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taeliac β€” Tutorial: Circle Skirts

Published: 2008-07-03 03:00:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 254592; Favourites: 3670; Downloads: 0
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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 -
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Comments: 385

PadmeSkywalker24 [2018-01-11 15:57:27 +0000 UTC]

It will definitely work for Ariel’s dinner dress

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DubaiBunniesUAE [2017-06-24 00:14:13 +0000 UTC]

Nice!

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NekoGirl29 [2017-04-29 14:00:33 +0000 UTC]

I'm saving this. I can't wait to start cosplaying.

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taeliac In reply to NekoGirl29 [2017-05-01 00:07:18 +0000 UTC]

It is super fun! If you need sewing help, there are tons of awesome resources on dA!

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NekoGirl29 In reply to taeliac [2017-09-12 01:29:51 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. It may be a while until I can afford a sewing machine, but I do hope to start sewing my own clothes and cosplay some day.

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taeliac In reply to NekoGirl29 [2017-09-13 01:25:40 +0000 UTC]

You can always practice with hand sewing! A lot of clothing and especially cosplay really benefits from knowing how to do it, so if you start that way, sewing on a machine will be very easy!

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irishhighlander [2016-11-16 01:14:14 +0000 UTC]

Faving this for future reference

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Lady-Koisuki [2014-12-03 17:43:51 +0000 UTC]

I'm definitely going to use this for my five nights at Freddy's cosplay. I'm going to be Chica :3

I'll let you know when I finish it!

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ms-base-lady In reply to Lady-Koisuki [2015-07-18 02:53:45 +0000 UTC]

Holy shit that's why I came here XD

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Lady-Koisuki In reply to ms-base-lady [2015-07-18 17:28:24 +0000 UTC]

Awesome! XD

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ms-base-lady In reply to Lady-Koisuki [2015-07-18 17:29:42 +0000 UTC]

CHICA FANS UNITE!!!!

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nayareth [2014-03-05 04:40:26 +0000 UTC]

Β bonitaΒ 

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isavegas [2014-01-11 22:04:10 +0000 UTC]

I don't have the resources to follow the tutorial at the moment, but I'm pretty sure it'll come in handy.Β Β 

Thank you! β™₯β™₯β™₯

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Toyon95 [2014-01-07 15:06:02 +0000 UTC]

Your tutorials are awesome!

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ArwynAtreides [2014-01-05 19:30:09 +0000 UTC]

The tutorial is great but I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my mind around the waistband bit. I'm sure I'm over or under thinking this! >.< I probably have this all wrong!

Here's how I'm thinking: Let's say:

27" + 4" = 31"

Waist = 31"

x = 31/6.28

x = ~5


-then-


Waistband = 5 + 2

waistband = 7"

but 7 inches is way too small. I'm going to keep rereading this. Thanks for posting this tutorial!

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InuLoverNr1Hitomi [2013-10-28 13:50:38 +0000 UTC]

I see that in a lot of those pictures you put them on tops to make it a dress. This is what I want to do. Do you have a tutorial for making a top part and puting it together with the skirt part????~~ ;u; (figured asking would be faster than looking myself. yes i'm lazy)

(And thank you thank you thank you for the tutorial. You're an angel!)

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nekotin [2013-08-05 06:54:04 +0000 UTC]

I dont think i did anything wrong but adding the extra inches to the waist made the skirt way to big to fit me properly, (an exact 4 inches too i measured the excess) is this typical?

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Happi-chan [2013-07-19 23:49:26 +0000 UTC]

Oh boy! Thank you so much for making this tutorial! I'll have to give this a shot!

Thanks for sharing!

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KumquatMascara [2013-06-11 20:45:15 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for this!! It is impossibly wonderful, helpful, and easy to work with!!! I love it

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gingerchu [2013-06-06 10:05:52 +0000 UTC]

This is honestly the best circle skirt tutorial I have seen. I make all my circle skirts based on this very tutorial.

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AkikoFumi [2013-06-05 21:03:41 +0000 UTC]

Wow, this is a great Tutorial! I'll GLADLY do maths to make a skirt now! <3

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Animemangatotallover [2013-05-18 01:07:32 +0000 UTC]

Hello! Do you mind making this a download? The picture is too small so I cannot read the text X(

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Algophobic [2013-04-27 17:49:32 +0000 UTC]

I know what I'm going to try soon

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CherryBlossomLady [2013-04-06 14:49:57 +0000 UTC]

You're a life saver for making this tutorial!! Thank you <33

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taeliac In reply to CherryBlossomLady [2013-04-25 10:25:00 +0000 UTC]

No problem! I'm just glad to be of help! If you think of any other tutorials you'd like, lemme know and I'll add them to my list for when I get a bit of time :3

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Rakoku [2013-03-28 21:24:36 +0000 UTC]

Hello, I have a question that I hope you or anyone that sees this can answer: Would it be possible to pleat an entire circle skirt with box and/or knife pleats or would it look weird?

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taeliac In reply to Rakoku [2013-04-25 10:31:42 +0000 UTC]

Sorry that this is late to reply, but, I know the answer for sure - DO IT! IT LOOKS AWESOME!

Whenever I have to make pleated skirts for cosplay commissions, I usually do just that! It makes the pleats lay way nicer if you have any sort of hips, and it has that dramatic billowing effect when you walk, too.

