Free pattern · Made to your size

A handkerchief skirt in your size.

There is no PDF for this one, and that is on purpose. A handkerchief skirt is a square of jersey cut to one person's waist, so your measurements are the pattern. Put them in and every number you need is below, ready to take to the cutting table.

Your numbers

everything below updates as you type

Waist measurementinMeasure where you want your waistband to sit.How far your jersey stretches%Stretch a 10 inch piece and see how far it goes comfortably. Most jersey lands around 80%.Finished waistband heightinHow tall the band is once it is folded and sewn.Shortest finished lengthinMeasured from the bottom of the waistband down. This length does not include the waistband height.Seam allowanceinWhat you sew at. A quarter inch is plenty on jersey.Hem allowanceinLeave this at zero unless you want to turn a hem. Jersey does not fray, so most people do not.Fabric widthinSo we can confirm your skirt will fit on your fabric.

What to cut

two pieces, that is the whole pattern

Waistband

Cut lengthAlong the stretchiest direction of your fabric

24¼"24.28"

Cut widthDouble the finished height, because it folds in half

8½"8.50"

Your snug waist is 23¾" — your waist with the stretch taken out. The band ends up smaller than you are, which is what holds the skirt up.

One flat strip. The cut width is double the finished height because the band folds back on itself, plus a seam allowance on each raw edge.

Skirt

Measure down each folded edgeFrom the folded corner. Both edges, the same number.

23¾"23.78"

Waist arc radiusSwing this from the folded corner, then cut the quarter circle

3½"3.53"

Opened out that is a 47½" × 47½" square with a hole in the middle.

Fold once, selvage to selvage

Fold again, the other way

Measure down both folded edges, then swing the arc

Open it out — a square with a hole

Dashed edges are folds, never cut them. The solid clay line is where you cut. Panel 3 is the only one you measure on.

How much fabric to buy

take this number to the shop

1.75 ydor1.5 m

Enough for the skirt square and the waistband, rounded up to what a shop will cut. Buy a little extra if your jersey might shrink.

Your skirt fits on your fabric. The square needs 47½" across and the waistband strip needs 24¼".

Sewing it up

five steps, one seam each

Everywhere this says sew, it is worth serging the edge so your jersey can stretch without the seam breaking. No serger? Use a zig-zag or a stretch stitch instead.

1
Fold the waistband in half lengthwise. Pin, then sew.
Serge this edge, or zig-zag it, so it can stretch.
2
Fold the waistband — now a circle — widthwise with the wrong sides together, so the seam you just sewed hides inside. Pin all the way along.
3
Optional: baste the waistband seam to make the next step easier.
4
Pin the waistband to the circle opening of your skirt with the right sides together, then sew them together.
Serge this edge, or zig-zag it, so it can stretch.
5
Skirt is done.

Where the numbers come from

for anyone who wants to check my work

1. Take the stretch out of your waistsnug waist = 29" × 0.82 = 23¾"A knit waistband is cut smaller than the body so it grips and holds the skirt up.
2. The waistband rectanglelength = snug waist + two seam allowances = 24¼" width = twice the band height + two seam allowances = 8½"The width doubles because the band folds back on itself, and each raw edge needs its own seam allowance.
3. Turn the waist into a radiusr = 23¾" ÷ 6.2832 = 3¾"A circle’s circumference is 2πr, so the radius is the circumference divided by 2π. This r is where the seam line sits, not where you cut.
4. Cut the hole slightly smallercut radius = 3¾" − 0.25" = 3½"The seam allowance sits inside the hole. Cutting at r minus the seam allowance means that once the seam is sewn, the opening lands at exactly your snug waist and the band matches with nothing to ease in.
5. Measure down each folded edged = 20" + 3¾" = 23¾"From the folded corner you cross the radius before the skirt even starts, so the radius gets added to the length you actually want.
6. Opened outsquare = 2 × 23¾" = 47½"You cut through four layers, so every measurement doubles when you unfold it.
7. The corner-to-corner distancediagonal = 23¾" × 1.4142 = 33¾"The one bit of real geometry. The diagonal of any square is its side × √2, which is Pythagoras: √(d² + d²) = d√2.
8. How long the points hanglong point = 33¾" − 3¾" = 29¾"Subtract the radius back off, because that part is cut away as the waist hole. Your corners fall 9¾" lower than the sides.

Take it with you

the cutting table is not near a laptop

Printing gives you the measurements and the cutting diagrams on one page, with the rest of the site left off.