There are two distinct types of underskirts worn underneath the outer skirts of an Elizabethan woman: an underskirt gathered to the waist, decorated with bands of fabric or trim if decorated at all, known as a petticoat; and the often elaborately decorated kirtle skirt, gored and fitted to the waist, which was worn over a spanish farthingale
Although the two words were somewhat interchangeable during Elizabethan times, this article refers to the gathered "petticoat" skirt, and not the gored kirtle.
Gathered petticoats are exceedingly simple in design. In the 16th century they were made of two or three broad pieces of fabric, each piece slightly flared. They were pleated with knife or box pleats to a very small waistband--only enough to cover the tops of the pleats--and laced or hooked closed. In some cases the fabric was pleated to a sleeveless bodice, in which case it became known as a "petticoat bodies". An example of a bodice probably used as a petticoat bodies can be found in Janet Arnold's book Patterns of Fashion 1560-1620. (Although there is no skirt attached, the stitching holes are still there, and Arnold surmises that this was it's purpose.)
Petticoats became more popular during the 1580s and 1590s. During Tudor & early Elizabethan times, the kirtle--an underdress with a flaring skirt--served the same purpose as a petticoat, but as skirts became wider and more gathered at the top, gathered petticoats were more often worn.
If you want a cool petticoat for summer wear, choose linen or a cotton linen-lookalike for the fabric. If you want a warmer petticoat or one with more bulk and weight to it, choose a woolen fabric. If you are primarily interested in a petticoat to give your skirts more body, look for a fabric with a lot of body, such as taffeta or a similarly stiff fabric.
Petticoats which were meant to be seen were made of a more expensive and/or decorative fabric than a woman's outer skirts, as they didn't face the daily wear and weathering that outer skirts did. Women would tuck their outer skirts up to display a fancy petticoat, or even two if they were wealthy enough to afford them. The lower classes would have had petticoats of wool, linen, or wool-linen blends; the more affluent would have petticoats of fine wool or perhaps a silk-wool or silk-linen blend. The upper classes, of course, would have petticoats of taffeta, shot silk, satin, or other silk-based fabric.
The great majority of petticoats mentioned in records of the time were red. Red wool, red silk, and even a reference to a red linen petticoat have been found. A bright red was an eye-catching and expensive color to produce, and had the added benefit (to the 16th century medical mind) of being healthy, as the red color stimulated warmth.
For more information on choosing the right fabric for your skirt, take a look at the article "Period Fabrics for Elizabethan Costuming".
On a side note, Hunnisett mentions in her book Period Patterns for Stage and Screen that taffeta petticoats allow the overskirts to slide well over them without catching, and are good for providing bulk without adding much to a skirt's weight.
Petticoats, and indeed kirtles and outer skirts as well, were often "guarded" along the bottom with a wide band of a contrasting fabric anywhere from 2 to 8 inches wide. As well as adding visual interest to a petticoat, this practice allows dirty, ripped or mudstained skirt hems to be more easily replaced; the fabric band is picked off and another applied, rather than the entire skirt needing to be cleaned or replaced. It is also a good method for lengthening a skirt or skirt material which is too short.
Appliqueing a number of narrow bands, or "welts" running parallel to the hem was another common method of decorating petticoats. Elizabeth's wardrobe sported dozens of satin or taffeta petticoats "guarded" with velvet, or "welted" with strips of silk taffeta. Less affluent women would used contrasting bands of wool or linen for this same decorative purpose. Adding bands of stiff fabric to the bottom of a petticoat helps a petticoat's hem to stand out more and gives the underskirt more bulk. Couched cord, trim, and embroidery was also applied to these bands or to the petticoat itself, and served the same stiffening purpose.
Petticoats were also lined in contrasting colors. Lining a petticoat gives it more body and, if the lining is of a good fabric, gives you two petticoats for the price of one--you can turn your petticoat inside out for a different colored underskirt.
Fabric:
If you are tall or plan to wear the petticoat over a large bumroll, 45 inch wide fabric may not be long enough to reach your feet. You would either want to use 60-inch wide fabric or buy an extra yard and a half of a contrasting fabric to lengthen the skirt--a very common practice during Elizabethan times.
If you want to make the petticoat reversable, or if you wish to line it with a different fabric, you will need the same amount of lining fabric as you have petticoat fabric.
