How to Make a Belly Dancing Circle Skirt

Make a circle skirt for belly dancing.

Belly dancing is a sexy and beautiful style of dancing that uses many elaborate costumes, and among the most dramatic is the circle skirt. A circle skirt is a skirt that when laid flat forms a complete circle. This is just about the widest hems you can get on a skirt, making the skirt full and sweeping. The downside to a circle skirt is that because it is at least partly cut on the bias, it will stretch. This is why it is very important to hang the skirt for a while before you hem it.

Things You'll Need

• Pattern paper or wrapping paper
• Scissors
• Measuring tape
• Pencil
• Yarn or string
• Fabric
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• 3/4-inch-wide elastic

Instructions

Pattern

1. Cut the paper into a 45-inch by 90-inch rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half widthwise, so you now have a 45-inch square.

2. Measure yourself with the measuring tape around the hips, halfway between your navel and the fullest part of your hips. Measure yourself from that point to the length you want the skirt. Write the measurements down.

3. Divide the hip measurement by 6.28, and add 1 1/2 inches to your answer. Round the number to the next highest whole number and write the answer down.

4. Tie the end of the yarn to the pencil. Cut the yarn as long as the answer you get in Step 3. Secure the other end of the yarn to the corner of the paper next to the fold. Draw an arc on the paper with the pencil.

5. Add the number you got in Step 3 to the length you want the skirt plus 2 inches. Tie more yarn to the pencil and cut the yarn as long as your answer.

6. Secure the other end of the yarn to the corner of the paper next to the fold. Draw a larger arc on the paper with the pencil around the first arc.

7. Cut out the pattern along the lines you drew, and unfold the pattern. The pattern will look like a half circle with a smaller half circle cut out of the middle.

Sewing

1. Fold the fabric in half widthwise. Place the pattern on the fabric, lining up the straight sides to the fabric selvage, and pin in place. Cut around the pattern with the scissors. Remove the pattern.

2. Place one half-circle on top of the other with right sides together. Sew the side seams together on the sewing machine, 1/2 inch from the edges.

3. Fold the top edge of the skirt along over 1/4 inch with the wrong side facing each other. Fold it over again another 1 inch and pin it. Sew the fold in place on the sewing machine leaving a 2-inch opening in the back of the skirt.

4. Cut a piece of elastic for your hip measurement plus 1 inch. Attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic and inset it into the opening in the skirt. Push the elastic around the top of the skirt and back out the opening. Remove the pin, and sew the elastic together and the opening closed.

5. Hang the skirt for at least one week to allow the bias to stretch.

6. Put on the skirt and have a friend even out the hem with scissors.

7. Sew around the bottom edge of the skirt 1/4 inch from the edge.

8. Fold the bottom edge of the skirt along the stitch line with the wrong side facing each other. Fold it over again another 1/4 inch and pin it. Sew the fold in place on the sewing machine.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have pattern paper or wrapping paper, you can use newspaper to make the pattern.

• You can leave one or both of the side seams open and finish the edges to form slits in the skirt.

• If you need the skirt sooner than a week, completely wet the skirt and hang-dry it. The weight of the water can speed up the stretching. Only do this if the fabric is washable.

References

• Shira.net; Making a Circle Skirt; Shira
• What the Craft.com; Circle Skirt Tutorial; Lex; 2009
• Shira.net; How to Make a Narrow Hem; Shira; 2008
• Ruric-Amari Belly Dance and Bollywood; Circle Skirt, Fast, Faster and Fastest; Maura Enright; 2010
• Ruric-Amari Belly Dance and Bollywood; Costume Hems; Maura Enright; 2010
• "Draping for Apparel Design"; Helen Joseph - Armstrong; 2000

Resources

• Ruric-Amari Belly Dance and Bollywood; Making Circle Skirts without Patterns; Maura Enright; 2010
• What the Craft.com; My Circle Skirt Turned Out Big Enough for an Elephant; Lex; 2009