Are they Petticoats or Pettiskirts?

At training this year at TITP I heard the term pettiskirt.  I assumed it was supposed to be the same as a petticoat.  I checked with Elizabeth Stewart Clark and it's not a term she's run across in period sources.  More common terms for a petticoat, according to Liz, would be underskirts, or even just skirts (The Dressmaker's Guide, 153).  Perhaps "pettiskirt" is just a combination of "petticoat" and "underskirt"?

For additional concise details on petticoats, see Liz's FREE Basic Petticoat Pattern as well as my Petticoat post.

Corded Hoopish Skirt

Yesterday we had the occasion to dress up as Pioneers for a care center. My parents came with, and my mom wore her old Pioneer dress from 1997 with my sister's puffy wedding slip underneath. It looked great! Since my petticoat is a little too long, I thought I could sew another tuck into it to pull it up a bit. Then I had a better idea. Why don't I sew some "runners" (isn't that what they're called? You know some narrow tucks) into it and feed some flexible, but somewhat stiff something through it?

So, the kids and I swung by the hardware store, saw some electrical wire, vinyl tubing, other tubing, then I wondered, what about that weed-whacker string stuff? So, that is what I got! There's a little bit of twist in it that I could do without, but maybe it will relax.

Too bad I just have to take out the wire/string now, since I really don't need a fuller skirt for my duties at TITP.

Now I just need to figure out a good way to tighten the waistband of my dress!

If you want to do make a corded or hooped petticoat the the real way, see Elizabeth Stewart Clark's, The Dressmaker's Guide!

Haversack/Possibles Bag

I was just browsing for a minute and saw this Mormon Battalion Trek website.  It had a really basic elastic waist pioneer skirt pattern -- not authentic, but it would probably work for a petticoat.

It also mentioned a "haversack."  That's one of those terms where I'm feeling like I should have heard that before, but don't recall it at all.  Apparently it's one of those over the shoulder bags made out of "heavy cotton muslin."

"Size was one foot square with one or three closure buttons. The strap is about 1½” wide and long enough to let the haversack rest on your left hip."

Hmm, I feel a tutorial coming on.  I'll have to research a bit more, though.

According to http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-haversack.htm, "At one point, haversacks were standard issue for many militaries. Soldiers carried a small amount of food in their haversacks, along with other vitally important supplies. Over time, haversacks were replaced by rucksacks and later backpacks."

Petticoats

I had some misinformation on here regarding women's clothing. I was able to talk to Elizabeth Stewart Clark about it and she gave me some good basics regarding petticoats.
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Petticoats: two or more is definitely very common. They are usually gathered to a fitted waistband, and hemmed between lower calf and an inch or two above the skirt hem [note: not peeking out below your skirt!]. In the 40s and 50s, petticoats are combined with corded underskirts to give better support. After 1857, hoops come back into popular use, and then the main skirt supports are a modest hoop with one or two petticoats over it. The average ranges for petticoat fullness at mid-century run from a narrow version (130" or so) to quite full (180"), with most falling somewhere between 140" and 180".

I don't suggest using elastic in petticoats. It's far more bulky than a fitted band, and just can't support the weight of a full petticoat as comfortably as a fitted band. And, I've not yet found any documentation for petticoats with elastic banding at the top. Drawstrings are really atypical for petticoats, too. As you've found, they slip! Gathering to a fitted band is the best, most historic option.

While cotton sheeting can be used for undergarments, I do recommend those sheets be white, as that is the most common undergarment color. When undergarments are another color than white, they are generally also wool; natural and red wools show up for winter use, particularly for petticoats and wool flannel drawers.

While some [dress] skirts were recycled into petticoats, white petticoats are also very common. In some working situations, a patterned underskirt is a great option!
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Liz has more good info on petticoats and how to make them.

Petticoat

I made this petticoat using Elizabeth Stewart Clark's free pattern; however, I did use an elastic waistband since my shape was in change mode (obviously expecting). Some say red was a common undergarment color, but white is definitely more accurate.