Pattern piece A
Waist radius, hem radius, fabric to buy and a cutting layout for full, three-quarter, half and quarter circle skirts. Change any measurement and everything redraws.
2 half circles, 2 seams in the finished skirt. Uses 87 3/4 in (223 cm) of 44 in wide fabric; buy 2 1/2 yd · 2.3 m. Waistband: cut 1 strip 30 3/4 in × 3 3/4 in on the lengthwise grain.
| Pieces | Seams | Fabric used | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | doesn't fit | – | |
| 2 | 87 3/4 in | 2 1/2 yd | |
| 3 | 94 1/8 in | 2 5/8 yd | |
| 4 | 100 in | 2 7/8 yd | |
| 6 | 103 7/8 in | 3 yd | |
| 8 | 102 5/8 in | 2 7/8 yd |
Finished hem edge: 166 3/4 in (423.5 cm) all the way round. Planning to bind it? The bias tape calculator works out the strips.
Measure your waist where the skirt will sit. Waist ease is added to that before the radius is worked out; ¼–½ in (6–13 mm) is the usual allowance for a waistband. Choose how much of a circle the skirt is: a full circle swings the most, a half circle hangs closer and needs far less fabric. Then enter the finished length from the waist seam to the hem and the usable width of your fabric, selvage to selvage minus anything you will trim off.
The waist radius is the stitching line: (waist + ease) ÷ (2π × fraction of a circle). You draw the waist cutting line closer to the centre by the waist seam allowance, and the hem cutting line at waist radius + length + hem allowance. When the skirt is cut in panels, each straight edge also gets the side seam allowance.
Worked example: a 28 in waist with ½ in ease, full circle. 28½ ÷ 6.283 = 4.54 in, so the waist stitching line sits 4½ in from the centre and you cut at 3⅞ in with a ⅝ in allowance. A 22 in skirt with a ⅝ in hem is cut at 27⅛ in, which needs a square about 54¼ in across: too wide for 44 in fabric, so the calculator cuts two half circles from opposite selvages, nested together.
The layout tries one to eight pieces, keeping a seam or the centre of each panel on the grain, and recommends the fewest seams that come within 10% of the least fabric. Pick another row in Ways to cut it to see its layout. Tick one-way print for fabric with a nap or an upright motif. The diagram shows the fabric opened out, single layer.
Before hemming, let the skirt hang: the bias sections drop. A circle hem is narrow, about ½–1 in (1.3–2.5 cm), so the curve turns up without bunching.
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Try WebTraceCheckParts of a circle skirt's waist run on the bias, which stretches as you handle it. Staystitch the waist edge just inside the seam line soon after cutting, and if your fabric is loose or drapey, enter a little less ease (or a minus amount) so the waist starts slightly smaller.
In one piece only if the skirt is short: the cut hem radius has to fit in half the fabric width. With a 28 in waist, ½ in ease and a ⅝ in hem allowance, that means a skirt of about 16¾ in at most. Longer skirts need two half circles or more panels, which the calculator lays out for you.
The waist radius shown first is the stitching line. The two “Cut … at” figures are the lines you cut: the waist cut sits closer to the centre by the waist seam allowance, and the hem cut sits further out by the hem allowance.
Fold the fabric or pattern paper so the centre point is a corner. Hold the end of a tape measure on that corner and swing it, marking dots at the radius every inch or two, then join the dots. A pencil tied to a non-stretch string works too.
The smaller the part of a circle, the less fabric, but the waist radius grows: a half circle's radius is twice a full circle's, so the hem radius does not halve. Change the shape and compare the fabric figure for your own length.