DIY A Circle Skirt

Although the title says, “A Circle Skirt,” we are actually going to show you how to attach the waistband to the skirt. To cut the skirt and waistband, see our video or printed guide DIY Circle Pattern. This skirt is great if you are making a 50’s skirt, a dance skirt, any type of an ice skating skirt, or a long skirt for yourself. It is a really fun technique and is very easy.

Supplies:

Pre-cut skirt

Pre-cut waistband

Scissors

Pins

Directions:

1. Prepare Waistband

The first thing we are going to do is prepare the waistband.

Fold the waistband in half so that it will end up in a continuous circle. Match the ends and pin them together and then sew this seam preferably with a zig zag stitch. If you have a stretch seam this would be a good time to use it or even better use an overlock machine if you have one. You will be sewing this seam with a ¼” seam allowance.  If your sewing machine will not sew over the pins, you will have to remove them as you go. Give the material a slight tug as you sew so that the stitches will not snap.

After sewing the seam, give it a good tug to make sure the seam does not snap. If it does, sew  over that area again.  Next, sew a security stitch between the seam and the edge. There is nothing worse than having a seam come apart when you are wearing the garment.  At this point, you need to clip all the threads.

Open up the circular waistband and fold it in half lengthwise. Match both ends of the seam you just sewed together. Make sure that the seams lay in the same direction and pin the ends together. Lay the waistband on the table. Using the seam as a starting point, lay the waistband out and put a pin in the fold opposite the seam. Then open out the waistband again and match the seam with that pin. This will create two folds in the waistband. Place a pin in both of the folds. The waistband is now divided in fourths. It is very important that the waistband lays smooth with no twists, bumps or gaps. Carefully smooth out the waistband. If pinned properly, the skirt waistband should lay nice and smooth. If it is not smooth, has bumps or is twisted, remove some of the pins and smooth out the waistband again. Re-pin  the waistband and skirt and move the pins over a little to make sure the waistband and skirt are smooth.  It is a good idea to pin the edges together all along the edge so they do not move. If you desire, you could sew the edges of the waistband with a very small seam allowance to keep the waistband together. Either way you need to keep track of the original four pins to keep the waistband divided in fourths. You could put an extra pin at those points or you could mark the four pins with tailor’s chalk or soap.

2. Attaching Waistband to Skirt

Starting with the seam in the waistband, match the seam to one of the pins in the skirt’s waist. Then, match the other three pins in the skirt to the other three pins in the waistband. While slightly pulling the waistband and skirt taut, sew the skirt and waistband together. Move your hands as you go to make sure you keep the tension on the skirt and waistband.  If you feel more comfortable, place more pins in the skirt and waistband. However, you want to make sure you have stretched the material out a little bit so there are no gaps, twists or gathers in the skirt or the waistband. Then, sew the skirt and waistband together. Even if they are pinned together, you will want to give a little tug on the skirt and waistband to keep any gaps, twists, or gathers out of the waistband or skirt.

And, there you have it – a circle skirt.