1750 Quilted petticoat
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1735-1770 Green silk satin quilted petticoat.
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The back of the petticoat
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Detail showing the lower end of the side opening
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Detail showing the pattern of the quilting round the hem
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Detail of the reverse of the quilting; a join in the calimanco backing can be seen
Description
The silk satin is backed on calimanco with wool wadding in between, and the running stitches of the quilting hold the layers together.
The pattern consists of lozenge shapes with curved sides, elongated at the lowest point. A border of stylised flowers and leaves, about 10" deep, goes round the hem, and this runs over two widths of the silk, which is 16" wide; the calimanco is 25¾" wide and the seams joining the panels do not coincide. The silk panels and the calimanco panels were joined separately and then put together with the wadding between, to be quilted.
The waistband had been unpicked and modern cotton tape has been sewn on following the visible folds at the original waist. There is one side opening, 13" long, on the left hand side, whose edges are bound with dull green silk tape, about ¾" wide, with ¼" showing on the silk. The seam on the other side has been unpicked for 7" at some point, and the calimanco under it has been cut, to provide another side opening. The modern tapes tie at each side.
The hem is bound with the same ¾" wide dull green silk tape, ⅛" showing over the silk.
Contemporary illustrations
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Portrait of a Woman Seated Beside a Table by Arthur Devis, 1739-1740. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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Detail from Sarah Lascelles, Mrs Christopher Lethieullier by Arthur Devis, 1749. National Trust
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Detail from Lady Juliana Penn (née Fermor), wife of Thomas Penn. Made on the occasion of her marriage to Thomas Penn, 1752. Philadelphia Museum of Art
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Engraving 1770
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History
Quilted petticoats were worn by all levels of society, for warmth but also to be seen, showing under an open robe.
This bill in the C. Hoare & Co. Archive is for various items of clothing, including a quilted petticoat which was probably similar to the one on this page. The bill was to Mrs. Hoare, the wife of Richard Hoare, a grandson of the the founder of Hoare's bank and Lord Mayor of London in 1745. The accountant has listed it as being from Mary Howard, for Stockings, and it was paid in 1738. Another bill in the archive, dated later in 1738, is also from Mary Howard for quilting a coat.
The "stuff" mentioned with the quilting refers to the wool wadding used for quilting the petticoat; wool was often called stuff in the eighteenth century.
The prices are in the pre-decimal currency of pounds, shillings and pence. Before 1971 a shilling was 12 old pence, equal to 5 new pence; a pound was 20 shillings.