This antique Edwardian lace petticoat is so airy and pretty with lace insertions, pintucks and a wide Valenciennes lace flounce!

This antique lace petticoat is from the Edwardian era. Like my antique Edwardian lace chemise, my antique 1920s marcel wave iron and my antique Victorian linen chemise, I found it on ebay!

Antique Edwardian Lace Petticoat

Late Edwardian Petticoat

The antique lace petticoat is likely from the late Edwardian era or the 1910s because it’s a slim cut skirt without a wide flounce at the bottom.

‘The style of the ruffled petticoat, the same as the plain, varies according to the style of the outside skirt. Wide petticoats with full ruffles come into use with the fuller dress skirts, while narrow petticoats with scant ruffles are desirable with the narrower dress skirts.’ (School Sewing Based On Home Problems, 1916)

The Flounce

The flounce is trimmed with Valenciennes lace insertions, machine-sewn pintucks and a wide Valenciennes lace trim at the bottom.

‘While plain petticoats are necessary for everyday wear, the summer dress, party dress, or silk gown calls for a trimmed underskirt.’ (School Sewing Based On Home Problems, 1916)

For the flounce they used a thinner fabric than for the rest of the lace petticoat. Because the fabric is so sheer and delicate, there are some damages.

‘Longcloth is very desirable for petticoats, making the fuffles of thinner lawn trimmed with lace or embroidery.’ (Los Angeles Herald, 1907)

‘The ruffle on the skirt may be made of rows of lace and insertion sewed together by hand, or lapped slightly and stitched on the machine and finished with a lace edge; or it may be made with lawn or fine cotton material trimmed with a lace edge, or one or more rows of lace insertion, depending on the desired width of the ruffle.’ (School Sewing Based On Home Problems, 1916)

Dust Ruffle

Like all Edwardian petticoat, it has a dust ruffle under the lace flounce. The dust ruffle protected the lace flounce and gave the petticoat more flare at the bottom.

‘Dust ruffles, narrow ones, not very full, are set into the bottom of the skirt to give more freedom in walking and save the wear on the outer flounce, which is usually of finer material. Narrow or deep ruffles are used for decoration, and to add fulness to the garment.’ (Title Clothing For Women: Selection, Design, Construction, 1916)

There’s a large tear in the dust ruffle which has been mended with a tuck and overhand stitches by hand.

The Closure

Edwardian petticoats were usually closed at the center back or left front side. This antique Edwardian lace petticoat is closed at the left front side with a button and drawstring. The combination of a button and drawstring closure is unusual and complicated to close.

‘While a band or fitted top is preferable in a petticoat, a draw string is sometimes used to make a skirt adjustable to different sized waists.’ (School Sewing Based On Home Problems, 1916)

The Tucks

There are three tucks above the lace flounce. Tucks are a typical feature of antique Edwardian petticoats. When the lace at the bottom got torn, it was cut off and the tucks released. This extended the life of the petticoats! The zero-waste movement of the Edwardian era! 😉 Besides lace petticoats were very expensive in the Edwardian era. They often cost more than the outer dress skirt!