Simplicity 5006, or the rite of passage of every vintage sewer

I've done it. Using the modern Simplicity 5006, I've made a crinoline. And it was all the horrors of netting snagging on itself and figuring out how to gather the giant skirt (machine gathering worked far better than hand-gathering). But, now it's done! I'm so excited to finally have one!

The finished product.. almost

Instead of shelling out anywhere from $25 to $50 (I know, not that much of an expense..) I bought 5 yards of bright orange netting from Jo-Ann's, on sale for only $1 a yard, and some left over muslin for the yoke, and made myself a crinoline.

It's taken a frustrating day and half - the netting constantly catching on itself, gathering and regathering, and having to do that for two layers. I looked at the instructions and understood them, but I followed what I saw as the best course of putting it together anyway. The wrong sides are facing one another so that the netting doesn't snatch at my dresses or any slips I'd want to wear (and hopefully won't bother my skin as much, either.)

Well, here's what happens when you take a normal dress [Vogue 2902, Christmas editon] (left) and put a crinoline under it (right):

It's like retro magic!

I still have to bias tape the edges and cut it a little shorter so it doesn't poke out from under my dresses quite so much, but I'm so excited!!