In today’s post: Learn how to make a half circle skirt in any size! Follow the simple steps to create your own pattern and sew a new skirt.
I’ve mentioned before how much I love skirts, especially in warm weather. People think I’m all dressed up, but what they don’t realize is that skirts with elastic waists are just my warm weather version of sweats. And skirts are super easy to sew, especially when you use a stretchy knit fabric so you don’t even have to bother with zippers or buttons.
If you’ve made a circle skirt before, you know they are pretty darn easy. This skirt is actually a half circle skirt, which means it’s not quite as full. That’s a good thing for a more casual skirt: it takes less fabric, is even easier to sew, and is less likely to give you a Marilyn Monroe moment while you’re chasing your kids at the park.
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How to sew a half circle skirt
To make a half circle skirt, you do need to start with just a teeny bit of math, but don’t worry, it’s easy. You need two measurements: your waist measurement, and a skirt length measurement (the total length you want the skirt to be, from top of waistband to bottom of hem).
Take your waist measurement and divide by 3.14 to get the waist radius. So if your waist is 31 and a half inches, you’ll end up with a waist radius of 10. If you get a weird decimal, just round to the nearest quarter inch.
Then take your length measurement and add it to the waist radius to get the hem radius. I wanted my skirt about 25 inches long, so 10 + 25 = 35.
NOTE: Ok, I have to stop here and add a little more explanation because some people are getting angry at me and telling me I don’t know how to do math 😉 Yes, I am aware that dividing your waist measure by 3.14 gives you the diameter of a circle, not the radius. But that’s ok, because we are making a HALF circle skirt, so the diameter is the measurement we want (you only use the true radius if you are making a FULL circle skirt which requires a lot more fabric)! I am referring to this measurement as a waist radius because you will use that measurement as a radius when you cut out the skirt (see photo below). I promise it works – this is how you make a HALF circle skirt – so please don’t leave me a mean comment about my math ability. Thanks!
You’ll likely need 2 yards of knit fabric, although if the measurements you just got are bigger than mine, you may need a little more than 2 yards. Fold the fabric in half (hamburger, not hot dog) and place it on the ground with the fold going along the top and the selvedge edges running down each side. Measure out from the top corner using the waist radius, moving the yardstick and pinning right at the radius number to create a curve, as shown:
Measure again to create a hem curve, this time using the hem radius number. Cut along the pins…
…then sew down the side seam (make sure fabric is RST at this point).
Next you’ll want to cut 2 waistband pieces from some of the extra fabric. The waistband should be 5 inches tall, and half your waist measurement wide. Make sure the long edges of the waistband pieces go with the stretch in the fabric (side to side as seen below). Place the pieces RST and sew all the way down one short side. On the other short side, sew down a little more than halfway, then leave an opening, and sew the bottom half inch, as shown by dots below.
Fold the waistband in half (right side out) and press. Now you have a skirt piece and a waistband piece, as you see below.
Slide the waistband over the top of the skirt and pin the raw edges together. ***One of the waistband seams has an opening; make sure that opening is facing out at this point.***
NOTE: this skirt will only have one seam, so you can decide if you want it to go down the back, or down one of the sides. When pinning the waistband to the skirt, remember you’ll wants the seams in the waistband to be on each side, so either match up the skirt seam with one of them, or center it in between them.
Sew waistband to skirt, being sure to use a stitch that will stretch. I use my serger here and give the waist a tiny stretch as I sew. If you don’t have a serger, be sure to use a zigzag or stretch stitch here, so the waistband will stretch over your hips when taking it on and off.
Flip the waistband up and press. Cut 2 inch wide elastic to your waist measurement and thread it through the waistband, using a large safety pin. Try on the skirt and figure out how tight you want the elastic, then sew the ends together and trim.
At this point all you have left is to hem the skirt! Make sure to pin and press up the hem before sewing. On knit half circle skirts I fold up only once, and then use a double needle to sew the hem.
