of the filaments of the plantain-tree, laid over a cord, to which they are fastened, and tied round the waist. The petticoat is made at least six or eight inches thick, but not one inch longer than necessary for the use designed. The outer filaments are dyed black; and, as an additional ornament, the most of them have a few pearl oyster-shells fixed on the right side. ”

“ People might die on one side of him from water on the brain and on the other side from water on the palate, not a prescription could they get out of Big Bill Petticoat unless they could put up unmistakable symptoms of ptomaine poisoning. ”

“ Having once derived the petticoat, however, from the ancestral shawl, it is a very simple matter to proceed and evolve a pair of trousers. As a matter of fact, the Eastern women, when they fasten their petticoats between their ankles for convenience in walking, demonstrate the first stage in the production of bifurcated garments. ”

“ The young women were got up with greater attention to dress and finery than when seen on shore, and some had their face blackened as if to heighten their attractions. The outer petticoat, worn on gala days such as this, differs from the common sort in being much finer in texture and workmanship, besides being dyed red and green, with intermediate bands of straw colour and broad white stripes of palm-leaf. It is made of long bunches of very light and soft shreds, like fine twisted grass, apparently the prepared leaf of a calamus or rattan. ”

“ Instead, place a band around the waist of the person being fitted, pin the petticoat to the band, then make large darts at each seam and cut off that superfluous material that otherwise would need to be put into gathers. It does not destroy the shape and permits the petticoat to lie smoothly over the hips. ”

“ Look at the pattern book and choose a simple petticoat. We shall learn to make one with a ruffle. It is very useful in summer to wear under thin dresses, although some girls may prefer to make a slip which combines petticoat and waist. What sizes shall we order? How much cloth will be required? We shall need three lengths of cloth for the skirt. Let us take our length measures for the skirt, allowing four inches extra for hem and finishing. Those who wish to make ruffles of the material will need one yard extra of same cloth or of lawn. ”

“ The bottom of the skirt may lie embroidered, scalloped or trimmed with feather-stitching, or the hem can be finished as shown in Illustrations 173 and 174 on page 92.
The princess petticoat is fastened on one or both shoulders by ribbons or buttonholes. The neck and armhole edges may be bound with ribbon or tape or finished with a scalloped edge worked in white embroidery silk. (Ill. 117.) If the petticoat is to be embroidered don't cut out the neck and armhole but mark the outline of the pattern with a colored Ill. 119. Petticoat Joined to Single Body Ill. ”

“ A short-coated baby requires a merino vest, high in winter, low in summer, cambric shirt, small stays, either quilted or made of jean, on to which the flannel petticoat is sewn, white washing petticoat and frock. In the winter there should be in addition a warm white woollen knitted petticoat and bodice in one, not skimpy, but long and full, and knitted with fine soft wool, not the common heavy sorts. ”

“ Big Bill asked, gently, for Polly was a very pretty girl. “Oh, my ear! It aches and stings and burns and smarts and—”
“That'll do for a beginning,” Dr. Petticoat said, rolling up his sleeves and calling for basins of sterilized water and various antiseptics and disinfectants.
“Can you do anything, Bill?” Warble asked anxiously, “it isn't ptomaines, you know.”
“That's the devil of it! Why couldn't the silly thing have had a decent bit of ptomaine poisoning instead of this foolish earache. But, it's more than an earache! The bally ear has been stung—or something—anything bite you, Polly?” ”

“ If petticoat fastens on the shoulder do not close the shoulder seams. Finish neck and armholes with a narrow bias facing. Sew on facing just as casing was sewed to bottom of camisole, Lesson III, but finish facing only one-quarter inch wide.
French seam underarms. Fold under a seam's width at bottom of petticoat and press. Then run a draw thread around bottom. Turn hem desired depth and draw up thread at top of hem until top of hem is the same size as the petticoat at that point. (See Fig. 33.) Fell hem in place. ”

“ It was however, early applied to the skirt worn by women hanging from the waist, Whether as the principal lower garment or as an underskirt. In the middle of the 17th century the wide breeches with heavy lace or embroidered ends worn by men were known as "petticoat breeches," a term also applied to the loose canvas or oilskin overalls worn by fishermen. ”

“ Decidedly, orphans' ears need to be softened. But Dr. Robin MacRae doesn't give a hang whether their ears are becoming or not; what he cares about is their stomachs. We also split upon the subject of red petticoats. I don't see how any little girl can preserve any self-respect when dressed in a red flannel petticoat an irregular inch longer than her blue checked gingham dress; but he thinks that red petticoats are cheerful and warm and hygienic. I foresee a warlike reign for the new superintendent. ”

“ In one way, at least, we need improvement, and that is in our carriage, for in that so many women and girls fail. They stoop from the neck, or from the waist, and slouch along in a most ungraceful way.
I must begin with a few notes on underclothing. So far as I can see, the petticoat bodice is very little worn; most ladies seem to prefer having the bodice fitted over the corset, and wearing it in that manner, the corset itself being worn over the petticoat. ”

“ The women have a short petticoat reaching from the hips to the knees, a jacket, and round their waists a band, often ten inches wide, of bark or bamboo, kept together by brass wire or rattans. It fits tight, and is only removed on the woman becoming pregnant. ”

“ In addition to the rat-garment used by the men, the women wear a kind of fringed petticoat suspended from the waist down to the knees, made of the inner rind of the cedar bark, and twisted into threads, which hang loose like a weaver’s thrums, and keep flapping and twisting about with every motion of the body, giving them a waddle or duck gait. ”

“ Instead of a petticoat, girls commonly wear a piece of woollen stuff, which laps across in front, without forming a single plait, and is fastened by a long, narrow scarf, embroidered at the ends. Their legs are quite bare, and any rather sudden movement may open their singular garment more than is consistent with decorum. ”

“ Rear view of a girl covered with a damp, draggled, dirt-coloured skirt, which gapes at the waistband from the 'body,' disclosing a good glimpse of soiled stays (ribs burst) , and yawns behind over a decidedly dirty white petticoat, the slit of which last, as she reaches forward and backs out convulsively, half opens and then comes together in an unsatisfactory, startling, tantalising way, and allows a hint of a red flannel under-something. ”

“ A green silk knit Waistcoat with gold and silver flowers all over it, and about fourteen yards of gold and silver thick lace on it. And a Petticoat of rich strong flowered satin red and white, all in great flowers or leaves, and scarlet flowers with black specks brocaded in, raised high like Velvet or Shag. ”

“ Whole texts of the Bible are said to have been inscribed on the edges of gowns and petticoats.
"She is a Puritan at her needle too
She works religious petticoats."
Elaborate vines of flowers and other scroll designs were worked on petticoats, often in colored crewels. There still exists the linen petticoat of Rebecca Taylor Orne, a Salem dame who lived to be one hundred and twenty years old. It is deeply embroidered with trees, vines, flowers, and fruits, on homespun linen. Silk petticoats were also embroidered and painted by young girls, and are beautiful pieces of work. ”

“ On special occasions a petticoat, which comes down to the feet, is worn, while indoors a pair of trousers is added; which in the north is fastened round the ankles with ribbons, and left loose in the south. ”