Three Quarter Circle Skirt
No Blocks are needed to draft the circle skirts, you only need your waist measurement, including ease.
Example: Outcome
Figure B shows the end shape of garment in yellow, like a circle with a quarter wedge removed. The white shows the final pattern piece, which is a quarter of the yellow shape.
Instructions: Drafting 3/4 Circle Skirt - Figure 1
- Draw a horizontal line from A to B1: the length of this line is your waist measurement (including 1 inch ease), divided by 4.71*
- Measure from B1 to C1, your desired skirt length
- Measure the same distances vertically down from A, to B2 and C2 making sure that the vertical line is at right angles to the horizontal.
*The waist measurement I am using (including ease) is 27.38 inches. My skirt length is 24.5 inches.
Instructions: Drafting 3/4 Circle Skirt - Figure 2
We want to draw a line at 45 degrees to the A~C lines:
- Square down and across from points B1 & B2 to make a perfect square: A, B1 and B2 are three points of the square.
- Mark the fourth point of the square D.
- Draw a line from A and through D. Make this line the same length as the length A~C1 & A~C2. Mark the end point C3.
Instructions: Drafting 3/4 Circle Skirt - Figure 3
We now want to draw a line that will create a 22.5 degree angle down from the horizontal A~C1 line.
- Draw a straight line between points C1 and C4, and mark the half-way point.
- Draw a line from A through the halfway point and mark the end point C4. The length of this line is the same as A~C1, A~C2 & A~C3.
- Measure from A along this A~C4 line and mark point B3. The length of A~B3 is the same as A~B1 & A~B2.
Instructions: Drafting 3/4 Circle Skirt - Figure 4
- Draw a semi-circle shape from B3 to B2.
- Draw a semi-circle shape from C4 to C2.
The way to create the correct circular shape:
- Measure the A to C distance with a tape measure, then swing the tape measure around (pinned at A) and mark that measurement at various points. Blend with a curved ruler.
- Repeat for A to B to create the curve for the waist.
Instructions: Drafting 3/4 Circle Skirt - Figure 5
- This is the final (working) pattern piece (i.e. seam allowance, cutting instructions still need to be added, etc).
- You could cut 4, or cut two on fold.
The grainline can be placed a number of ways, depending on where you want the flares to be.