NOTE: If your fabric is very stretchy or very heavy, it’s a good idea to hang up the skirt and let it drape for 24 hours before hemming. Since part of the skirt is cut on the bias, it’s possible that some portions will stretch out and hang a little lower than others, which you’ll want to take note of before hemming.
And that does it! One more comfy skirt for spring.
One more resource you might appreciate is this circle skirt calculator, which can help you figure out how much fabric you will need and calculate the radii for your for different types of circle skirts.
Looking for more skirt sewing tutorials? Try these posts:
The half circle skirt in a maxi length
The perfect flattering gathered skirt
The easy everyday skirt tutorial
The everyday skirt in maxi length
Sweatpants to cozy skirt refashion
Easy to sew girls’ skirt with attached shorts
Where did you get the antic for this adorable skirt?
Thank you so much for that tutorial !
I absolutely love your women’s clothing tutorials and this is no exception. The clothes are cute but very functional and not fussy at all to sew. I will be trying this for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your generosity in sharing both the pattern and your tutorial which is very easy to understand. I shall try to make one for myself and one for my baby granddaughters too.
Beautiful skirt, and EXCELLENT instructions!!! However, if this is YOU in the pictures, goodness, you really don’t have anything to “hide”…..I bought 2 knit maxi skirts for Easter, and although I usually HATE wearing skirts or dresses, these two both fit me well (I’m a plus size) and they are super comfortable, so I went and got some wide elastic to make some more of them!
Thank you so much for this tutorial! Your work is fantastic!
Awesome! Thank you so much! ! I need to make many of these (and the maxi ones too!) Your tutorials are always awesome!
“Take your waist measurement and divide by 3.14 to get the waist radius”
ACK!!!
Wait, everyone. Don’t cut your fabric yet.
The circumference of a circle (distance around) is pi [3.14] x the _diameter_, not the radius.
Either [pi x d] or [2 x pi x r].
(Go Bing it.)
So if your waist is 31, the _radius_ (what is shown being marked on the folded fabric) would be about 5.
Look at it this way to ballpark double-check: are you closer to 10″ thick on average, or 20″?
If the radius (halfway across the circle) is 5″, you’d be about 10″ thick, with a waist (circumference) about 31″.
If the radius is 10″, you’d be about 20″ thick, your waist would be about 63″
On a slightly different note, unless the fabric is very stretchy,
or your hips aren’t much bigger than your waist,
it might be better to use the hip measurement (or maybe halfway between the two?) to make the radius,
then cut the elastic to the right size for the waist.
Hi! The way you’ve explained it is correct if you are making a circle skirt (with the fabric folded into four layers), but this tutorial is for a half circle skirt (with only two layers of fabric). So the “waist radius” that we mark isn’t actually the radius of the circle, it’s twice that. It gets pretty confusing, but I promise it works as written 🙂
Also, you’re right that this tutorial is written for knit fabrics with some stretch. Even a pretty stable knit without a ton of stretch will work when using the waist measurement instead of the hip measurement because fabrics cut on a curve have a lot of give. But for those whose waists are quite a bit smaller than their hips, using something in between the waist and hip measurement might be a great idea – thanks!
I made the skirt, for myself and my daughter. Thank you for this great tutorial!
http://shujindakara.blogspot.jp/2017/04/menjahit-rok-flare-sangat-mudah.html
Yes the comment was right but unfortunately I cut my material before I asked someone who does maths teaching for a living! My material was ruined and he couldn’t believe I was so stupid to have followed the instructions thanks for not knowing the difference between the diameter, radius and pie which now thankfully I do.
Hi, Taz, sorry you’re frustrated, but if you followed the instructions in the post what you cut will work just fine for a HALF CIRCLE skirt, which is what we mare making in this post. When making a skirt like this, you are cutting HALF a circle, not a full circle. That means the “waist radius” or measurement from the corner of the fabric must be TWICE as long as the actual radius of a circle (so in essence, yes it will be the diameter) or the waist will not be big enough to fit on you. The person you consulted is probably not familiar with the construction of a half circle skirt, and I”m sorry he thought you were stupid to follow the instructions that have worked great for everyone else who has commented here.
