A circle skirt is a ring of fabric: the hole in the middle is your waist and the outer edge is the hem. To make one that fits, add 1 cm (3/8 in) of ease to your waist measurement and divide by 2π (6.283) to get the waist radius, add the skirt length to get the hem radius, and cut a front and a back on the fold. Finish the waist with a waistband and an invisible zip, or with an elastic casing, then let the skirt hang for a day before a narrow hem.
What do you need to sew a circle skirt?
For the classic version with a waistband and zip:
- Skirt front and skirt back, each cut once on the fold. For a full circle, each pattern piece is a quarter circle that opens into a half circle. If you prefer the zip at the center back, the back is cut as two pieces instead.
- Waistband: a rectangle as long as your waist plus 4 cm (1 5/8 in) for the overlap, folded lengthwise to a finished width of 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in).
- Notions: a 20 cm (8 in) invisible zip, about 30 cm (12 in) of fusible interfacing for half of the waistband, and a hook and eye or a button.
For a pull-on version, skip the zip and the waistband. The waist is then cut large enough to pass over your hips, and 3 cm (1 1/4 in) wide elastic runs through a casing folded down from the top edge.
How do you calculate the waist radius of a circle skirt?
The waist is the inner circumference of the circle, and a circumference equals 2 × π × radius. So the radius is the waist divided by 2π. Add 1 cm to your waist first: the skirt then sits against the waistband without straining, and the edge has a little room once it is staystitched. For fractions of a circle, divide by a smaller number, because the waist is spread over less of the circle.
| Fullness | Divide (waist + 1 cm) by | Radius for a 72 cm (28 1/4 in) waist |
|---|---|---|
| Full circle | 6.283 | 11.6 cm (4 5/8 in) |
| Three-quarter circle | 4.712 | 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in) |
| Half circle | 3.142 | 23.2 cm (9 1/8 in) |
| Quarter circle | 1.571 | 46.5 cm (18 1/4 in) |
For an elastic waist, use your hip plus 4 cm (1 5/8 in) instead of the waist. A 97 cm (38 in) hip gives 101 cm and a full-circle radius of 16.1 cm (6 3/8 in); the elastic draws the extra in.
The hem radius is the waist radius plus the skirt length. Draw both arcs from the same corner with a tape measure pinned at the center point, or run the numbers through the circle skirt calculator before you buy fabric.
Tip: Measure the length down the side of your body, from the natural waist to where you want the hem. For a knee-length skirt, your waist-to-knee measurement plus 2 cm (3/4 in) puts the hem a little below the kneecap.
How much fabric does a circle skirt take?
A full circle needs fabric at least twice the hem radius across, plus seam and hem allowances. With a 72 cm waist and a 61 cm (24 in) knee length, the hem radius is 72.6 cm, so each quarter-circle piece needs a square of folded fabric about 75 cm (29 1/2 in) on each side. That fits on 150 cm (60 in) fabric folded selvage to selvage, and the whole skirt takes about 1.5 m (1 5/8 yd).
On 140 cm (55 in) or 110 cm (45 in) fabric, the same skirt no longer fits one piece per half. You can shorten it, cut it in four quarter panels with seams at the center front and back, or choose a half circle. A half circle nests far more economically, and it also suits stiffer fabrics, which can look boxy in a full circle.
Which fabrics work best for a circle skirt?
Most of a circle skirt is off grain, so the fabric decides how it falls.
- Drapey: viscose challis, crepe and cotton lawn hang in soft folds and swing when you walk.
- Structured: cotton sateen, taffeta and scuba knit stand away from the body for a 1950s shape.
- Avoid in a full circle: one-way prints and fabrics with a nap, such as velvet or corduroy. At the sides the motif or pile runs sideways or upside down.
Prewash anything washable. Viscose in particular can shrink noticeably the first time.
How do you sew a circle skirt, step by step?
- Cut and mark. Place the edge marked "fold" on the fold, which keeps the center front and center back on the straight grain. Mark the side seam notches and the end of the zip.
- Staystitch the waist. Sew 1.2 cm (1/2 in) from the raw waist edge of both pieces, inside the 1.5 cm (5/8 in) seam allowance. The waist curve crosses the bias and stretches easily; staystitching holds it to size.
- Sew the side seams right sides together, matching the notches. On the zip side, stop at the zip notch 20 cm below the waist. Finish the allowances with zigzag or a serger.
- Insert the zip in the open part of the left side seam (or the center back), then close the seam below it. The invisible zip guide shows the foot and the order.
- Attach the waistband. Fuse interfacing to one half, sew that half to the skirt right sides together, fold the band over, and stitch in the ditch from the outside to catch the inner edge. Add the hook and eye or button on the overlap.
- Hang the skirt for 24 hours, clipped to a hanger by the waistband.
- Level and hem with a narrow hem on a 1 cm (3/8 in) allowance.
- Press, lowering the iron onto the hem rather than dragging it along the curve.
For the elastic version, replace steps 4 and 5 with a casing. Finish the top edge, fold down 4 cm (1 5/8 in), stitch close to the finished edge leaving a 5 cm (2 in) gap, thread the elastic, overlap and zigzag its ends, then close the gap.
Why should a circle skirt hang before you hem it?
The parts of the hem that fall on the bias, at 45° to the grain, stretch under their own weight; the parts on the straight grain hardly move. After a day on a hanger the bias sections have dropped, often by a centimeter (3/8 in) or more in a drapey viscose. Hem straight away and the hem turns wavy and uneven within a week of wearing.
Put the skirt on, or on a dress form, and have someone measure up from the floor with a ruler. Mark a level line with pins or chalk, and trim to the line plus the 1 cm hem allowance.
How do you hem a circle skirt neatly?
A deep hem fights the curve: the folded allowance is longer than the skirt it is pressed against, so it ripples. Keep it narrow. Stitch 6 mm (1/4 in) from the raw edge, press the edge up along that stitching, fold it again to enclose the raw edge, and stitch close to the inner fold. The first row of stitching guides the fold and stops the curve from stretching. On a full knee-length skirt the hem is more than 4.5 m (5 yd) long, so take your time. How to hem covers the narrow hem and the rolled-hem foot in detail.
Can Sewly draft the circle skirt for you?
Sewly's circle skirt pattern computes the waist radius from your own waist with the 1 cm of ease already added, gives the front and back as on-fold pieces for a full, three-quarter, half or quarter circle, and lists the notions: the zip, interfacing and hook, or the elastic length for a pull-on waist. Changing the fullness or the length redraws the pieces instantly, and the sewing guide gives fabric quantities for 110, 140 and 150 cm wide fabric.