Chintz IS polished cotton with a print. Other polished cotton (hard to find these days) is generally in solid colors.

Is chintz what you call polished cotton?

So glad to help you further! Yes, ruffles can be for the silhouette as well as your personal aesthetic (not everyone likes them). I’ve found home decor drapery lining to be close to polished cotton. You might check local home fabric departments for something that could be used. Be sure to pay attention to the weight; home fabrics tend to be thicker and/or heavier than apparel fabrics. Good luck going forward!

Aha! Starch it is, then. Thank you! Knowing me, I’ll be trying the historical starch recipes, risks and all! I’m glad to know that ruffles are not necessary per se, unless actually required by the silhouette (they look awfully fun to make, and they look splendid on other people, but aren’t a stylistic which I personally gravitate towards very often). Polished cotton – so it is a bit of a challenge for everyone to source? – I confess, i’ve been trying and trying to find it in (continental) Europe, and haven’t had any success at all. Frustrating…. I kept thinking that I just don’t know the local terms, but perhaps it is actually not available. In any case, again, thank you so much for your very helpful answer – and, for that matter, your hugely informative website!

The key is to starch the petticoats (related post link). I recommend dip starching (fully submerged and not the spray kind) for best effect. After pressing a starched cotton petticoat a smooth, papery finish appears which helps the skirt or other petticoats, along with the undergarments, to not get “stuck” to the petticoat. Another solution would be to make the petticoat in a polished cotton, but that fabric isn’t as easy to find nowadays and the modern textile is heavier than was used in the 19th century.

I would not recommend canvas for petticoats. Horsehair *maybe*, but that’s rough stuff. And honestly, silk is simply fancy for a top petticoat whereas cotton and linen are truly the best in weight and support for the overall silhouette. And I’d encourage you to look again at starching cotton for petticoats. True liquid starch gives a wonderful paper finish to a petticoat that helps dirt brush off easily and keeps the petticoat at its best to support the skirts. You can read more on how to starch in this post.