HOME | DD
taeliac — Tutorial: Circle Skirts
Published: 2008-07-03 03:00:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 256008; Favourites: 3665; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
Well, I have this huge list of tutorials I want to make, and this was the first one a whim took me to strike off my list.Yes, it is wordy.
Yes, it requires you to do math.
Fair warning. (sorry, I be angsty about some people sometimes)
This is for making a skirt out of a full circle (or just about). These skirts are wonderful - they're very easy to do once you're used to them, and they're fast and very fun to wear. If you do it where you make it longer, they're so much fun to twirl around in.
Within this tutorial is how to sew it together, how to figure out the inner circle (this was my bit o' math voodoo in school), the length, and most importantly, yardage estimates.
I hope I covered just about everything you could need to know - I'll hopefully have a supplement to this in a few days about how to take this, and use it to create pleated skirts for those of us who can't wear traditional one's - our hips are too large! Circles make a wonderful way of doing that, combining the fullness you usually want in a skirt with the pleated look that most uniforms require.
Here is a quick visual explanation on how to combine more than one circle for an even fuller skirt! 
Other useful tutorials that work well with this:
Putting in a centered zipper - this is referenced in the tutorial, so you may want to check it out, too Putting on bias tape - this is another way that you can make the waistband (it will only be the size of the bias, though, so double check what you're doing) or, this makes a very attractive hem finish that I forgot to mention before 
All images at the bottom are my own. Please do not redistribute, edit, or re-word my tutorials for any other purposes without my express written permission.
(c) 2008 `taeliac / Taeliac Studio / Samantha Lemieux -
Related content
Comments: 385
Ah, thank you. Sorry about that. I didn't think to check before hand. Thank you for your tuts! 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
^-^ Just out of curiosity..were you ever featured in a magazine for your work? You look...strikingly familiar to me.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Quick question:
How should you judge the amount of fabric to buy based on your measurements?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Read the tutorial - it's in step 4~
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh I see. I must have accidentally missed it. Thank you!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for this tutorial. That was SO much easier than doing a pleated skirt!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm happy to be of help!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hi!
My friend Heather told me about you. You are going to be making a Victorian Corset for her. She said you were interested in making more faire garb, especially Germans. I am a Geramn, who is looking for a dress maker for my next set of Germans. Unfortuntely, I will not be out at Northern for the rest of the season, but I live in SoCal. My email is dmtrosenkavalier@hotmail.com.
plese email me if you are interest so we can talk.
Sincerely, Katie
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
sweet tutorial i can use this for my seth cosplay... and i didn't know you can use this for a white mage cosplay, is it effective in action shots?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hooray!
I dunno what you mean by effective in action shots, but it worked for every one I took in it, and of the commissioner in it - you'll still need something underneath, like a simple shift, but that's about it
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
whats a shift?
and what i mean by 'effective' is that will it flow in the air when you jump, run etc... if that makes it any clearer...
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Could you do a tutorial on the wa-loli outfit pictured. I absolutely love it but I have no idea what to do. T_T
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
could you do a tut on the wa-loli outfit you have pictured? I love the dress but have no idea how to make it. If I made a top from your kimono top tut and attach a circle skirt would it look the same?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Could you do a tut on how to make the wa-loli outfit you have pictured? I absolutely love how it looks but I have no idea what to do to make it. I know that you have a kimono top tut so if I used that and added a circle skirt would it look the same? How would you make a dress like that? please help! I really really want this dress. Might even wear it to my prom. ^____^
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Seriously, spamming me with comments about doing a tutorial for you on this (I think I just replied to one, and deleted another four or five before this one!) is really incredibly rude - the stuff is there, you just have to put it together yourself, or, if that is beyond what you want to put into an outfit, I'm more than happy to see about doing a commission for you, but if you want to make it yourself, you're going to have to try a lot on your own, and put those pieces together in a way you like.
Spamming me with the same question over and over and over again isn't going to do anything other than get you banned from my page ):
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
i am so so sorry! really. i had no idea that my messages went through. b/c i was confused that my comment didn't show up on the page. i actually got really mad that i had to keep rewriting my message b/c I thought it wasn't going through. I really wasn't trying to spam you.T_T I feel so bad. I'm kinda new on DA so all these functions and stuff i don't completely understand. please forgive my ignorance. I'm extremely sorry b/c I hate when I'm spammed.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hehe, no problem! I understand - I've done that before, too ^^ I just get so many people who do that, sometimes it's just overwhelming ^^
Like I said, though, check through my gallery folder for tutorials - everything you need to make any sort of Wa-Loli is in there, you just gotta put them together
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thankyou so much for forgiving my stupidy. I have used your gallery pics for inspirations/model for my wa-loli outfit that I hope to make. Do you have any suggestions on cloth? I was thinking the chinese silk brocade material would look really pretty but it's pricy for how much I'll need. Especially with the long rectangular sleeves.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thankyou so much for this. I always wondered how to make one of these without buying a pattern. Could you do a tutorial on how to sew the wa-loli outfit that you have pictured?I absolutely love it! I really want to make a dress ecactly like that but I have no idea what to do. You don't need to do a full fledged tut but maybe a quick explanation of what I could do. I know that you have a kimono top tut. So would it help if I used that and attached a circle skirt?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hi two quasi-stupid questions:
Can this skirt be made with an elastic/gathered waist?
and, for a fuller circle skirt , one just sews the edges of the half circles together right?
