Sewing Instructions – Models 62 & 63 Winter Circle Skirt (Supplement 335)
Supplement No. 335 – Models 62 & 63 "Winter Circle Skirt" (D) ★★ A swinging circle skirt with a narrow waistband, an invisible zipper in the left side seam and a hand-sewn hem, optionally lined. Model 62 is slightly longer than Model 63 – use the hemline marked 63 on the pattern for the shorter version. Draft the pattern with the Lutterloh System from your hip and waist measurements, then add seam allowances before cutting.
What you need
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fabric for the skirt (D), Model 62 | 330 x 150 cm – 3⅝ yd of 58/60″ wide fabric |
| Fabric for the skirt (D), Model 63 | 240 x 150 cm – 2⅝ yd of 58/60″ wide fabric |
| Invisible zipper | 1 x 12 cm, plus an invisible zipper foot |
| Interfacing | strips for the zipper opening allowances, and for the waistband |
| Lining (optional) | cut from the skirt pattern |
| Thread | 1 spool, matching |
Fabric recommendation: medium- to heavy-weight skirt fabrics of about 240–400 g/m² (7–12 oz, absolute upper limit about 440 g/m² / 13 oz), such as wool flannel, lightweight boiled wool, wool blends, herringbone tweed, Ponte di Roma, fine-wale corduroy or heavyweight rayon twill. Seam allowances: 1.5 cm on the seams and at the hem, 1.0 cm at the waistband and the upper skirt edge. Before sewing, iron on the interfacing and steam the zipper tape.
Sewing steps
Sew right sides together with 1.5 cm seams unless noted. Finish each seam allowance right after sewing, and press every seam before crossing it with another. If you want a lining, read the lining notes below first.
- Right side seam. Place the front skirt piece on the back skirt piece, right sides together. Pin and stitch the right side seam, finish the seam allowances separately and press them open.
- Prepare the waistband. Fold the waistband in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press a sharp crease along the fold. For thick fabrics, do not fold under the lower waistband edge. If no lining is attached, finish this lower edge or, even better, bind it with lining bias tape.
- Attach the waistband. Pin the waistband right sides together to the upper skirt edge, raw edges even. The waistline of a circle skirt is strongly curved and stretches easily, so stay-stitch it first (see Tips). Pin both ends of the waistband flush with the open left side edges, then pin the center of the waistband to the right side seam, and pin the fabric in between evenly. Stitch, then press both seam allowances up into the waistband.
- Invisible zipper in the left side seam. Open the zipper and place it face down on the right side of the fabric, pinned 0.5 cm from the raw edge, uncoiling the teeth slightly as you pin. The top stopper sits exactly at the waistband fold line, and the zipper extends about 2 cm past the marked end of the opening. With the invisible zipper foot, coils in the right groove, stitch from the top down to the lower opening mark. Close the zipper, pin the second tape face down onto the other opening edge, open it again and stitch from top to bottom with the coils in the left groove. Pull the loose zipper end out of the way and sew the rest of the side seam from the hem up, ending as close as possible to the zipper stitches. Press the seam allowances open.
- Turn the waistband at the zipper. Fold the waistband ends right sides together, enclosing the zipper tapes, and stitch straight down right next to the zipper teeth. Trim the upper corner diagonally within the seam allowance, stopping about 3 mm before the stitching. Turn the waistband to the inside so the corner flips right side out and neatly encloses the zipper. Shape the corners gently with a blunt awl.
- Secure the inner waistband. Pin the inner waistband edge from the right side of the skirt, then stitch in the ditch along the waistband seam. Do this by machine (faster) or by hand with a prick stitch (finer).
- Hem. Sew a basting stitch within the hem allowance with the longest stitch length, leaving the thread tails loose. Pull the threads evenly from both ends until the hem allowance gathers slightly and curves inward – not too tight, or you get a bubble effect; the hem must lie completely flat. Pin the hem and sew it invisibly by hand with a blind stitch. A machine-sewn hem is not recommended for this skirt.
Lining
For a winter skirt worn without a separate slip, a lining is highly recommended. There are two options:
- Simple method (one fabric layer): Close the right side seam of the lining skirt, baste it wrong sides together under the main skirt and treat both as one layer. Then continue with the waistband.
- Classic method (clean interior finish): Close the lining skirt at the right side seam and leave the zipper opening open at the left side seam, ending slightly higher than on the skirt. Stitch the lining to the other long edge of the waistband and press the seam allowances up into the waistband. With this method, the inner waistband edge is not finished or bound. Fold the waistband to the inside so all raw edges disappear between fabric and lining, then slip-stitch the lining opening edges by hand onto the zipper tapes.
Tips
- Summer version: sew the skirt without lining. Fold under the inner waistband edge and stitch it down. The hem of a lightweight summer skirt can be rolled, by machine or by hand.
- Fabric amount: Model 62 is slightly longer than Model 63, which is why it needs considerably more fabric. Follow the hemline marked 63 on the pattern for the shorter skirt.
- Pro tip: before pinning the waistband, sew a stay-stitch within the seam allowance of the upper skirt edge, very close to the seam line (with a 1.0 cm seam allowance, about a presser foot width from the edge). This keeps the curved edge stable and stops it from stretching while you pin and sew the waistband.