Thursday, May 13, 2010

A petticoat!

So I thought I'd sell a petticoat on eBay and make some money. I decided to make it a tucked petticoat because it's unusual for the petticoats selling on eBay and it just plain sells for more money. I bought a bolt of muslin (turns out that broadcloth is actually closer to the stuff actually used in the 1860s) at an exTREmely good rate, and set to. I started off with a six yard long piece that was 108" wide, thinking I'd take up all the excess with tucks.

Do you know how long it takes to tuck a 6 yard piece of fabric? I'm fast, and I averaged half an hour per tuck! I usually measure, iron, sew and iron again, and then start the process all over! I hand felled the one seam I put in (not too period correct, but I did it for simplicity's sake) hand-gauged the waist, hand sewed the band to the gauging and voila! It is beautiful. I tried it on and immediately ripped a long tear next to my beautifully hand-felled seam, though. After I had re-enforced the rear opening (with an excellent attitude, I might add! I was so glad that my first reaction was to start thinking of how to fix it, not be upset!!) I realized that I didn't want to sell it. That is the one problem with liking what I do so much. My creations are mine, and I don't want to give them up. Feeling some empathy with those flaky artists who want to concentrate on their art and not be bothered with vulgar monetary matters. :D

So here is my petticoat, now listed on eBay for a shockingly high price. I'm attempting to see what exactly it is worth to other people.







2 comments:

  1. Ooh, I love it!! I can't imagine doing all of those tucks.. I would only do it if I had a good, experienced friend to sit by and talk to me while helping me along... She would probably have to stop every 3 words to tell me I was doing it wrong. LOL!

    How much are you listing it for??

    Sarah H

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  2. Ah! So sorry I haven't gotten to this before! I've taken it off because it didn't sell, and I want to get some better pictures before putting it back up again. I listed it at $120.00 to begin with, and dropped it twice down to 90.00. Life has been so crazy I've only been doing modern sewing for other things, and haven't even put any of them up!

    Thanks so much! It did take me a long time to put in all the tucks. I got a great story on cd, put it on my iPod and just went on tucking. :D And tucks aren't that bad, either! It helps if you've got a great iron, and good measuring skills, but you basically do it like turning a hem - you measure and iron, then sew 5/8 from the edge of the turn, open up the fabric and iron that tuck down! And I do so like them...

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