The Little Red Circle Skirt
I can’t believe it but it’s been raining for like 3 days straight. This is good because we could really use the rain but this also means I can’t exactly go outside to take pics and inside is too dark with all the clouds. Luckily today it cleared up and took these photos of my new circle skirt!
Remember my last circle skirt? Well, what I didn’t tell you was that skirt was a test sample for my new class I’m teaching on drafting circle skirts. Monday night was my first class that I taught (it went really well! yay!) and this red skirt was my in progress “example” skirt I used to demonstrate steps to my students.
The fabric is a red linen which is on the thinner side but is much stiffer than the rayon I used on my last skirt. The linen gives the skirt a little more of a voluminous effect.
I did a baby hem on this skirt rather than hem tape like last time ’cause I knew you might be able to see the underside of the skirt because I made this skirt with a slight hi-lo hem. It’s most obvious from a side angle.
Making the hi-lo hem was easy, and I made a nifty little graphic to demonstrate!
Basically, you take your circle skirt pattern, which looks like a big donut, and you shift your center circle (for your waist) forward a few inches closer to the front of your pattern. That makes the front of the skirt shorter and the back longer.
My hi-lo effect isn’t very exaggerated. I was limited to the width of my fabric, it was only 54″ and I didn’t want to cut the skirt in two pieces. I like the single back seam look. Nor did I want the front of the skirt to be too short
The rest of the skirt is pretty much the same as last time – regular zipper in the back, waistband with a button (this time it’s a shiny shell button!).
I pretty much love this skirt! And it’s red and I don’t own much red clothing right now so something new is pretty exciting. It fits well at the waist and the linen fabric gives it a different shape compared to my teal skirt. And the fact that it’s solid makes it easy to match with tops! Circle skirts for the win!
In other news I got to wear my bombshell swimsuit this weekend (to a rather shallow and slightly slimy river, but whatevs) and I’m going to Florida for a week next week to visit family and I’m sure I’ll get to wear it again. It’s quickly becoming my favorite swimsuit!
That is a cute skirt! I like the flowy effect of the fabric 🙂 Circle skirts are really easy to make and very fun to wear!
So pretty! It drapes really nicely and the subtle hi-lo is perfect.
Another great (and colourful) skirt. Neat trick for creating a hi-low hem btw.
Red is a fabulous colour for a skirt like this 🙂 Looks lovely!
thanks for the tip on the high-low effect. i love red–your skirt looks fabulous!
You’re so clever! Circle skirts are the best. Where are you teaching this class?
At The Common Thread in austin. I’ll probably schedule another class next month and post about it.
Thanks!
You really, really do suit a circle skirt lady! And I adore the subtle high-low hem…it’s been pinned to my sewing inspiration board already ;o)
The skirt turned out very pretty. I’m glad the class is going well!
Super pretty!! I love the hi-lo hem! Though, for me, this adjustment might actually make the front and back of mine finally match up!
This is all kinds of rad, Dixie! And the subtle hi-lo hem is fab 😀
Cute skirt! I am currently taking a patternmaking course and was delighted to see how easy it was to make patterns for circle skirts, in full, half, quarter and high-low hems like this!
And it’s still raining! I’m so glad because I was getting tired of watering every day to keep some plants alive. Anyhoos, I love the red. I think all of my circle and half-circle skirts have turned into hi-lo but I get too lazy to let them hang before hemming.
Love it! That slight high-low hem looks great.
This is cute! I love the twist of the high-low hem! Great trick!
What a clever high-low hem trick! Would really like to try that.
I love how you created the hi-low hem effect… what an awesome idea! It looks like I missed seeing the rain here last week from being out of town. Enjoy your trip to Florida!
Thanks! yeah, the rain was nice. we needed it. maybe I’ll bring the skirt to the next meet up since i missed this week.
haha, i’m a little lazy with the hanging, too but i figure with the purposefully hi-lo it won’t be so obvious if it’s a little wonky ya know. 😉 thanks
oooh, a patternmaking course sound very cool! yeah, i love the full effect so much. maybe i’ll get around to making half and 3/4 size eventually. 😉
thanks amanda!
that’s what I tell my students – you may need to hem your skirt more in the front than the back if ya know, you got a, uh, robust back end. in my case i’ve got wide hips but not much in the back to speak of. thanks!
aww, thank you!! 🙂
thanks, it’s nice to have something bright and red like this.
thank you!
aww, thanks lady!
yeah, i think i’m getting addicted to them. i love the flowy-ness and how fast I can whip one up. thanks!
thanks anto!
The red looks great on you!! That fabric has a great drape.
I love how the hi low effect is so subtle but still beautiful!
I love the hi-lo hem on your circle skirt! I have to try this! I just made my first circle skirt and I was thinking about how awesome it would be to make it with a hi-low hem. Glad I found your post. Check out my circle skirts!
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Love this red little skirt! I love how it looks on you, the shape and the placement! Great blog btw, found it today when I was searching for little red skirts.