You all are ridiculous 😂 making it way too complicated and I see no one taking ownership once you realized the nice lady who shared her pattern for free was right and was always right. Thanks for sharing your pattern lady and for being a good sport with some salty sewers!
Made this today! First clothing item I ever made, your instructions & pictures were awesome! My question is that it’s shorter in the back than the front when I put it on due to my behind =) can you explain how to account for that???
Did you use 60 inch fabric here? Trying to figure out how to make my skirt a decent length, and failing.
i also need this information. I am 5’8” and 70 years old. I want my skirt below my knees. I would also like to make a maxi.
Don’t see how this pattern would work unless you had really wide fabric.
I’m so confused 🙁 I may just be dumb because I don’t understand this at all.
I really want a half circle skirt. I will be adding the waistband separately . So if my waist is 31.5 – I get 10.03. I think I need a zip because my hips are about 41″.
My waistband is about 4″. The first arch – is that 10″? I’m confused because when I look at your pic, the dot is placed on the 8. If your length was 35, wouldn’t it take up most of your fabric placing your cutting line closer to the end of the fabric??
Thanks so much for the wonderfully clear tutorial! For a 5/8 seam allowance, one would add 2.5 inches to the waist measurement, correct?
You really should correct the verbiage in this post. The circumference of a circle (waist measurement) divided by pi (3.14) will produce the diameter of a circle not the radius “divide by 3.14 to get the waist radius.” While you would use the diameter of your waist circle as the radius for your half circle skirt, I’d appreciate it if you’d straighten out the sentence. I read it (I looked at the post for an elastic treatment) and wondered what in the world you were talking about. Precision is important if you’re providing instructions…Just looked at the other comments and I’m not the only person wondering about this.
I thought this at first too, but quickly realized the tutorial is correct. Since we are only making a half circle, not a full circle the waist measurement divided by Pi gives the radius used to draw a half circle with a curve length equal to the waist measurement.
Nice tutorial! I was wondering, what is your height?
thank you for this wonderful tutorial
Would it still work if the fabric is folded the other way? I’ve got a yard of stretchy fabric that I want to use, and the stretch ends up backwards.
Absolutely wonderful sewing tutorials with free patterns to boot! I love it! ???.
Just made this today. Awesome tutorial. Very easy to follow. My skirt came out perfect. Thank you.
Just made this beautiful and easy skirt! Well….mostly. I got the waistband on and decided to try it on, and it’s quite a struggle. I suspect the problem is that I forgot that it had to be a knit fabric and bought a polyester – although there is some stretch, maybe it’s significantly less than a knit would have? Also, in off-the-rack clothing, my waist is a full size smaller than my hips, so maybe I am someone who needs to take that into account (as you mentioned in a reply to comment above). All that being said, this is for a Halloween costume, so it didn’t need to be perfect. I can just barely wiggle my way in and out of it and it fits perfectly at my waist without even using elastic. Easy peasy for a quick costume, and I’m certainly not going to complain about a free tutorial! I’m sure you’re well past responding to comments on this older post, but if anyone does read this, please let me know if you have thoughts about where I went most wrong: fabric choice or needing accommodations for my especially hippy hips? Thanks for sharing your tutorial!
I would say both. If there is no zipper it needs to be pretty stretchy. I would add at least a couple inches to waist then use elastic in the waistband.
Thank you so much for the detail on how to add the waist to the skirt, being a beginner (100%) I couldn’t figure it out, and your illustration was amazing! Beautiful skirt!