The only thing is, you're going to kind of have to wing it with how wide to make the inner circle for the skirt, because you're going to be adding the pleats in. The good thing, though, is if you're a little too big or a little too small, it's easy to take it out or hide the extra in the pleats

You're pleats, though, aren't going to be straight rectangles going down - they're going to be more wedge shaped.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I might see if htere's an easy way to do the math for it, and make another tutorial showing how to do this - if it doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll see if I can quick sketch out what I mean by them being wedge shaped pleats instead of rectangles

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Rakoku In reply to taeliac [2013-04-28 10:15:57 +0000 UTC]

Oh, no it's alright if it's a bit late, I understand you're a busy person.

That is really good to hear that it works AND looks good too! I'm pretty sure I got what you're saying. I was actually unsure if it should have been wider at the bottom than the top (if that's what you mean by wedge shaped), and thought it was incorrect, though that's the only way that would make sense. Good to know I'm on the right track.

Thank you so very much for the help!

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Vata-Raven [2013-03-10 08:39:31 +0000 UTC]

Why a circle skirt???

Could someone just use a sloper skirt (front & back) and flare it out (no darts)? That's all it is, a flared out skirt.

I see everyone use circle skirts for these infinity dresses online. Seems liek it would take up less fabric to use a skirt front and back.

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VivanSolem [2013-03-03 10:35:19 +0000 UTC]

This is helpful.

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taeliac In reply to VivanSolem [2013-03-08 07:58:42 +0000 UTC]

Awesome! Thank you!

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Sakinurai [2013-02-28 22:29:57 +0000 UTC]

Question:
I may have done my math wrong, but when I made the half circle template and did a comparison with my waist, the template was a few inches smaller. Is that normal or do I need to take half the measurement of my waist to make the half circle. I'm gonna be using elastic for the waistband if that helps some.

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taeliac In reply to Sakinurai [2013-03-08 08:02:51 +0000 UTC]

Those few inches are probably going to disappear in the seam allowance for the waist band - if it fit perfectly tight, once you add in that seam allowance to put the waistband on, you'd be surprised how much bigger that circle gets :3

When I first started making these, I made the circle the exact same size as the waist and then put on the waistband, only to find that they wound up being really very large and had to be gathered up (I like slim things at the waist).

In the end, however, if you think it's too tight or going to be too small, just trim a little bit off the inner edge of the circle - start with like 1/4" or so and go from there! You're not going to hurt anything by not following it directly

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Sakinurai In reply to taeliac [2013-03-08 15:12:38 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! ^^

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MrsVanguard [2013-02-09 01:32:45 +0000 UTC]

Neat

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Elarielle [2013-01-22 10:09:47 +0000 UTC]

I used this to make a beautiful full-length infinity dress in an afternoon. Fantastically helpful, clear, and super easy. Thank you! (^_^)

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Misskaysha7 [2013-01-05 21:37:35 +0000 UTC]

This is really helpful thank
crys over math

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ZombieOwl [2012-12-27 07:34:18 +0000 UTC]

Wow, this is super great! Very nicely written and informative! I'm definitely going to try this in the future

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LadyMea [2012-12-26 05:07:59 +0000 UTC]

This is incredibly helpful!

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DarthMar [2012-12-15 11:22:54 +0000 UTC]

Do you know if this works for the bottom part of a jumper dress?

...and if so, do you have any suggestions as to how to attach the top portion to the bottom part?

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cicilykittycat [2012-12-01 20:23:15 +0000 UTC]

yeaaa! thas awesome thanks!

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LuCyKuRo [2012-10-29 06:09:34 +0000 UTC]

this is wonderful! thank you so much for this tutorial! n_n

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taeliac In reply to LuCyKuRo [2012-11-02 02:37:35 +0000 UTC]

Any time!

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xXMrsHalloweenXx [2012-08-13 09:56:23 +0000 UTC]

Arigato Gozaimasu!!! You are a huge help!! Now I can make those skirts I have always wanted to make!! >_<

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x-UndeadKitty-x [2012-08-11 14:50:47 +0000 UTC]

I am so excited to find a circle skirt tutorial that is so simple and straightforward, thank you!
However, I am running into a bit of a dilemma. I have my 45' fabric, and I wanted my skirt to be 22' long, because I am slightly tall. When I fold my fabric in half, its width is ~22', but this does not accommodate my circle template which is about 4', so towards the centre of the skirt it will have to be 18'.
Not sure if I read this tutorial wrong, or if I will have to do some altering. I am confused!

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FreeFlyingAngel [2012-07-27 04:30:29 +0000 UTC]

can you use this to do one like this
^
/ \
/ \
/ \

at the side around I I here

^
/ \
/ \
/ \

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FreeFlyingAngel In reply to FreeFlyingAngel [2012-07-27 04:34:07 +0000 UTC]

uggghh not like that
like this
|_______|
_____^
____/_\
___/___\
without the lines

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Bewareofplastic [2012-07-16 08:03:19 +0000 UTC]

could this method be used to make a skirt like this [link] ?

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KamiJoy [2012-07-13 10:30:49 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, youre math helped a lot ^^

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Mustuko-chan [2012-06-20 15:58:53 +0000 UTC]

Sooo.... I can use this to sew my petticoat, right?

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