Gored Petticoat, c.1873

Over the horsehair bustle pad goes a gored petticoat. Per a note in Demorest's (1875), the order for skirt supports is a short underskirt, then the tournure, then the upper petticoat, and finally the dress. This upper petticoat is meant to be cut along the same lines as the skirt which will be worn over it. Various sources explain the necessity for gored skirts to be worn over gored petticoats (examples from 1865 and 1873, and even some doll dress instructions from 1872).

For this dress and petticoat, I used the gored skirt instructions in The Complete Dressmaker (1875), using only 1 gore to each side on account of the fabric width. I ended up making the petticoat 4" longer at the back than at the front, allowing for the bustle. The skirt is attached flat to its waistband along the front panel and the start of the side gores; the rest is knife-pleated, meeting in a double box pleat at the center back. If I had more time, I meant to gauge this back section, but I'm satisfied with how the pleats have held shape, and don't plan to change them.