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Yoga Waistband CIRCLE SKIRT…so simple, so cozy!

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Hey guys….you knows it’s always just a matter of time before my girls get an itch for new skirts. Both of them would rather wear skirts over pants, any ol’ day. I thought with two girls, at least one would be more of a tom-boy than the other….but nope, skirts, necklaces, ballet slippers, and ribbons, ALL-DAY-EVERY-DAY!

 

And since spring is here and the weather has now really warmed up, I bought some cute spring-y knit and whipped up a quick Circle Skirt in 30 minutes.  (And then a second one in 30 more minutes!)

 

 

And because the main section of the skirt is a circle, once they twirl, the skirt lifts right up and spins!

 

 

 

The knit I purchased was a little thin, so I decided to double up the skirt portion of the skirt.  However, if your fabric is thick enough…you can just keep it a single layer.  However, I kinda like how the layers peek out around the bottom.  (And nope, no need to hem the bottom.  Knit fabric won’t fray.)

 

 

 

These girls are too easy to please!

 

 

 

My favorite part of this skirt is that comfy fold over waistband.  It’s stretchy but perfectly snug.  And if your seam under there isn’t perfect….it’s okay, the waistband hides it! :)

 

 

 

And this skirt is NOT just for the little girls….I’ll show you how to figure out your own dimensions down below.  And then you’ll be a yoga waistband addict! :)

 

 

 

Ready to whip up a quick circle skirt??

 

 

SUPPLIES:

  • Knit Fabric (I have found those Tshirt Bed Sheets on clearance…and those work great for this too!)
  • Sewing supplies

***Check out my Sewing Terms 101 post, for additional help.

 

 

Okay, so it looks like there’s a bunch of steps to this tutorial and that it’s super long…..but I tried to be really descriptive to help you determine the measurements you need. So it really isn’t as long as it looks. Just be sure to read through the entire tutorial before getting started. Then, it will make sense and you’ll speed right through this!

 

STEP 1: First of all, measure your subject’s waist. Then determine how long you want the skirt to be. Write those 2 numbers down.

**For example: Chloe’s waist is 20 inches and I wanted the finished skirt to measure 12 inches long.

 

 

STEP 2: Now, let’s figure out how much of a yoga waistband you want. Do you want a nice tall band? A shorter one? It’s totally personal preference….but I like about a 4 inch tall yoga band for me, after it’s folded halfway over. For my girls (who are 4 and 8), I think about a 2 1/2 inch tall band works great, after it’s folded halfway over. (You can always fold it more than halfway over, which will make the band look taller….but again, totally up to you how you wear it.) Decide on the height you want your waistband to be after it’s folded down in half, and write it down.

**For example: I decided to make Chloe’s folded over waistband 2 1/2 inches tall.

 

 

STEP 3: Now, take that waistband height measurement from STEP 2 and multiply it by 4…..and then add 1 inch (for a seam allowance). That’s the HEIGHT measurement for the waistband piece. Now, subtract 2 inches from the waist measurement (so that it will fit snug)…..and that’s the WIDTH measurement for the waistband piece.

**For example: I multiplied 2 1/2 inches by 4, which is 10. Plus 1, equals 11. So, the total height of the waistband piece needed to be 11 inches tall. And since her waist is 20 inches, I subtracted 2 and got 18. So, my waistband piece needed to be 11 inches tall x 18 inches wide.

 

 

 

 

STEP 4: Now, take the finished skirt height that you decided on in STEP 1 and subtract the folded over waistband height from STEP 2. Then add 1/2 inch (for a seam allowance). This will be the length of the skirt portion.

**For example: 12 inches minus 2 1/2 inches plus 1/2 inch = 10 inches.

 

 

 

 

Okay, first of all, let’s cut the skirt portion of the skirt first.

 

Cut a circle from paper that has the same circumference as your subject’s waist. (Or, you may get lucky and find a bowl that has the same circumference measurement as your subject’s waist like I did.) Place the paper circle (or your bowl) onto your fabric and trace around it. Just be sure there’s room all the way around the circle/bowl for the measurement in STEP 3.

 

 

Measure out from the drawn circle, the measurement from STEP 3, and make marks all the way around the drawn circle. (You can actually connect the dots with a marker, to give yourself an actual line to cut…but I didn’t do that in the images below.)

**For example: I stretched my measuring tape 10 inches out from the drawn circle and made marks all the way around at the 10 inch mark.

 

 

Connect the marks that you drew all the way around the circle, and cut out your larger circle.

 

Then cut out the inner circle.

 

 

Now, because my fabric was pretty thin, I decided to make the shirt portion 2 layers. So, I used the original circle to cut out an identical circle and kept them placed together as one piece. (If you use two layers, you’ll just be treating it as if it’s one layer…no biggee.)

 

 

Set aside. Now, it’s time to create the waistband.

 

Use the measurements determined above and cut your waistband piece. BE SURE that the stretch of the fabric stretches across with the width of the fabric piece.

 

 

 

 

 

Take the left side and fold it over to the right, with right sides together, and match up the two right edges.

 

 

Then sew those two right edges together, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, creating a tube of fabric. (The right edge was rotated a quarter turn so in the image below, it’s up at the top.) Use a zig-zag stitch so that it still allows for stretching.

 

 

Then, fold the tube down onto it self, with wrong sides together.

 

 

Match up the two raw edges along the bottom. And to eliminate some of the bulk, open up the seams along the inside and press flat.

 

 

Place 4 pins along the bottom edge, pinning the two layers together. Position the 4 pins so that they equally divide this bottom edge into 4 equal parts.

 

 

Then, add 4 more pins, diving the bottom edge into 8 equal parts.

 

 

Now place the skirt portion down in front of you. Place 4 pins along the inner circle, dividing it into 4 equal parts. (And if you cut 2 layers for your skirt section, just place them together and act as if they are one piece.)

 

 

Add 4 more pins, dividing the inner circle into 8 equal parts.

 

 

Now, grab your waistband and match up the pinned edge with the inner circle (making sure that the skirt portion is facing “right” side up). Each of the 8 pins along the waistband will match up with the 8 pins along the inner circle. So, start by matching up one pin from each and pin them together…

 

 

…and then move to the next pin. Match those up and pin them together. Keep repeating all the way around the circle.

 

 

As you’re working your way around, you’ll need to slide the band around the skirt so that you can continue pinning around the circle. And keep in mind, the skirt portion is slightly bigger than the waistband, so there will be a slight pucker between each pin. But don’t worry….that’s how it should be.

 

 

Flip the skirt inside out so that the waistband is now on the inside of the skirt.

 

 

Then begin sewing the waistband to the skirt, starting at one of the pins. However, we need to remedy the pucker.

 

 

Gently pull from the next pin location, until the bottom layer stretches just enough to match up with the top layers of fabric. Use a 1/2 inch seam allowance and a zig-zag stitch (to allow for stretching).

 

 

Sew all the way around the skirt. And then sew around one more time to help add more strength.

 

And don’t worry if your fabric kind of ripples a little bit. We’ll fix that later on.

 

 

Trim off the extra fabric.

 

 

Then fold the waistband up and use a steam iron to press the seam flat. The rippled seam will kinda shrink back into shape.

 

 

And see? The rippled seam flattens nicely. :)

 

 

Now fold down the waistband just how you like it……and wear that skirt everywhere you go! :)

 

 

 

And enjoy!

-Ashley

 

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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