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Yep to both of them 
And, for fuller one's, you can just split a circle up the side, and kind of chain them together - you'll have to divide your X measurement (gawd I hope that's what I called it...) by the number of circles you want total ~ here [link] was a kind of quick explanation I did for that, if it helps
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Ok ignore those questions...of course when I re-read it my questions get answered.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
lol once i start concentrating more in math this will really help me to make some of my future cosplays thanks
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I always wanted to make skirts! thank you! thank you! I will be going to the biggest convention of the year and finally...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
What convention, if I may ask?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yay, a reply! 
It's the Cosplay Mania convention. The biggest one this year where all cosplayers meet and have fun. I really did had a blast!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
woah this could come in handy!
i love the dark blue dress
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I hope it is helpful to you 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Another hopefully-not-stupid-but-probably-actually-very-stupid question from me:
I cut out the pattern for the skirt, and so far, everything's going nicely ^^. However, when I tried to make the waistband--my X + about 2"--it ended up being oddly short (as in, not big enough to possibly fit around my waist lol.) Could you clarify? I'm bad at this comprehending. And relatively new at sewing.
Lovely tutorial, though, despite my stupidity
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I wanted to ask if you don't use the compass to make the half-circle and just leave it would it become a handkerchief skirt?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes! It most definitely is, and that's super cute, too
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hello,
Thank you so much for sharing this-this is a brilliant and simple pattern, very useful.
I had a quick question (I'm sorry if you covered this some where else); do you have any suggestions for adding godets to skirts, circle skirts or paneled (gored?) ones? I'd like to try it to give my skirt a bit of whimsy and some more "swishy" when you spin. I was going to use a sheer, coordinating fabric.
Your gallery is beautiful, btb, and your costumes are amazing! Thank you sharing them. I love poppingby to see what's new.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I haven't done a tutorial on it, but my favorite types to add are one's that are either full circles in themselves, or at least half circles. First you would slit into your skirt just a vertical slit that is the radius of the circle godet you want to insert (so if you want the slit to go up 8", you would slit it that far and use the 8" for the radius of making the circle).
Then, make a bunch of circles, and if you want half the fullness, cut them in half. Take the slit and open it up and sew the godet in - the biggest trick is not getting it bunched up or mucking at the very top of the slit - that part you'll probably want to hand-sew so that it's nice looking. Oh! And the seam allowance for all of this should be the littlest you can manage - 1/4" if possible~
I hope that helps!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
thanks for this great tute~! easy to follow and quite versatile
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh awesome!! I'm very happy to be of help 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I hope this isn't a stupid question, but could one add a drawstring in the waistband istead of elastic? (I know the answer's probably yes, but I'm new at this lol)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
And, it's not a stupid question! I've just added it to my list o' tutorials to do sometime, because I'm afraid my quick explanation there might have been a little confusing (sorry!!)
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks! I recently re-learned (haven't done it in awhile) to use a sewing machine, and I'm kind of in awe about how much I can focus more on what I'm actually making than getting each stich perfectly tiny and even and straight (hand sewing was tedious for me.) I absolutely love all your tutorials. And I understand your explanation for the drawstring just fine--thanks!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
what do you do if the paper you use for the pattern is too small?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Tape a few pieces together? That's what I usually do. Or use wrapping paper~
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
wonderful tutorial, of course! My skirt turned out a little too big, but i just gathered it in when i put the waist band on.
only question i have is, when it says, for the waistband, "the same length as your X", don't you mean WAIST? I figured it out after much muddling, and it came out the correct size, but i had written out all the measurements and it confused me.
But you gave me the satisfaction of something cute to wear while doing errands tomorrow, so you're still absolutely perfect in my eyes!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yeah, sometimes they come out a little bit bigger, but easing it into a waistband is usually the solution
I believe that the length for that one needs to be the same as as the opening, or a little bit more, because otherwise, you may wind up shorting the waistband compared to the skirt - it's easier if you have some "tails" hanging off of the waistband and just chopping them off afterward, versus it being too short to begin with ~ I should definitely clarify that one
I"m happy that it turned out, though!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i'm using this right now! it's absolutely PERFECT. thank you for being so amazing & sharing this with all of us!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Is there a way to alter the pattern if you have a sway back? I was looking through my flat pattern book but I havent seen any sections about that ^_^;
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Do you mean sway back by a spinal condition, or a different, fashion/costume term?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
<= Prev | | Next =>