Oh how I love circle skirts. I’ve made the Pavlova skirt and refashioned a UFO into a circle skirt recently. I haven’t been wearing skirts over the past couple of years, but since making the Pavlova, I’ve caught a bug for high-waisted circle skirts.
This one is a wrap skirt that I upcycled from my first me-made dress from a pattern:
I made it for a burlesque routine to Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit (hence, the sexy face as I strip). Wrap dresses are great for burlesque reveals. This one had awesome twirl action.
Unfortunately, since doing that routine in 2009, about a month after, I fell down some stairs (klutzy Andie!) and couldn’t walk without pain for about…..um….6 months…. and haven’t done burlesque since. I didn’t break anything, but I tore something and the doctors I saw didn’t figure it out. I got physio in the summer of 2010, but haven’t had a great left knee since.
I still adore dance and I have been wanting to take lessons again. I took hip hop and Bollywood dance workshops in June and loved it, but I have a lot of health setbacks that make me worry about taking a full class if I can’t commit or have to miss classes. Health setbacks and weight fluctuations resulted in me not being able to wear this dress anymore. The bodice showed off the girls (good for burlesque, bad for office work) and didn’t fit quite right with a camisole under it, because of the princess seams and the fitted look of the bodice. The original is from McCall’s 5314 view B:
I really do love this pattern and plan to use it again in the future, but my dress couldn’t be fixed and the fabric/colour was too nice to waste and I was too attached to it to put in the charity bin.
So, I chopped off the bodice and ties and cut about two inches from the bodice for a small waistband. I attached the waistband and then reattached the ties and opened a small slit for the ties to go through. I finished it in an episode and a half of Battlestar Galactica (swoon Starbuck!). And now I can twirl again:
Or do a cute curtsy:
Oh how I love it. I want to make more, but I have lots of other plans in the works, which I will talk about in length on Friday. I’ll have to make more circle skirts after all my plans.
There are a lot of other garments at home that I want to upcycle as well. I have a tendency to hold on to my favs, but not be able to wear them. I’d love them to stay complete and just shrink down to that size again, but ultimately I spent the money on them and I know how to sew so I might as well upcycle them into things that I can wear again. Lara over at Dreaming of Avonlea inspires me to do it. Check her out!
Andie Wells Studio 
Nice one! always good to get new life out of something you don’t wear any more.
Right? 🙂 Thanks!
Wonderful! Circle skirts are the bomb! You can spin and swirl and they make you feel so feminine! Nice!
Thanks, Laurie. 🙂 Circle skirts are the bomb!
Circle skirts are one of my favorites!
Also, I am so jealous of your Bollywood classes! I’ve always wanted to take one because I am obsessed with Bollywood movies and music.
I love Bollywood, too! 🙂 The dancing is such a great workout and so much fun, too. The hardest part for me was remembering the hand movements with the foot work. I would get the foot work down, but then mess up my hands. It’s a great task in coordination! There are lots of videos out there that teach Bollywood dance. Although, having an instructor right there is definitely better.
Great save! I think circle skirts suit you. I have a whole box of things to repair or redesign…but I have been soooo lazy about it. Also, I agree…Starbuck *swoon*
Thanks, Jesse! 🙂 I have a similar pile of things to repair or redesign, too. 😉