The “My First” Circle Skirt
The Facts
Fabric: The same navy wool worsted twill suiting from my Mad Men dress ~$5
Pattern: Just some math and a ruler!
Notions: 7″ zipper $1.50, and button from stash
Time to complete: 6 hours + a day to let it stretch (6 eps of West Wing)
First worn: Just for pictures up-town
Wear again? Sure!
Total price: $6.50
For over a year now I’ve been reading about sewists making circle skirts. They all looked very nice, sounded mildly complicated, but still relatively simple. But I never got around to making one. What fabric would be just right?!
I rarely buy more than 2 yards of one fabric at a time – unless I have a specific fabric-eating pattern in mind. So I was stuck for a little while because I’ve been trying to stick to stash-busting. It’s plain, but I think this would be more wearable. I bought so much of this wool that even after my Mad Men dress and this skirt, I still have about 2 yards left. I thought this would be nice to wear to work with a light top. It may be a wee bit too warm for summer though.
Due to it being 60″ wide, and me being short, I got away with not having to do any side seams! It made the zip insertion a little weird but I managed. I had to unpick one side and redo it because there was a weird bubble going on. I think it’s ok now.
Of course there had to be some twirl pictures…
And look! I made a swishy gif!
That gif is terrific! And I love the drape of this skirt. It’s very pretty.
Thank you, Tempest! I think I’ll get a lot of use out of it.
Classic and very pretty! What a unique little gif – cute!
Thanks, Jennifer. Husband had used the “burst” feature on the camera to capture the obligatory twirls and this slight turn was slow enough to be perfect for animating.
Hi Jennikfer, Oh I love the gif movie, how cute. I bet this circle will get a lot of wearings, it goes with so many colors.
Hi Jennifer, Oh I love the gif movie, how cute. I bet this circle will get a lot of wearings, it goes with so many colors.
Thanks, Krista. I think it’s a perfect little basic.
Liz, this skirt swings and twirls so well! Great color too. You did a great job for your first one!
Thanks, Bethany! I’m a little surprised by my success. I’ll have to be daring and use a print next time.
Very nice! Great piece to match with lots of pretty print blouses. I like your little animated gif, it really tells story. I’m going to have to check that site out.
Thanks, Barbara! In the olden days (2003-ish) I could make animated gifs with Jasc Animation Studio, which was part of their Paint Shop Pro series. I know Adobe Fireworks can make them now, but I don’t have it on my comp so I had to settle for this free site. Easily accomplished, and free!!
Very cute! Love the GIF, too! :)
Thanks, Cheryl!
I really like this practical take on the circle. You’ll actually get a lot of use out of this, I bet.
I love your first circle skirt! It’s a lovely navy blue and a great basic to have. The gif shows off how swoshy and pretty your fabric is, too. :)
I love the navy! And great swishy gif!
This looks fab on you, I have a navy circle in the planning too