Images(2)

Quilted Petticoat

Date1740-1760

MediumTabby weave yellow silk primary fabric, quilted to glazed worsted tabby weave with silk thread; patch of blue and gold mixed cloth added.

DimensionsWaist 25" (replaced waistband); OL: 36 1/2" including 2" wide waistband. Skirt fullness 112".

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1951-150,2

DescriptionPetticoat of pale yellow silk, quilted to orange-red glazed worsted backing with woolen batting. Quilted design in flower and leaf pattern with birds; rayed sun appears near top of skirt at center front. Background quilted in diagonal closely-spaced lines. Pocket slits at hips. Waistband replaced. A patch of two-color woolen backing is present.

Construction History:

1. 1740-1760: Initial Construction
2. January 19, 1954: Cleaning, repairing, restoring by Ernest LoNano
Label TextPetticoat
Made by or for an ancestor of Sarah Green Hill (b. 1760)
Rhode Island, 1740-1760
This petticoat decorated with insects and birds, including a stylized owl near the top, is related to other New England petticoats with animal designs. Handed down in the family of Sarah Green Hill of Wickford, Rhode Island, this garment and a brocaded silk gown were thought to be Sarah's wedding ensemble. However, the petticoat was at least 25 years out of date at the time of her 1784 wedding to Caleb Hill. Did Sarah wear her grandmother's or mother's petticoat at her own wedding? Possibly. The garment was apparently used over a long time: old sewn-shut pocket slits indicate that it was remade at least once.
Technical information:
Silk plain-woven face fabric
Wool fiber filling
Two different plain-woven wool backing fabrics
12 to 14 silk backstitches per inch
1951-150, 2

ProvenanceSaid to have been imported by Sarah Greene Hill (1700-1760) of Wickford, Rhode Island, for her wedding.

Exhibition(s)