If this measurement is greater than 45 inches, or if you want to put a strip of contrasting fabric on the bottom of your petticoat regardless, you will need to lengthen the fabric you have using the following method: Cut a strip of fabric out of a contrasting fabric. The width should be the finished width that you want the strip to be , plus 1 inch. (For example, if you want a 2-inch wide band at the bottom of your skirt, cut out a 3-inch wide strip of fabric; if you want an 8-inch wide band, cut out a 9-inch wide strip. You will need a strip of fabric the same length as your skirt fabric. Most likely you will have to cut out two or three strips, and sew them together to make a strip of the proper length.
Bands of contrasting fabric at the bottom of petticoats during Elizabethan times were called "guards" if they were wide, "welts" if they were narrow, and were very commonly used. Woodcuts and portraits show bands of fabric from 1 inch to 8 inches in width. For simple petticoats worn by servants and the not-so-wealthy, these strips of fabric would have been similar to the material of the petticoat--a linen petticoat would have linen bands, a woolen petticoat woolen bands. If you are making a fancy petticoat, of course, you can make the bottom band of velvet, satin, taffeta, or whatsoever your heart desires. .
Place the strip of edging fabric and the skirt fabric right sides together, and sew the two pieces together half an inch away from the edge. Iron this seam flat.
2) Sew the fabric into a tube.
Authentinote: Although all extant petticoats and petticoat patterns were slightly flared, it is much easier to make a tube-shaped petticoat. It achieves the same shape. You can if you wish cut two or three slightly flared pieces and sew them together into a flared tube, to make a more authentic petticoat. For a petticoat section 30 inches wide at the top, the bottom would have been, on average, 46 inches.
This step is pretty self-explanitory--match up the raw ends of the piece of fabric, right sides together, and sew them together 1/2 an inch away from the edge of the fabric. Start at the "bottom" of the skirt and stop sewing around 8 inches from the other end. If you have 3 yards of fabric, you should now have a tube 1.5 yds in diameter. If you have a contrasting band of fabric at the bottom of the skirt, you should pin the edges together before sewing them, making sure that the seams where the band meets the skirt fabric match up on either end.
If you are making a lined petticoat, repeat this same procedure with the lining Be sure that the lengths of the lining and the outer fabric are exactly the same, so they will match up without puckers, gathers or excess fabric when they're sewn together.
3) Hemming the Skirt.
Modern skirt-making techniques involve finishing the waistline and then trimming and hemming the skirt so that it is even all the way around. In Elizabethan times and for the next few centuries, the opposite method was used--The hem was finished first, and then the waistline was fitted so that the skirt hem was even all the way around.
Match up the bottom edge of the outer skirt fabric and the lining, right sides together. Sew these two layers of fabric together along the bottom of the skirt, 1/2 an inch away from the edge. Turn the two layers of fabric right side out, and iron the hem seam where they're joined together. Voila! You now have a hemmed and lined skirt. If the lining fabric is nice, this petticoat can even be reversible.
Here's a trick to make a petticoat with a lot of body to it--when you are sewing the bottom of the lining and the petticoat fabric together, lay a thin, folded strip of heavy canvas, duck or drill on top of the seam and sew it to the fabric. When you turn the petticoat right side out and iron it, this strip will make the hemline much stiffer, and help it stand out.
One more step you have to take, if this petticoat is lined--lay the skirt flat, and match up the top edges of the lining and the outer skirt fabric so that both layers are the same length. You don't want the lining bagging or gapping because it's longer than the outer fabric at some points. Baste the two layers together at the top.
4) Find the Waistline.
I generally make my petticoats somewhat shorter than the outer skirts, to keep from tripping on masses of fabric. Ankle length or even lower calf-length is a good length for a petticoat.
If you won't be wearing a bumroll beneath your petticoat, marking the waistline is easy--hold the tube of fabric up to your waist until the hem is at the position you want it, and mark the fabric where it meets your waist. Starting 1/2 an inch above this mark, trim the excess strip of fabric off the top of your petticoat.
If you are wearing a bumroll, farthingale, or some other shaping under the petticoat, the length of the petticoat won't be even all the way around. The following method for evening the hemline is a useful one for the non-mathematically inclined. (Although it is possible to do this alone, it is much easier with a friend or a dress form. )
First, Put on the bumroll, hoopskirt, etc., etc which will be worn under the petticoat. If you have a dress form, put these underpinnings on the form.
Tie a string or ribbon firmly around your middle (or the dress form's middle) at the point where you want the waistline to be. Starting with one side of the 8-inch opening in the petticoat side seam, place this edge at the place where you want the petticoat to fasten (front, side or back) and pull the top of the skirt up underneath this string, gathering it as you go, until all of the skirt fabric is gathered underneath the waistline string. Even out the gathers as much as you can, and then begin pulling the fabric up or down as necessary until the hemline is even. To the right is a picture, taken from Jean Hunnisett's "Period Patterns for Stage & Screen", illustrating this process.
