How to Sew a Crinoline Skirt

A ruffled crinoline lifts the skirt to puff it out.

The right crinoline can help virtually any fabric stand out away from the legs, having a dramatic effect on your skirts and dresses. While there was a time in the 1950s and 1960s when a crinoline could be purchased without much trouble, to find a crinoline in the 21st century is a slightly more difficult and expensive task. Luckily, you can make a crinoline skirt on your own with tulle of any color and a few hours at the sewing machine.

Things You'll Need

• 9 Yards of 72-inch wide tulle or netting
• Yard stick
• Scissors
• Tape measure
• 1-inch wide elastic
• Pins
• 48 Yards, 1-inch wide ribbon

Instructions

1. Measure and cut away 1 yard of your tulle and set aside the remaining eight yards. Fold the fabric over in half to form a 1-yard square. Fold the fabric over once more to form a rectangle 18-by-36 inches.

2. Cut a large semi-circle into your fabric starting at one end of the fold and curving around toward the other end of the fold. This will make two large circles if you were to unfold the fabric. Cut a smaller semi-circle 8 inches in from the large one to form two 8-inch wide rings.

3. Measure around your waist and cut a piece of elastic to this length. Pin the elastic against the inner edge of your two rings. Sew a zigzag stitch to attach the elastic to the two rings of tulle, working the excess of tulle in as needed. At this point, the tulle rings form a short two-layer skirt.

4. Cut your remaining tulle into eight 8-inch wide strips by 8 yards long. Pair two of the strips together and pin them to the bottom edge of the innermost ring on your skirt. Sew the two strips to the ring all the way around, working in excess tulle as needed.

5. Cut your ribbon into six, 8-yard long strips. Attach and sew a length of ribbon to one long side of each of the remaining six strips of tulle. Overlap the ribbon-sewn strips together and pin together along the long unfinished edges.

6. Pin the unfinished edges of the strips to the bottom edge of the innermost strip of tulle that was attached to the skirt in Step 4. Sew the six strips to the skirt to finish. Separate and fluff the layers to add fullness.

Tips & Warnings

• For extra pop, use a contrasting color of ribbon and tulle.

• If the skirt or dress you will be wearing is longer or shorter than the approximate 24-inch length, then make adjustments to your strip widths as needed so the crinoline is fully covered or to allow the ribbon area to show more.

References

• Petticoat Pond: Alice Lon's Petticoat Pattern
• "Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing"; Virginia Colton, editor; 1976