Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A circle skirt is a skirt whose pattern is a ring: a full circle of fabric with a hole at the centre for the waist. Sewn to a waistband, the ring falls into deep, even folds and stands away from the legs without any gathering. This page defines the circle skirt and its full, half and quarter-circle variants, and recalls the felt circle skirts of the 1950s — the poodle skirt among them.
A circle skirt is a skirt cut from a circle of fabric: the pattern is an annulus — a disc with a smaller circle removed at the centre for the waist — assembled from panels when the cloth is not wide enough for the whole ring. Because the waist edge and the hem are both curves of the same ring, the fabric falls in regular flutes all the way round and the skirt flares dramatically when the wearer turns. No darts, gathers or pleats are needed to fit the waist; the waistband and a side or back zip do the whole job.
Circle skirts are graded by how much of the ring they use. A full circle skirt uses the complete ring and gives the maximum flare and the deepest folds. A three-quarter circle and a half circle reduce the sweep in proportion, hanging closer while keeping the even, seam-radiating folds; a quarter circle approaches an A-line in behaviour, though it is still cut on the curve. One construction consequence follows from the geometry: much of the hem is cut on the bias, which stretches under the fabric's own weight, so a circle skirt is left hanging for a day or more before its hem is levelled and finished.
The circle skirt's famous moment came just after the Second World War. In 1947 Juli Lynne Charlot, asked for a Christmas party skirt and no confident seamstress, cut one from a single piece of felt — felt needs no hemming — and appliquéd festive motifs onto it. Her themed felt skirts, the poodle skirt most famously, became an emblem of 1950s teenage dress, worn over the stiff petticoats described in the crinoline entry, which held the circle out to its full width exactly as the hoop skirt had done a century earlier.
The modern circle skirt is usually a half or three-quarter circle in cotton, jersey or printed synthetics, at knee or midi length, and it keeps the family behaviour: a smooth fitted waist, an even flare, and a hem that moves. Full circles survive in dance, skating and costume wear, and in formal skirts where the sweep is the point. The clothes guide covers choosing and wearing them in its circle skirt guide, and the sunburst-pleated versions are described under the pleated skirt.
A skirt cut from a full or part circle of fabric with the waist at the centre hole, so it falls in even folds and flares wide in motion, with no gathers or pleats at the waist.
The amount of fabric in the ring. A full circle skirt uses a complete ring and flares most; a half circle uses half as much fabric in the sweep and hangs closer, though it still has the circle's even folds.
Parts of the circular hem are cut on the bias, which stretches under the fabric's weight. Hanging the skirt for a day or more lets the bias drop so the final hem can be levelled evenly.