Circle Skirt Tutorial

Shopping for maternity clothing has been one of the most depressing and difficult things I have ever had to do. Everything is very blah, and I can't seem to find anything affordable that is even remotely my style. I own several skater dresses and circle skirts that still fit (kind of) and I decided that rather than searching and searching for cute maternity dresses/skirts, I would bust out the elastic and make myself a few skirts.

Circle skirts are arguably the easiest starter sewing project out there, and are flattering on practically everyone, including pregnant ladies. I made mine with an elastic waist, to accommodate my growing belly.

What you'll need

1. Measuring tape longer at least 36 inches long
2. Scissors
3. Fabric pencil
4. Straight pins
5. At least 1 1/2 yards of lightweight fabric
6. Elastic for the waistband
7. Sewing Machine or lots of patience and a thread and needle

Step 1) Take your fabric and fold it in half lengthwise, and then fold it in half width wise, i.e. hot dog and hamburger. You should have one edge that's the main fold, one edge that has two folds, and two edges that are not folded at all, and have four pieces of fabric.

Step 2) Refer to the following list and pick your size. These are based on American sizes, and I used the Asos size chart to do the math, so you might refer to it here if you have any questions about your size.

• Size 2 - 3 4/5 in
• Size 4 - 4 in
• Size 6 - 4 2/5 in
• Size 8 - 4 3/5 in
• Size 10 - 5 in
• Size 12 - 5 1/4 in
• Size 14- 5 3/4 in
• Size 16 - 6 1/5 in
• Size 18 - 6 1/2 in
• Size 20 - 7 in
• Size 22 - 7 1/3 in

Step 3) Using the number after your size, take your tape measure and poke a hole through the 0 inch mark, and whatever inch is following your size. For example, I poked the hole through 5 1/2, since I'm a size 12, but I wanted a little pregnancy space. Place your straight pin through the hole at the 0 inch mark, and your fabric pencil through the second hole.

Step 4) Place the straight pin through the corner of your fabric where the two folded edges meet. Holding the pencil with one hand and the straight pin with the other, move the pencil as if it were a giant compass. This mark will be the waist of your skirt.

Step 5) Decide how long you want your skirt to be. I personally made mine 22 inches, due to my height and the pregnancy. Since my waistline was a 5 1/2 radius, I simply added 22 plus 5 1/2, giving me 27 1/2 inches. Add a seam allowance, and voila.Poke another hole in your tape measure at this number, and move the pencil to that hole. Repeat the same process you used for marking the waistline, and voila. You have your pattern drawn out.

Step 6) Cut it out! You should end up with a donut shaped piece of fabric. Yay, fewer seams.

Step 7) Wrap elastic around your waist, pulling it until it fits as you would like it to. This is typically about a half inch shorter than your waist. At this point you'll be sewing the elastic onto the waistband in any way you choose.  Rather than trying (and probably failing) to explain how to attach an elastic waist band, I will reference you to this tutorial. It is great if you've never sewn an elastic band before, or even if you have. The important thing to remember is to be very accurate when marking the center marks on both the elastic and the skirt.

Step 8) Hem the bottom of the skirt.

Voila! You have your very own circle skirt.