HOW TO SEW A CIRCULAR SKIRT

My apple green bedsheet dress had a circular bottom. This is how you make one.

1. Measure your waistline, or where you want the waistline of your dress to fall. Divide by four.

2. Measure length of your skirt.

3. Fold fabric into four equal parts. Take into consideration the length of your dress when you do this.

4. Trace a quarter of a circle, the size of which is 1/4 of your waist measurement, on the corner of the fabric where the folds meet. Use a paper template for easier tracing.

5. Measure the length of your skirt. The hem should be shaped like a 1/4 circle as well. To make your hem perfect, measure from the corner (red dot) of the fabric. Now you have a pattern that looks like a quarter of a doughnut!

6. Trace your doughnut to the other layers of fabric. Do not forget allowances. When you unfold your pattern, you will have a whole doughnut. Yay!

7. Sew the waistline to the bottom of the upper part of your dress.

8. Sew hem. Now, this would be very tricky. Patience is the key. Adjust the sewing machine’s presser foot as you sew along the hem to make it cleaner. Seeing that the skirt is circular, it would feel like you’re sewing a neverending hem. Compose a song as you sew. This would make the task easier. If no song comes to mind, take a break whenever you feel your patience wearing thin. Eat pancit canton. Watch American Idol. Make out. Iron the hem when you’re done.

The final product would be worth all the trouble. Your dress would float as you walk. You would re-discover the joys of twirling and jumping down a flight of stairs while you watch your dress bounce and flirt with the breeze.

HAPPY SEWING!