A Circle Skirt for Tiffany
XL - Plus Sized Circle Skirt
We needed an Xl skirt and this method can be used for both XL and for plus sized skirts because we used four panels to make a complete circle. So as not to leave anyone out, this method can be used for any size waist.
Read on...
Everyone claims that a circle skirt is the easiest skirt to make and that may actually be true however, the thing that stops people from making them is the math. There are many ways to make a circle skirt and depending on your size, your options can become a bit limited. The reason for this is because most fabric is not wide enough to cut out a circle for anyone with anything other than let's say a 28" or smaller waist. So let me just start out by saying this is what we in America consider a Plus Sized Circle Skirt tutorial.
One of the first things we realized was that we would have to make our skirt using four panels and sew them together. We could not simply fold and cut out either 2 halves or one complete circle. So with this in mind, I will show you how we arrived at our measurements, cut the fabric and sewed everything together.
Because this skirt must be done in four pieces you will need to make it an elastic waisted skirt. The seams will need to fall not in the middle front and back and on the sides but instead they need to fall two in the front and two in the back with a solid piece of fabric down the middle. Like this:
With this in mind, it is important that the waist will slide over your hips as you put on the skirt on. Therefore, instead of measuring your waist for the opening of the skirt, you must use your hip measurements. So your very first step is to measure your hips. Your hips are the largest area and are measured right across the middle of your bottom and then all the way around. In our case this measurement was 44. Then for seam allowances, because there is going to be four pieces you have to add one inch. So our final measurement for the skirt opening is 45".
Now for the math.... I know this is always a bit scary and I will show you the math however, I will also show you the easy way to think about the math and come up with the radius for your skirt. The mathematical equation looks something like this.
Okay so who wants to think about all that...
Think of it in simple terms and take your measurement and simply divide it by 6.28 and there you have it.
The second measurement you will need is the length of your skirt. To get this measurement simply hold the tape measure up to your waist and let it drop. Find the length you feel comfortable with and add an inch for the inseams. For us that measurement was 19 and we added one inch so our final length was 20.
With these two figures in mind we were ready to make a pattern. To make our pattern we used just your standard wrapping paper. You can use any paper you have on hand.
See Christmas wrapping paper.
We made the pattern by laying out the paper and then drawing the lines for the waist and the hem. We use our tape measure and pinned it down on the top corner of the paper. We then used a pencil and followed the curve. For the top we measured 7.25" and for the bottom hem we had to the radius plus the length of the skirt 20, so we drew our line at 27.25". We ended up with this:
Then we cut four equal pieces of fabric, one for each quarter of the circle. We simply cut them and laid them on top of each other. Then we pinned our pattern down and cut out our skirt panels.
We then sewed each panel together. Now it was time to hang the skirt for at least 24 hours to give the fabric a chance to relax.
Next we cut a waistband to fit around Tiffany's waist and added 2" to allow for joining the waistband together. We made the waistband the same width as the elastic we had on hand plus one inch for the inseam. We did not take pictures but the waistband is one piece and for ours it was 3" wide and 33 inches long.
We then ironed the waistband folded in half . We folded over 1/4 of an inch on one end of the waistband and ironed it. This will be the finished end and is placed near the back of the skirt.
We then pinned the waistband around the skirt with the ends placed at the back middle of the skirt. Then we tucked the unfinished edge under the finished edge and sewed the waistband on to the skirt.
Then we fed the elastic through the waistband and tighten it until it felt right on Tiffany's waist. We just tried it on and pulled the elastic, then cut the elastic and stitched it together so that it is flat. Then we closed up the opening by stitching over the ironed fold of the band.
You can do the waistband anyway you like, this was just our preference for this skirt.
Then the next step was the hem. Don't you just hate hemming things. To make things go a little easier, we ironed our 1/4" first and then folded over the first quarter inch and then stitched our hem. Doing the ironing saves you a lot of trouble when you are sewing.
NOTE:
When ironing the hem on a circle skirt adjust the fabric and set the iron down a few inches at a time. Do not move the iron back and forth, just lay it down for a few seconds on each section. This will help you make a nice circle hem.
And now you have a circle skirt...
We had so much fun making a circle skirt for Tiffany that we had to make one for me as well.
Now I am thinking I need a matching handbag and headband to go with my skirt. Oh and I have a pretty pink sweater that will be perfect.
Both of our fabrics came from Happy Quilt!!!
Be sure to visit soon,
as I will be posting photos of us in our skirts!!!
Till next time,
Beverly
Tea Cottage Pretties
I am beside myself tickled pink to be
featured on
Thank you dear Isabelle for featuring me and for the wonderful compliment.
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