Make A Plus Size Circle Skirt: Part Two
In this post, I'll walk you through the process of creating a plus size circle skirt using a vintage fabric panel and a waistband from an old pair of leggings. This skirt is super easy to make! The fabric panels are a little difficult to find, so I'll give you some alternative fabric choices as well.
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Materials Used:
- Circle skirt fabric panel
(these don't turn up that often on Ebay, so you'll have to keep checking. There are a lot of Christmas tree skirts, though, if you want a holiday skirt!)
- OR a vintage round tablecloth
(these are easier to find)
- bias tape
- An old pair of leggings (or another piece of clothing with an elastic waistband)
Start with your pre-printed panel. It will look something like this. Joann Fabrics used to sell these, but they don't anymore, so you'll have to find one on Ebay or from a local secondhand shop. Since I made the my first circle skirt with one of these panels, I've been keeping an eye out for them, and I finally found another one I liked!
As I mentioned in my last post, I had always hesitated to buy these because they only give instructions for sizes small to large, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to adjust it for a plus size circle skirt. I found that it was easily done!
The panel has instructions printed right on it, which is kind of cool. I decided to ignore most of this, however. The instructions say to cut it in half, sew it back up, add a zipper, and add a fabric waistband plus button. I chose not to cut it in half, and I gave it an elastic waistband from an old pair of leggings.
Use this tutorial by Simple Simon and Co to figure out your measurements for a circle skirt. Fold your skirt in quarters like you’re making a giant snowflake (this is a great analogy from the Simple Simon and Co tutorial linked above).
Here's what I did last time: Add 1/4″ to 1/2″ to your measurement and mark your skirt, measuring from the point (see the blue dotted line in the picture below--it's kind of light on the blue fabric, sorry!). I clipped the sides of my skirt so that the fabric wouldn’t move while I was marking/cutting it.
You want your skirt to be bigger than your waist, so that you can gather it with the elastic waistband, which will allow your skirt enough stretch to easily slip on and off. I measured 7" down from the tip, and my skirt is quite comfortable. You can see that my line is a few inches lower than the line printed on the fabric, but my plus size circle skirt was still a good length. I was worried it might end up too short!
This time, I used my previous cut-out as a template for this skirt.
Adding a Waistband to Your Plus Size Circle Skirt
Last time, I used foldover elastic, which worked out fine, but the waistband was a little narrow. This time, I decided to use the waistband from an old pair of leggings that I no longer wanted. Initially, I left about 2" of fabric below the waistband. I cut this down to about 1" later, as it seemed easier to work with.
To match up the skirt and waistband, I marked each one into quarters and then matched up the waistband with the skirt.
As you're sewing, stretch the waistband to make sure it fits the full length of the waist on the skirt. The skirt will be gathered as you do this. I serged the inside seam of my waistband after sewing, but you can also zigzag along it, or use an overcast stitch on your sewing machine.
Hemming Your Plus Size Circle Skirt
And lastly, I added a rolled hem to the bottom of the skirt with my serger. The instructions called for bias tape, and I think that would look nice, too.
The Finished Skirt
Here's the finished skirt:
