{"id":2564,"date":"2020-08-17T09:38:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T13:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/?p=2564"},"modified":"2024-02-23T23:03:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T04:03:43","slug":"petticoat-math","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/petticoat-math\/","title":{"rendered":"Petticoat Math!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Beware: Algebra Ahead!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petticoats are not hard. I repeat, they are not hard. All of it is simple math and I\u2019m here to help you figure out your fluff, length, and fabric requirements for a basic tiered petticoat like the one I\u2019ve made for Anna!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First things first: Fabric. You\u2019ll need a stiff organza as your base fabric, my suggestion is to use this from Fabric Wholesale Direct<\/a>. It\u2019s easy to sew, easy to cut (fun fact, you don\u2019t have to cut organza, you just tear it on the grain so it’s always perfectly even!), and it\u2019s pretty. The other fabric you\u2019ll need is tulle for the bottom tier. You do not want net, it\u2019s scratchy and too stiff. You really do want the flimsy apparel tulle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Just the organza tiers are sewn together.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next up: Figure out how long you want your petticoat. Measure from your waist to the point on your leg where you want the petticoat to end. Add 3\u201d to the final length, this accounts the seam allowances you\u2019ll need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say we want a floor length petticoat, for me that\u2019s 41\u201d from waist to floor length (ankle for petticoats). So I\u2019ll add 4\u201d to that to make it 45\u201d in final length. (This is a very convenient number for the following number crunching you\u2019ll need to make.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOW WE MATH IT OUT!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing you\u2019ll want to figure out is the length of the tulle. The tulle is the bottom most tier of your petticoat and provides a clean line\/ softness to the bottom. To figure this out, divide your Final Length by 3. In my case, a 45\u201d final length divided by 3 is 15\u201d. So now we know the width of the tulle: 15\u201d. Guess what divides really nicely into 15\u201d strips? 60\u201d wide tulle fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next part figures out your tier widths. You\u2019ll take your remaining final length, in my case, 30\u201d (this is the 45\u201d minus the width of the tulle which was 15\u201d) and divide that into 3 even widths. 30\u201d divided by 3 equals 10\u201d wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we have all our widths! It\u2019s that simple. For those who want to plug in their numbers into equations, here you go (and yes, this is legit algebra here folks):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Width of Tulle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

(Desired length is y<\/em>) y<\/em>\/3 = x<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Width of your tiers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Desired length is y<\/em>) 2*(y\/3)\/3 = x<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now how do we figure out the length of the ruffles? That\u2019s also pretty darn simple! Take your waist measurement and double it. So a 30\u201d waist will equal 60\u201d in length. That\u2019s your first tier! Yay! One down, three to go! The next tiers are multiples of 1.5. So I\u2019ll take that 60\u201d and multiply it by 1.5 to get the length of the next tier, which is now 90\u201d. The remaining tiers are all multiples of 1.5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So my tiers for a 30\u201d waist are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 1: 60\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 2: 90\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 3: 135\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 4 (Tulle): 202.5 (I\u2019m going to actually make that 200\u201d instead for ease of measuring)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the hard part. Use these equations for each layer of your petticoat, gather and sew them together with \u00bd\u201d seams, and you\u2019ll have a nice fluffy tiered petticoat to go under a number of your costumes or even regular dresses\/skirts. Once you’ve done all the math, figure out your yardage based on the width of the fabric you will be purchasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One note about the tulle at the bottom hem. You WILL want at least four stacked pieces of tulle on the bottom of each petticoat layer. In the picture below, I have 8 stacked pieces of tulle on the outer layer and 4 stacked pieces of tulle on the inner layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beware: Algebra Ahead! Petticoats are not hard. I repeat, they are not hard. All of it is simple math and I\u2019m here to help you figure out your fluff, length, and fabric requirements for a basic tiered petticoat like the one I\u2019ve made for Anna! First things first: Fabric. You\u2019ll need a stiff organza as your base fabric, my suggestion is to use this from Fabric Wholesale Direct. It\u2019s easy to sew, easy to cut (fun fact, you don\u2019t have to cut organza, you just tear it on the grain so it’s always perfectly even!), and it\u2019s pretty. The other fabric you\u2019ll need is tulle for the bottom tier. You do not want net, it\u2019s scratchy and too stiff. You really do want the flimsy apparel tulle. Next up: Figure out how long you want your petticoat. Measure from your waist to the point on your leg where you want the petticoat to end. Add 3\u201d to the final length, this accounts the seam allowances you\u2019ll need. Say we want a floor length petticoat, for me that\u2019s 41\u201d from waist to floor length (ankle for petticoats). So I\u2019ll add 4\u201d to that to make it 45\u201d in final length. (This is a very convenient number for the following number crunching you\u2019ll need to make.) NOW WE MATH IT OUT! The first thing you\u2019ll want to figure out is the length of the tulle. The tulle is the bottom most tier of your petticoat and provides a clean line\/ softness to the bottom. To figure this out, divide your Final Length by 3. In my case, a 45\u201d final length divided by 3 is 15\u201d. So now we know the width of the tulle: 15\u201d. Guess what divides really nicely into 15\u201d strips? 60\u201d wide tulle fabric. The next part figures out your tier widths. You\u2019ll take your remaining final length, in my case, 30\u201d (this is the 45\u201d minus the width of the tulle which was 15\u201d) and divide that into 3 even widths. 30\u201d divided by 3 equals 10\u201d wide. Now we have all our widths! It\u2019s that simple. For those who want to plug in their numbers into equations, here you go (and yes, this is legit algebra here folks): Width of Tulle: (Desired length is y) y\/3 = x Width of your tiers: (Desired length is y) 2*(y\/3)\/3 = x Now how do we figure out the length of the ruffles? That\u2019s also pretty darn simple! Take your waist measurement and double it. So a 30\u201d waist will equal 60\u201d in length. That\u2019s your first tier! Yay! One down, three to go! The next tiers are multiples of 1.5. So I\u2019ll take that 60\u201d and multiply it by 1.5 to get the length of the next tier, which is now 90\u201d. The remaining tiers are all multiples of 1.5. So my tiers for a 30\u201d waist are: Tier 1: 60\u201d Tier 2: 90\u201d Tier 3: 135\u201d Tier 4 (Tulle): 202.5 (I\u2019m going to actually make that 200\u201d instead for ease of measuring) That\u2019s the hard part. Use these equations for each layer of your petticoat, gather and sew them together with \u00bd\u201d seams, and you\u2019ll have a nice fluffy tiered petticoat to go under a number of your costumes or even regular dresses\/skirts. Once you’ve done all the math, figure out your yardage based on the width of the fabric you will be purchasing. One note about the tulle at the bottom hem. You WILL want at least four stacked pieces of tulle on the bottom of each petticoat layer. In the picture below, I have 8 stacked pieces of tulle on the outer layer and 4 stacked pieces of tulle on the inner layer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,123,121],"tags":[25,179,177,176,75,181],"class_list":["post-2564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cosplay","category-diy","category-tutorial","tag-diy","tag-organza-petticoat","tag-pattern-drafting","tag-petticoat","tag-sewing","tag-tulle-petticoat"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Untitled-design-21.png?fit=3000%2C1561&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2564"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2571,"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564\/revisions\/2571"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennieandnick.com\/designer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}