Once you are satisfied that the hemline is even, mark the fabric at the waistline string with tailor's chalk or some other marking tool. Release the string, lay out the fabric, and mark a smooth line as close to the original markings as possible (they will be rather jagged). Trim the fabric 1/2 an inch above this mark.
5) Gather the Waistline.
You can choose to either gather or pleat your petticoat to a waistband. Either knife-pleating (where all the pleats face the same direction) or box-pleating (where pleats face alternate directions) is period. I prefer to pleat my petticoats rather than gathering them, as it enhances the period look of the clothing.
If you really want a petticoat which springs out from the waist, you can cartridege-pleat it instead. Cartridge-pleating is particularly effective with thick fabrics, such as wool, velvet and brocade, and petticoats which have been lined. Thinner fabrics like linen or satin are better off knife- or box-pleated. Whatever gathering method you choose, you may want to gather or pleat less in the front to keep a flatter line at the stomach; I leave the front six inches of my petticoats ungathered.
You can find pictures of all these pleats and more, as well as more detailed instructions on how to make them, in this Introduction to Pleats.
If you are making a lined petticoat, treat the lining and the outer fabric as one layer at this point.
To gather your petticoat, start 2 inches from the edge of the side opening and run two basting stitches, one 1/4 an inch above the other, 1/4 an inch from the top of the petticoat until you're two inches from the other edge of the side opening. Gather these two rows of stitching together until the top of the skirt is the same as your waist measurement, plus 1/2 to 1 inch (This will be taken up when the edges of the side opening are folded under and finished).
To pleat your petticoat, you can either eyeball the pleats (which is what I do), or measure them off with a ruler. Run a basting stitch over the pleats, 1/3 an inch away from the top edge of the petticoat, to keep them in place. You can also iron the pleats at the top edge of the skirt once they're pinned or basted.
To cartridge pleat a petticoat, take a look at this Short Tutorial on Cartridge Pleating.
6) Finish the side opening.
Before you put the waistband on the skirt, you have to finish the raw edges of the side opening. If your petticoat is unlined, this means turning the raw edges under and hemming them down. If your petticoat is lined, turn the edges of the outer petticoat fabric and the inner lining between the two layers of fabric, and whipstitch the edge where the two layers meet together. This is the time to make sure that the side opening is wide enough that the petticoat can slip over your hips; if not, rip the seam out a little more until it can. Reinforce the bottom of this side opening with stitches so that it won't rip out more.
7) Sew on the waistband/bodice. This skirt can be used as the skirt of a gown, kirtle or petticoat bodies, as well as a separate petticoat. Constructing an Elizabethan Kirtle tells you how to incorporate it into a dress.
For a petticoat, however, you'll need a waistband. Once the top of the skirt has been gathered or pleated, cut a small band of fabric 1 1/2 inches wide and the length of your waist measurement plus 2 inches. Place this band on the right side of your petticoat, with the edge of the bandeven with the edge of your gathered or pleated petticoat waistline. Sew the band to the petticoat 1/2 an inch away from the edge. Reinforce this seam with another seam, about 1/8 an inch nearer the edge, and perhaps even a zig-zag stitch between the seam and the edge of the fabric.
Trim the excess fabric off so that 1/3 of an inch of fabric remains between the seam and the top edge of the petticoat. Fold the band over to the inside, fold the end up, and hand-stitch it down using a strong quilting thread. This waistband is going to see some wear and tear every time the petticoat is stepped on, pulled or otherwise stressed, so it's important to make the waistband strong.
Your petticoat is pretty much finished! The waistband is quite small compared to modern standards--no more than a band to finish off the top edge of the skirt--but as it's a petticoat and will be worn beneath a skirt, you don't have to worry about a gap showing between it and the bodice. It also decreases the amount of fabric around your waist. I wear my petticoats slightly below waist level; what with a smock,farthingale, bumroll, petticoat, skirt and gown, I try to keep the waistbands as non-bulky as possible.
You can tie your petticoat together with ribbons at either edge of the side opening, or use (large and sturdy) hooks and eyes for the same purpose. both fastening methods were used during Elizabethan times.
If you want to add some pizazz to your petticoat--and give it more bulk at the hemline--you can stitch rows of cord or applique thin strips of fabric or trim around the bottom. (See the section on "Decorating your Petticoat" above)