Round Gown Petticoat

I whipped up the linen petticoat that Laura will be wearing under the round gown.  I didn't want to go all out and make a "bodice" petticoat...I just didn't think it was necessary.  And I have seen a few petticoats on line that were made like this one, and thought I would give it a try.  It really isn't difficult at all!

Here's what I did.

I used two, underbust to floor length pieces of 60" fabric.  One for the front, and one for the back.  The piece that I used for the back, I cut in half lengthwise down the middle.  I sewed the cut edges of the back pieces to the selvage edges of the front piece, forming side seams.  Next, I sewed up the back seam, stopping about 6" from the top, to give Laura some room to get into the petticoat. (these edges were selvage edges, so I left them unfinished.)  Then, I ran two rows of long gathering stitches across the top edge of the front piece, and the top edges of the two back pieces, stopping about a 1/4" from the seams/edges.

I then made a long waist band, long enough to be able to go around the underbust or ribcage and have some left over to tie in the back.  I made the kind that you fold in half lengthwise, then fold the edges into the middle and press.  I gathered the top of the skirt, and carefully pinned it all inside of the waist band, and stitched all the way down the band, going across the gathers. 

Last but not least, I made two wide straps, and sewed one end of each strap to the inside of the side/front area of the waist band.  I'm waiting for Laura to come and try it on before I attach the back of the petticoat straps.  This way, they fit her body perfectly.