Things You'll Need
Nylon netting material
Tape measure
Yardstick
Scissors
Straight pins
Tailor’s chalk
Thread
Sewing machine
1/2-inch elastic
Safety pin
To give a poodle skirt extra "bounce and flounce" when you wear it to a sock hop or other '50s celebration, wear a full, gathered skirt beneath it. A slip made from nylon netting is an inexpensive alternative to hard-to-find crinoline, the fabric most-often used decades ago to make stiff, full slips. Gathered nylon netting holds the skirt away from your body, emphasizing the swooping, circular cut of the skirt. It also will spread out the bottom edge of the skirt, helping to prevent the poodle applique on the front of the skirt from disappearing into a fold of fabric.
Step 1
Measure the distance around the wearer's hips and the distance from the wearer's waist to the bottom of her knees. Cut a piece of netting as wide as the measurement from the waist to the bottom of the knees and 3 times as long as the wearer's hip measurement.
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Step 2
Fold the fabric in half, bringing together short ends. Using a 1/2-inch seam, sew together short ends. Smooth the doubled rectangle of fabric flat. On the seam and on the fold opposite the seam, place a pin halfway down from the top edge.
Step 3
On the top edge of the rectangle, place pins equal distances from each side, leaving a space in the center that is 1/2 as wide as the wearer's hip (not waist) measurement, plus 3 inches. (When the fabric is cut, sewn and unfolded, the opening will be as big as the wearer's hip measurement, plus 5 inches.)
Step 4
Use tailor's chalk and a yardstick to draw a line from each pin on the top edge to the pin beneath it on the side edge. Sew along these lines. Trim away excess fabric. Sewing and trimming fabric along lines will reduce bulk around the top of the slip. Turn over the top edge of the slip 1 inch to create a waistband casing. Pin. Sew 1/4-inch away from raw edge, leaving a 1-inch opening to insert elastic.
Step 5
Cut a piece of elastic as long as the wearer's waist measurement, plus 1 inch. Poke a safety pin through 1 end of the elastic. Insert the pin and the trailing elastic through the opening and work it through the waistband casing. Sew elastic ends together securely. Sew the opening closed. Turn slip right side out.
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