To give the right finish to a dress I made recently I made myself a (very quickly run up and so not perfect) frou frou petticoat. The net was a little dearer than I had expected, not expensive just more than I had thought, so I brought five meters for my petticoat instead of the ten I had planned on using. This was very fortunate. Five meters meant that going through some doorways was interesting and entering cubicles at service stations (and the like) was very difficult. All 'problems' aside I love my frou frou petticoat - it is the first full size one I have made and the first one I have owned.
I like my petticoat so much that when I made my niece the dress for her birthday I wanted her to
have a petticoat to go with it.
After measuring the length of the dress's skirt to find out how long to make the petticoat I cut two strips of white poly cotton for the top part. Then I cut stripe of tulle netting for the frothy frou frou. I wanted 
two layers of netting so cut eight
strips (four for each layer).
I am very lucky because the
leaves of my table make excellent
cutting guides to ensure straight
pieces of net. Tulle netting is so lovely and soft. The net I used was wide.
I sewed the two strips of poly cotton together and then made a narrow hem at the bottom to sew the tulle onto.
I then turned the top for the waist and using the guides on my machine to make the casing for elastic.
I rolled the net slightly while doing the seams on the net layers.
Marked out the top of the petticoat.
Pinned on the first net layer.
And started to sew. Being very careful not to get any of the net or poly cotton caught in the stitching.
Gathering evenly the net as I sewed. Then I did exactly the same with the second layer. Being even more careful not to get any net caught up in the stitches.
Then I trimmed the top of the net to give a neat edge.
I had this lovely rosebud lace trim and used it to cover the edge of the tulle netting which gave a nice finish to the petticoat.
Then the elastic was threaded through the top and all finished.
It was quite hard to part with but I managed ......
The sewing club that we started a few months ago is going really well, even though we haven't met as a group during most of August, we have all carried on sewing.
My sister and I had to get ourselves outfits made for our cousins wedding.
I went for a fifties/sixties inspired dress complete with froufrou petticoat and my sister made a stunning two piece from some teal brocade. While we were doing this my niece has been making pyjama bottoms and a retro look swim suit. My niece's friend decided to design and them make a fitted top, it may need a little work when we all meet up again. I am so proud of them - they are really getting the dressmaking bug. Soon nothing will hold them back.
I had to alter the pattern to make it the right size (not as thin as I used to be) and because I didn't have enough my chosen fabric to make it as the pattern sleeve stated, I also changed the sleeves slightly.
All cut out and ready to go.
French seams for the skirt and sleeves and a lined bodice
Flowers made from the dress fabric to coordinate my plain straw hat.
Vintage blue crochet gloves complete the look.
