Petticoats, called in Pałuki podspódniki (underskirts) were worn primarily with festive attire. Usually two petticoats were worn in different colors: white and red. The white petticoat was put on first: “always white onto the body” as Klara Prillowa said in 1987. Then a red petticoat was put on, called a helldress.

White petticoats were initially made of bleached homespun linen, and from the beginning of the 20th century they were made of factory-made cotton materials. The oldest ones were not richly embroidered, the main decoration of the bottom edge was cutting of the edge into semicircles, embroidered with a buttonhole stitch. In later periods, the edges were decorated with increasingly richer hand floral embroidery: flowers and leaves, with lots of holes.

Red petticoats (piekielnice – helldresses) were initially made of dyed linen, then, at the end of the 19th century most often of red flannel. The bottom edge was cut into semicircles and decorated with black embroidery (black wool) with plant motifs; often with grapes or branches with flowers. The composition always had a pattern of a twig winding along the edge with alternating motifs. This type of petticoat never had holes.