Sunday Spotlight: 1870's Petticoats

As I mentioned last week, I need to make a few more pieces of Victorian undergarments before I can finally make a huge ruffly white cotton bustle dress. The first thing on my list is a 1870's petticoat to wear over my Truly Victorian Imperial Tournure bustle. I may actually have to make more than one petticoat actually since my bustle is a dark color and the end gown will be crisp and white so I won't want the bustle to show through.

Though Truly Victorian does make an early bustle period petticoat pattern, I think I'm going to try and DIY something. The plan is to pick up a bunch of bleached muslin at Joanns this week and go to town. Lets look at some extant petticoats from museum collections to give you an idea of what I'll be going for...

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It seems like most examples for the 1870s are a 50/50 mix between the fullness of 1860s styles and the slimline natural form shape of the late 1870's and early 1880's. They aren't completely dissimilar from the A-line + back gathers/fullness of Edwardian petticoats, which I have made before so it won't be completely unfamiliar territory. It seems most essential to include enough fullness in the back to lay over the bustle and to plan for a bit of a train. Most petticoats above have a ruffle or two around the hem, so I plan on including a long ruffle all the way around plus perhaps a few additional ruffles in the back. I don't think I'll be including any fun lace or eyelet trimmings for my petticoat as it seems a bit of a waste to buy trimmings for something that won't be seen in the end!

Have any of you ever done any Victorian costuming before? I know a lot of people do Regency era costuming, which I have also never tried before. One day I'd love to have made something from each major fashion era, it's a long term goal of mine!