I learned things with this silly test skirt:
- I used to be way better at geometry and trig. Use it or lose it, right?
- Geometry and trig are actually real-world-applicable in sewing! Angles! Circles! Pi! Wuuut!?
- I tend to not notice when math has steered me wrong until long after I should have noticed (like sewing 6 panels together and ending up with a waistline big enough to fit Santa Claus and two of his fattest friends.)
- Dividing the circumference of a waistline by 4 does NOT give you the radius you need to draft one quarter of a full circle skirt. You need to bake some π into that math. C=πd, remember? (I thought this was a sewing blog, Deb! What’s with the eye-crossy math!?)
- I spent wayyy too much time trying to math out a 60° angle when it was on my cutting mat the whole time. Ba-ha!
Summing up: I learned I’m dumber than I thought. Anyhowz, on to the circle-y skirt.
About the Fabric
Square Sketch. Printed Scuba Knit from Boho Fabrics
- Horizontal Stretch: 75%
- Vertical Stretch: 30%
- Fabric Width: 61″
- Weight: 13 oz.
- Content: 95% Poly, 5% Spandex
Love love love this fabric. Such a smooth, cool hand with lovely drape and a fun, sketchy plaid pattern.
About the Pattern
I self-drafted a paneled maxi skirt not too long ago and got it in my head to try a shorter version. Turns out, them straight edges along the waist and hem don’t turn out so well when you make them wider. I realized this before attempting it, thankfully. 6 straight edges along the circumference of a full circle skirt will give you a hexagon, not a circle. Which might be interesting to try for a handkerchief vibe, but I wanted circle.
And so circles did abound. I would spare you all my ridiculous math, except I use this blog as a note-keeping tool, so you’re gettin’ mathed.
How I Curved the Panels
- I already had the waistband pattern piece I was happy with from my maxi version, so I measured the circumference of that.
- I knew the length I wanted to make this test mini skirt.
- With those two pieces of information, I could draft the full circle skirt by:
- Finding the radius of my waistline (C=πd, solve for d and divide by 2 for radius)
- And drawing 2 quarter-circles using my compass tools. (See my Fat Santa and Friends version below. The small circle uses the radius of my waistline, and the large circle is the length of the skirt + hem.)
- Then squaring up the lower left corner with the 60° line on my cutting mat and marking that line. 60° makes 6 panels (45° makes 8 panels, 90° makes 4 panels, and so on.)
From there, it’s just cut and sew!
Notes for Next Time
- Tweak the waistband for a smoother contour.
- Lengthen! 11″ is cute but too short. I want to make one of these out of my brown faux suede knit and a longer, above-the-knee version is what I’m picturing.
- I tried attaching a strip of bias binding over one of the panel seems for a fun contrast effect, but that’s better used on wovens than knits, or potentially a longer skirt that has the weight to keep the binding from twisting. It messed with the drape of this one too much.
Project Settings
Sewing Machine vs. Serger
| Sewing Machine | Serger |
|---|---|
|
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Sewing Machine Settings
| Presser Foot | Stitch# | Stitch Width | Stitch Length | Needle | Top Thread Tension | Application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| standard zig-zag (A) | 5 | 1.0 | 4 | blue tip | 4 | seams |
Serger Settings
| Stitch Name | 4-thread overlock |
|---|---|
| Needles | R, L |
| Finger | B |
| Threads | 4 |
| Tension Left Needle | 4 |
| Tension Right Needle | 4 |
| Tension Upper Looper | 4 |
| Tension Lower Looper | 4 |
| Cut Width | 6 |
| Stitch Length | 2.5 |
| Differential | 1.0 |
| Application | seams |
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