I”m excited to try this! I just made my first thing for MYSELF this past weekend and it was not as pleasing as I thought it would be. I’m a plus size and have a “i’ve had large twins belly” and this very full skirt just did not do me any favors. I think this is exactly what I need!
hi, i am making a long infinity dress and the fabric which uses a half circle skirt although i was not intending to use elastic for the waist. The fabric i have only has a 2 way stretch and i am making it to fit the high waist (just under the bust). the high waist measurement in 73cm (28 inches) – would i still use the same calculation for the radius – i.e 28/3.14 = 9 inches?
All infinity dress patterns that i can find seem to use 4 way stretch and i am finding it hard to know which measurements to use. I am making 4 dresses for my bridesmaids and whilst i am fairly good at dressmaking i usually work from a pattern and this one is foxing me! any help will be much appreciated 🙂
Love this tutorial! Just wondering… do you know where you got the shoes??? Love the whole outfit!
Hi! I used your math to figure out my waist radius and hem radius but when I checked on By Hand London it said that I would need fabric wider than 60 inches. I was wondering if it would work on 43 inch or 45 inch fabric (this is the only width the fabric store carries). How wide was your fabric? I was just wondering about this because I don’t want to go out and buy fabric if it wouldn’t work. Thank you!
Is the waistband cut on the fold or just flat? Do I need to to leave room for a seam allowance?
Just made this skirt today and I love it!!!! Thank you so much ?
Hi! I’m just curious because I’m a bit of a tall girl(5’10”), what is the length of the finished skirt? Thanks!
Thank you so much fro this tutorial! You made it so simple to understand!!! I used a cotton fabric with no stretch and it still came out great!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
If the length of the skirt is the same all around, wouldn’t it be lower in the front than in the back? Perhaps it is the same if you have a small butt, but mine definitely takes up more room than my front. I have bought cheap skirts that do this and had to donate them to charity.
Cosette, you could make the skirt longer, then while wearing it, have someone mark the hem for you measuring up from the floor. You could use a ruler, yardstick, or anything else that has a mark where you want your hem to be. That way it will already be draping over your backside, and will be just right. Good luck😊
What a lovely, sophisticated, and classy skirt! I can’t wait to try this out, I also even love the color and the texture of it!
Great directions, and the skirt turned out beautifully! Thanks for the careful explanation on the radius v diameter for a half circle vs a full. I would have walked right past that otherwise and cut it wrong! Everything came together just right on this.
thanks for your useful tutorial, do i have to leave extra room for the waist if i use a wooven fabric instead of a knit one? im anxious to try making one of these!
Can I use this as a pattern for a cape?
So i’m kinda confused how this makes a circle, do you cut 2 pieces? you folded it once and cut a quarter circle so unfolding it should make a half circle? Do you cut 2 of those pieces and then sew them together?
Your tutorials are awesome. I can’t wait to try this. Many thanks
I just made this skirt out of upholstery fabric with a zipper in the back and it’s perfect. Thanks so much for the tutorial!
I like your tutorial. My problem is being legally blind I really had a tough time reading your very very light print. Can you go to a bold print for others like me?
Thank you so much for the easy beautiful pattern. I made my skirt with no problems as a beginning seamstress with no problems and the fit is perfect. Wonderful directions and visuals.
Now my mom wants one!
I’ve lost track of how many of these skirts I’ve made! The only alteration I’ve done is adding pockets, which I love. This tutorial got me back into sewing and I’m so grateful because these skirts are fantastic and so much better than the ones I used to buy from stores. Thank you!!
Thanks for a fun and easy tutorial! I was actually looking to confirm my theory on how to cut fabric for a half-circle skirt, having just made a full-circle one (for a dance costume) and needing to line it with a layer that’s less bulky. I think I’m on track now . . . and bookmarking your site to revisit for fun sewing ideas!
Thank you for the great tutorial for the half circle skirt. I followed your instructions exactly and my skirt turned out perfectly! The math works, I don’t know what others were talking about.
Thanks so much!!!! Really like all your sewing tutorials!!!