Half-circle chic

half-circle skirt

This is my first self-drafted half circle skirt. Made from the finest poly-crepe and lined with some heavy stretch satin because gravity ain’t that clever!

I nearly went for wool crepe which I think would have worked even more beautifully, but the idea of messing up 2 metres @£40 was a little bit more daunting than @£9!

half circle skirt front view

The drape is lovely on the poly and I’m so chuffed with how flattering it is around the hips, but my oh my does that cause nasty stretchy bias hemline issues.

To draft the skirt, cut and sew together is child’s play. And it was a perfect project to practice a lapped zipper too. But to get an even hem on this skirt required patience of some saints. I blogged the other day about my time-starved, light-rationed sewing time so I won’t harp on any more about that but lets just say a massive learning curve was attained with the help of some basic tools, a bit of determination and a few swear words!

half circle skirt with jacket

half circle skirt front

I incorporated 2 buttons as a closure instead of the usual hook and bar and used black bias binding to finish the hem. And no I did not do it by hand!

half circle skirt detail

I so needed another black go-to skirt. And it feels right to go back to black. I do love a pencil skirt but I also love how swishy and elegant this one feels. A little bit Grease and a little bit Mad Men but also very much me. I can even run for the bus in it! Just need a few more 50s style blouses or peasant tops to go with it now.

twirling in half circle skirtAmazing photographs by Daniel Selway

76 Replies to “Half-circle chic”

  1. Pingback: Half-circle chic
  2. Love your look! This skirt is beautiful, I can see it on other blogs but with medium weight fabrics, this one with lightweight fabric is gorgeous! Love the photos, as imaginative and love your jacket too.

    1. Thank you so much Rosy. I really wasn’t sure how the fabric would behave till I’d finished the skirt. Very refreshing to finally sew something other than cotton print. Can’t wait to try other medium weight wools 🙂

  3. It’s beautiful and you look so elegant in it! I love bias cut skirts but I have not tried a half circle skirt for myself before, I’m keeping this skirt idea for one day when I can get my hands on some awesome fabric like this.

  4. I think yours is one of the first sewing blogs I have ever come across – starting about a year ago. Now, with Mr.Ooobop’s photography, I think you’re the best. I mean, I have thought about beginning a blog. I sew a lot – mostly from Burda but, man, I could not come up with the lovely photos that enhance and complement what you write about. Well done, you’re an inspiration. Lovely skirt but also – wow – great shoes buttons gloves – and the photos themselves. Well done.

    1. Thank you so very much Lynn. I’m blushing from your wonderful words. Burda is such a great place to start and an amazing community. In fact I’d say it is wholly responsible for the beginnings of my own blogging. I can’t deny it’s quite time consuming keeping it all up but I enjoy it as a way of putting pressure on myself to come up with the goods. There’s so many things I want to make! 🙂

  5. Ooobop, those pictures are amazing and so are you! They are totally mag quality. I love half circle skirts too…just the right amount of fullness and a lovely drape 🙂

  6. Wow, you look so elegant! Amazing. The skirt is truly a masterpiece! (I feel you on hemline. It’s such a pain on circle skirts…)

    1. Thank you MSS. It’s certainly more practical than some of the tight pencil skirts I’ve been wearing! I heartily recommend the making and the wearing of one of these!

  7. Who needs fashion runways when one can admire great fashion on a cobblestone street? You look fabulous – the skirt is gorgeous and – the styling is perfect! I love this look…

  8. I like to sew skirts like that, especially when i line them in a different colour under neath. You look fab. I am from Malta and loved your pictures and what your where wearing in my beautiful country.

  9. Soooo gorgeous!!!! Such a fabulous floaty fabric to swirl around in, and I especially love the waistband buttons – a great way to give a bit of detailed interest to an otherwise entirely practical garment 🙂 Those are my favourite details actually, because you get to enjoy them more often! You’re looking amazing here!

  10. Struggling with light issues would be even harder sewing black…I feel for you! BUT how awesome to have such a wonderful stylish cool and adorable swingable swishly skirt like this. And I LOVE your styling and the photos are amazing. Such a pleasure to read with my toast!

  11. You look SOOO classy! I love that it’s a basic but at the same time pretty special and stylish. P.S. A-One fabrics on Goldhawk Road have some lovely wool crepe in loads of colours for £18/m…

  12. I guess drafting a half circle skirt is a bit of child’s play for you after drafting the pencil skirt, eh? 😉 Besides the tricky hem of course 🙂 – both are equally fabulous though, and I must say, I’m a BIG advocate for black (as you know… and red, always!!). We share a colour palette so I’ll always be your black (and red) enabler 😉

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