A DIY Knit Circle Skirt Tutorial

Hi, I’m Allie from alliemjackson.com and in today’s tutorial we’ll be making a knit circle skirt using Rayon Nylon Ponte de Roma from Fabric Wholesale Direct. This is a super simple project that anyone make to their own measurements without worrying about patterns!

I used this circle skirt calculator to determine the measurements to cut: all you do is type in your waist measurement, how full you want your skirt to be (for this tutorial, pick full), and your desired length (pick midi) and the calculator gives you the radius and the length you’ll need in the next steps. (Note: I entered a waist measurement slightly larger than my actual waist measurement because I wanted some extra fullness in my skirt--this extra waist width gets taken up by the waistband elastic.)

Materials:

Ponte de Roma (yardage determined by the circle skirt calculator)

Matching thread

Coordinating elastic, I used 2”

First, fold your fabric so the selvedges match up and trim the top edge of your fabric so that it is straight. Then, using a straight ruler, measure from the folded corner along the folded edge the length of your radius (determined by the calculator) and mark with a fabric pencil.

Repeat along the top edge, then, at several points between the two. You should be marking out a quarter circle.

Do the same measuring, this time from the radius marking to the hem, using a length of 24” as determined by the circle skirt calculator (or as long or short as you want!). Mark on the fold, then move the ruler slightly and mark again until you have traced out the whole hem edge.

Cut along the two dashed lines you have marked out.

If you hold up your fabric unfolded at this point, you should have something that looks like a half donut. That’s half of your skirt!

Repeat the marking and cutting steps until you have another half-donut shaped skirt piece.

Place your two skirt pieces right sides together and stitch along the straight edges using a narrow zigzag stitch and a ⅝” seam allowance.

To determine the length of elastic you’ll need, hold it around your waist so that it is snug but not too tight. Mark the length and then add 1” before you cut. Overlap the elastic by 1” and sew the elastic right side of one end to wrong side of the other end to create a circle, using a zigzag stitch.

Pin four even distances in the circle of elastic, and do the same in the waist of your skirt pieces. Match the four pins in the elastic to the four pins in the skirt and pin them right sides together.

Sew the elastic to the skirt using a narrow zigzag and a ⅜” seam allowance. If your elastic and fabric aren’t precisely the same length, stretch the elastic to the length of the fabric (without stretching the fabric) as you sew. This is the trickiest part!

Since the Ponte de Roma is quite stable, I didn’t hem mine, but if you prefer a hem, press your hem up 1” and hem with a zigzag stitch (or use a straight stitch and a double needle). If you choose not to sew a hem, you may want to trim any jagged bits with a rotary cutter or scissors just to even out the hem before wearing.

Your skirt is done, wear it proudly!

This blog post was made by fashionista and dear friend Allie Jackson. Check her out at alliemjackson.com