My First Circle Skirt

The first garment I ever made was a circle skirt. I'd been doing crafts of one kind or another since I was a child, but dressmaking was new. A circle skirt seemed the easiest thing to cut and to sew, so that's where I started. This is the story of that skirt, wonky zip and all.

The pattern

I bought a circle skirt pattern from my local fabric shop, about a year ago now. And then, if I'm honest, it sat waiting for me for weeks before I finally started tackling it. If you have a pattern sitting on a shelf waiting for you too, you're not alone.

If you'd rather work out your own measurements than buy a pattern, the Circle Skirt Calculator does the maths for the waist and hem.

The fabric

I chose a cotton with a light stretch, in a solid block colour. I deliberately avoided a print because I didn't want to have to worry about lining up a pattern across the seams on my first go. One less thing to think about meant I could concentrate on the sewing.

Cotton has become my favourite fabric to work with, and these days I'm tempted by all the beautiful prints at the shop near me. For a first project, though, a solid colour made life easier.

Sewing it

On the whole, the skirt went well. Sewing the waistband was good practice, and it gave me a head start later, when I moved on to the collars and cuffs of my first shirt.

The zip was the trickiest part by far. It came out a little skew-whiff and wonky, and it's still slightly squint today.

Why I kept the wonky zip

I could unpick the zip and redo it, and maybe one day I will. But for now I've left it as it is, because I like what it shows: exactly where my skill level was when I started. Every time I see it, it reminds me how much I've improved since.

Looking back, the fix wasn't a different zip or a different pattern. It was getting better at using my sewing machine, and using the right settings for the job. Both of those only came with practice. The Zipper Insertion page has the methods I'd follow now.

Skirt number two

Since then I've made another circle skirt, and it turned out much better. That's the one I wear when the weather is hot.

What I learned

• Start simple. A circle skirt was a good first garment for me: it needs very little fitting, and you end up with something you can wear.
• Choose a forgiving fabric. A solid cotton meant no print matching. Fabrics vary a lot in how difficult they are to sew, and stretchy ones are especially tricky.
• Measure accurately. Measurements need to be done carefully, because errors are much harder to fix once the fabric is cut. The Body Measurement Worksheet is what I'd use now.
• For me, the zip was the hardest part. Give it extra time, and get to know your machine's settings first.
• Keep your first attempt. Mistakes and all, it's the best record of your progress you'll ever have.

Next came my first dress, and after that, my first shirt.