Circle skirt: fashion meets math - kids edition / elastic band

February 14, 2021

Circle skirt: fashion meets math - kids edition / elastic band

So I made an adult version for calculating your fabric dimensions for your desired skirt, or the best possible skirt from your fabric here : adult version

As I am left with some fabric I also decided to make my girl a version. I love circle skirt for kids as there is so much fabric, the skirt rarely peeps up when bending down.

First: how I cut my fabric

I cut my fabric this way:

I fold the fabric length-wise in halve. I use one corner to cut a quarter and the diagonal corner (on the fold) to cut a halve skirt. This means two side seams and one seam in the back.

Note: If there is an obvious print with an upside and a downside a circle skirt might not be a good option. Lines can be a lot of fun as they kind of turn over themselves in a circle skirt like here:

Math 1: how to cut a circle for your waist opening/hip opening.

In the adult version I talked about taking your waist size and add a zipper. For this kids version I only talk about an elasticated waistband as it is my prefered method for kiddoos. Measure your kids hip size or look at (burda's size) chart below

Note: My 2,5 yo is wearing Burda's size 4; so it is really better to measure hipsize or make the waist opening oversized. An elastic band can always be taken in our out.

Burda's size chart for girls.

For example: hip width is 56 cm. I cut my fabric with three seams of 1 cm each (means a total of 6 cm). I don't need to add wearing ease because that will be done by the elastic band. That totals to 62 cm.

I take 62cm and divide by "pi" or 3,14. That gives me the diameter of 19,9 cm. I divide that by 2 which gives me the radius of 9,9 cm. That is the radius of the smaller circle I need to cut to fit the waist.

Math 2: skirt length

If I want to make a maxi skirt, It needs to be 63 cm long. If I make a half-length skirt (up to the knees) It needs to be 31,5 cm

Note: My hipsize is closer to size 3 and I took the trouser length of size 5. It is a good start if you have absolutely no sizes available as the skirt can always be made shorter.

Math 3: I know my waist size, I know my desired skirt length. How much fabric do I need.

Okey, so you know exactly what you want. Make sure you have added all the extra's. So start with hip circumference. Add the skirt length, add seam allowances and hem allowance and there you go.

I want a skirt that is 63 cm long. A hip circumference of a 62 is a radius of 10 (see above). I use a waistband on the top so I need 1 cm seam allowance for that and I will add a hem to the bottom of 3 cm.

So my circle is folowing: 10 cm (waist) + 1 (sa) + 63 (skirtlength) + 3 (hem) = 77 cm.
If I were to cut is from a 110 cm wide fabric it would take 216 cm fabric and in a 140 cm wide fabric it would take 154 cm.

Or for half length:

I want a skirt that is 32 cm long. A hip circumference of a 62 is a radius of 10 (see above). I use a waistband on the top so I need 1 cm seam allowance for that and I will add a hem to the bottom of 3 cm.

So my circle is folowing: 10 cm (waist) + 1 (sa) + 32 (skirtlength) + 3 (hem) = 46 cm.
If I were to cut it from a 110 or a 140 cm wide fabric I could cut the circle in one go: so 92 cm.

Note: Since the radius (45) is smaller than half a fabric width (55 or 70 cm) I can cut one circle. Because the waist/hip opening is oversized to account for seam allowances (hip was 52 cm, added 6 cm seam allowance and cut a hip opening of 62 cm), The opening might be to large.

Additions:

A waistband with elastic is needed to keep the skirt up. You might want to use the scraps of the circles to make a waistband, or buy a couple of cm more to cut a waistband in one piece.

The other scraps can be used for pockets. There are two side seams so perfect for some teardroped inseam pockets.

A strip of gathered fabric will also look very nice on this skirt. See below My blue circle and gathered skirt.

Example

Full circle maxi skirt (no review)