Flat circle skirt pattern for an elastic waist band.
This pattern is designed to be pulled on over the hips. The advantages of the elastic waist band are, more pot luck forgiving and easily altered. A skirt without any seams can be made, with this pattern, by using wider fabric, a bed sheet or a table cloth.
Materials
1. pattern paper - Pellon 110 Blue Lines or HTC Red Dot Grid - 2 yards for each skirt
2. Dritz or Omnigrid Compass Points - usually found in the quilting section. There are two types of these points. The older style fits a standard wooden yardstick as pictured. The newer style fits an Omnigrid Quilters plastic yardstick. This yardstick is pictured below in the instructions for drawing placement lines. It is 1½ inches wide.
3. wooden yard stick or plastic yardstick - to fit the Compass Points
4. calculator
5. fine point markers
Instructions
1. Layout the pattern paper and tape down the corners. Following the blue lines or the red dots trace out a large corner one inch in from the edge. This corner will be the pivot point. The lines will be stitching or fold lines. Now draw a lines one half inch out side of the original lines. These will be the cutting lines.
2. Determine the hip radius.
hip measurement_____ + 2 inches of ease =_____÷ 6.28 = ____hip radius
Set the compass for the hip radius by measuring between the points. Put the point of the compass on the pivot point and draw an arc. This will be the seam line. Then set the compass ½ inch smaller and draw the cutting line. Write the hip measure and the radius on the pattern.
3. Determine the total radius
hip radius_____ + skirt length_____ + ½ inch for hem = total radius______
Set the compass for the total radius by measuring between the points. Put the point of the compass on the pivot point and draw an arc. Then cut out the pattern.
To make a prairie or longer skirt the total radius may be greater than 36 inches. Take 2 yard Sticks and overlap them about a foot. Tape them together where they over lap.
Four Panel Skirt - This 4 panel skirt patten can be the basis for many other
styles. If one of the the seam lines is placed on a fold the skirt will have 2 half circles. If a wider piece of fabric is used and both of the seam lines are places on folds a seamless skirt will result.
Write the skirt length on the pattern and make a copy from pattern paper for easier layout.
Eight Panel Skirt
The easiest way to make an 8 panel pattern is to fold a 4 panel pattern in half. Trace around the folded pattern on a new piece of patten paper. Be sure to add a one half inch seam allowance to the folded edge. Cut four of this pattern to make layout and cutting easier. Mark the skirt length and other information, such as waist or hip measurement and radius, right on the patterns. Eight panels work well for two or four colors of fabric.
The panels are wide enough for applique or other embellishments. Traditional sewing guides call for the straight of grain to run down the center of each panel. This is not necessary. By setting the panels at an angle to the design on the fabric a variety of interesting effects can be achieved.