Maternity High-Low Circle Skirt Tutorial

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A Tutorial to Keep You Fashionable While Pregnant!

© Pintuck Pixie (www.pintuckpixie.com)

Disclaimer: Please do not copy this pattern without permission of the creator and author. Please do not sell

as your own item without prior consent and crediting Pintuck Pixie as your source for the pattern. Email all

questions regarding the pattern and policies to [email protected].



Supplies Needed:

• Flexible Fabric Tape Measure

• Poster board, construction paper or pattern paper that you can make large enough by taping together

to meet your measurement needs

• Tape

• Scissors

• Pencil

• Marker

• Scratch Paper

• 1.5 to 2 yds Fabric – 58-60” wide

o 1.5 yds suitable for knits – you will have a seam down the back of your skirt as well as on the

sides

o 2 yds suitable for knits and all other fabrics – you will likely NOT have a seam down the back of

your skirt – only on the sides

• Matching Thread

• 1 Inch Elastic – 1 Yard (See Note Below)

o Measure your underbust measurement first – this will determine your elastic needs.

• 2 Safety Pins

Instructions:

1. Determine the following measurements before beginning:

a. Underbust/Upperbelly measurement: Taken directly under your bust line, where the skirt will

ultimately sit.

b. Front Length measurement (fl): From the center of your “underbust/upperbelly” measurement,

measure downward, over your belly, where you would like the highest point of your skirt.

c. Back Length measurement (bl): You may ask a friend to take this measurement for you or you

could look in a mirror to determine how many inches you would like the back to swoop down

from the front.

2. To determine your pattern “waist” size (w), you will want to add approximately 6 inches to your

underbust/upperbelly measurement. Once you have this measurement, use the chart below to

determine your radius (r) of your “waist” circle on your pattern:

Underbust/Upperbelly Measurement “Waist” Size (w) Radius (r)

24 30 9.5

26 32 10

28 34 10.75

30 36 11.5

32 38 12

34 40 12.75

36 42 13.25

38 44 14

40 46 14.5

3. Add a seam allowance for the elastic waist casing to your (fl) meausurement of 1.5”, as well as a seam

allowance for a hem of .5” = 2” total. This will be your final (fl) measurement.



4. Add a seam allowance for the elastic waist casing to your (bl) meausurement of 1.5”, as well as a seam

allowance for a hem of .5” = 2” total. This will be your final (bl) measurement.

5. On a small piece of scratch paper, draw out a mini-version of your pattern using the (r), (w), (fl) and (bl)

measurements so that you can determine how much pattern paper you will need to craft your real

pattern. It should look somewhat like this:

6. Create and Transfer your measurements from your scrap paper pattern to your actual pattern paper.

7. You will notice that the yellow line, your swoop of the hemline is subjective – this is up to you! It will

automatically have the high low hem. Here are variations to consider:

Even swoop front to back



Dramatic swoop front to back

8. I highly recommend tracing your pieces with a large marker so that you can determine where they

begin and end. Cut the pattern pieces out!

9. To determine where you place your side seam, after cutting out the large piece, simply fold the waist

(w) in half down to the hemline of the skirt. Reopen the skirt, draw and additional line for the side

seam and cut out.

10. Now you are ready to cut! If using knit fabric, you will not have to worry about the bias. However, if

you are not using a knit, ensure that you cut your fabric on the bias (diagonal against the grain of the

fabric) or it will not lay correctly. You will have 2 pieces.

NOTE: If you chose to only purchase 1.5 yards of fabric, you may need to cut the back into two pieces

instead of creating one piece by cutting on the fold. Simply cut a left and a right piece.

Let’s Sew!!

11. ONLY IF YOU HAVE 3 PIECES INSTEAD OF 2. IF YOU HAVE A FRONT AND A BACK, SKIP TO #12. Sew the

back seam together by joining the two back centers, right sides together and seaming.

12. Place your back skirt piece on a flat surface so that the right side of the fabric is visible to you. Take the

front skirt piece, right side down and place on top of the back skirt piece matching the side seams.

13. Pin seams together and sew each side. You may use a serger or a straight stitch on your sewing

machine.

If using a knit and not sewing on a serger, use a zig zag seam, double needle or your preferred knit

sewing method.

14. If using a non-knit fabric: Fold “waist band” (wrong sides meet) down ¼”, press and fold an additional 1

¼” to create casing for elastic. Begin sewing on the outside, side seam of your fabric at approximately 1

1/8” to ensure you catch the casing and create a nice pocket for the elastic. Stop approximately 2”

before where you began to allow enough room to insert elastic properly.

If using a knit fabric: You may choose to serge the edge of the knit, taking off approximately ¼” as you

sew. This will bind the edge. However, as most knit does not ravel, you can choose to skip this. Simply



fold over the “waist band”(wrong sides meet) down 1 ½”, press and begin sewing on the outside, side

seam of your fabric at approximately 1 1/8” to ensure you catch the casing and create a nice pocket for

the elastic. Stop approximately 2” before where you began to allow enough room to insert elastic

properly.

15. Take your “underbust/upperbelly” measurement and your elastic. This will be the guide for cutting

your elastic to size. I like to subtract approximately 3” inches from the measurement when cutting my

elastic to ensure that the skirt fits snugly on my body – you make the call. Cut your elastic to your

altered measurement.

16. Insert your elastic using the “safety pin method.”

Secure one end of the elastic to the band of the skirt from the outside. On the other end, secure the

safety pin so that you can use it for threading of the elastic through the casing. Gently feed this end

into your casing and using the safety pin to guide it through to meet the other end that you have

pinned.

17. With both elastic ends together, secure elastic by sewing with a straight stitch approximately ½” from

both ends, forward and backward several times. Secure further by separating the elastic ends and zig

zag stitching each end to the elastic. Elastic should neatly tuck inside entire casing and lay flat.

18. From the outside of the skirt (right side of fabric), close up the 2” gap that you left in the casing for the

elastic, securing the waistband into the skirt. (DO NOT SEW THE ELASTIC AT THIS POINT.)

Now all that is left is to hem the skirt and you are done! I suggest trying it on at this point in front of a mirror to

ensure that you are happy with the length of the skirt. Make alterations if needed.

Hemming Variations/Options:

1. ¼” Roll Hem – This is easiest with a non-knit fabric – it is incredibly small to allow for full movement in the skirt.

Begin by carefully folding ¼” from the bottom of the skirt, wrong sides together. Press. Fold again ¼” to secure

the fabric inside the seam. Press. From the outside, sew slightly less than ¼” from the bottom of the skirt all the

way around to finish your hem.

2. Frayed Hem – If you are sewing a linen and would like a “frayed” look, simply even the hem line (if for some

reason it may not be straight) and with a straight stitch, stitch on the outside of the skirt at approximately ½”

from the edge. This will ensure your fabric does not fray farther than the ½”. Simply wash and the fraying should

take care of itself!

3. Serged Rolled Edge Hem – Regardless of the type of fabric you are using, you can do a rolled edge hem on the

garment (that’s what I did). Simply adjust your serger to the correct setting, choose a thread you are

comfortable viewing from the right side of your garment and sew your rolled edge hem ½” from the bottom of

the skirt all the way around. (NOTE: This is the type of hem that I did on my skirt – See Pictures)

4. Knit “No Hem” – Lots patience? Sometimes that happens when you are pregnant! If so and you have used a knit,

simply even up the hem line and leave it!

Enjoy your skirt!

Tiffany

Documents

Maternity High-Low Circle Skirt Tutorial