Laughing Moon Mercantile #153— Elliptical Petticoat with Yoke, Plain or “Balmoral” Style—1862-1869
Sizes 4-36.  This pattern includes pattern pieces for the yoke and waistband.  There are no pattern pieces for the skirt of the petticoat, as it is a simple rectangle.  The skirt is cut out by using the measurements and orientation provided by the layouts.  The instructions include layouts which show multiple fabric orientations, including stripes, and include a skirt band for just the bottom of the petticoat skirt.  This petticoat can be make plain or be made to be worn under an overskirt which is made in the drawn-up style.  It can accommodate a design at the bottom which is meant to be seen.  This pattern is for a petticoat with a yoke that fits over Laughing Moon Mercantile’s Elliptial Hoop pattern #112-B.  It also has complete instructions on how to alter the pattern pieces to fit over any elliptical hoop, either purchased or made from a different pattern.  The yoke balances the skirt so it is parallel with the floor (or hem) without having to distort the design at the bottom or fold over the top of the skirt.  This means there is no uneven hem to accommodate differences in the length top to bottom of the hoop from center front to center back.  This skirt can be made with a simple rectangle to fully accommodate straight line designs such as stripes, border prints, and border embroidered fabric without distortion.  This also means any flat and straight woven trim such as ribbon, braid, and embroidered tape trim can be applied to the bottom of the skirt without having to curve the straight edges.  The instructions also show how to balance the skirt circumference at the bottom to accommodate the fact that elliptical hoops are bigger in the back than in the front, relative to the sides of the hoop.  View A is for the entire petticoat.  View B adds fabric to View A (in addition to, not instead of) so the petticoat can be made of inexpensive fabric for View A, with only the bottom faced with expensive, scarce, or heavy fabric listed in View B.