Quilted Petticoat
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Frances Griswold
(American)
Clothing MakerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1740-1780
MediumHand-stitched and machine-stitched silk, linen, and cotton, with unidentified batting (probably cotton) and metal hooks and eyes
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (length x circumference at hem): 40 x 108in. (101.6 x 274.3cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Frances F. Armstrong in memory of Eleanor Wells Farnsworth and Francis P. Farnsworth
Object number1987.211.1
DescriptionQuilted petticoat of cream-colored silk, densely quilted with stylized designs, generally worked in concentric lines. A conical design worked in five wing-shaped tiers is repeated around the petticoat. A 3 3/4-inch-wide band around the bottom is quilted with a quatrefoil pattern. The top of the petticoat is quilted in concentric chevron lines. The backing fabric is plain-woven linen; the wadding is probably cotton. The top edge of the silk is stitched to a band of twill-woven white cotton, which is pleated (using a machine-stitch) to a strip of muslin, which in turn is machine-stitched to a wide waistband also of cotton. (This alteration of the waistline was probably done c.1875-1925. The original waistline would most likely have been controlled by a drawstring.) The bottom is finished with a knife edge covered by a silk tape (now mostly frayed away.)
Status
Not on view
