Skirt panel calculator

[pelmut]

To help with planning simple skirt patterns, I have made an online calculator which works out panel sizes from the waist, drop and hem lengths. It can be used with any reasonable number of panels and will work in inches or centimetres.

http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/dressmaki ... tCalcs.php

Hope this is helpful, it could save a lot of tedious geometry.

[pepsie1]

Just wanted to say that I took this tutorial and calculator for test drive. Let me say first that I have fashioned several A line skirts basically copying a commercial skirt. Those results were ok but nothing spectacular. I used the calculator to size a 41 inch waist with a 20 inch drop and a 2 inch waist band. I used the scalloped pocket and side zip options. Overall length came to about midknee. I measured for the waist the same as I would for a kilt.

Overall the plans and specs worked very well and I was quite pleased with the final product I made the skirt from some left over fabric that was used to construct a caftan from a pattern that was detailed in another post on this thread. The material was a light weight cotton with a flowery print. It is not something I would venture too far out while wearing same. But it is quite nice around the house and yard and I think those hidden platform shoes discussed above would be a great compliment to the skirt. I think I will do a denim next.

Cost was about $15 US. Material, thread, zipper and waistband stiffened.

I do believe that if one is not going to play rugby or something similar while wearing the skirt(denim model) some simplification in construction techniques would suffice. Would love to discuss that sometime

[pelmut]

Just wanted to say that I took this tutorial and calculator for test drive.

I'm please to hear that it worked OK and thanks for letting me know.

I used the calculator to size a 41 inch waist with a 20 inch drop and a 2 inch waist band. I used the scalloped pocket and side zip options. Overall length came to about midknee. I measured for the waist the same as I would for a kilt.

Was that the result you expected? I was a bit worried about where the drop should be measured from on a man because we generally don't have such clearly-defined hips as women.

Cost was about $15 US. Material, thread, zipper and waistband stiffened

.
It is dificult to give price guide because of the considerable variations in fabric and haberdashery prices. Buttons and zips can vary over a rage of 5:1 and sometimes you can get a bargain piece of fabric if you are prepared to accept end-of-run or slightly damaged stock (a good point in favour of buying in a small local shop, rather than on-line).

I do believe that if one is not going to play rugby or something similar while wearing the skirt(denim model) ...

Now that's a concept we don't seem to have discussed on the forum; will anyone here admit to being a rugby player?

...some simplification in construction techniques would suffice. Would love to discuss that sometime.

Please feel free. What sort of simplification did you have in mind?

[pepsie1]

Was that the result you expected? I was a bit worried about where the drop should be measured from on a man because we generally don't have such clearly-defined hips as women

Yes, but it is important to measure the desired drop based on the waist band position on the body. I chose to position the skirt the same way a kilt is supposed to be positioned, i.e. at the navel not at the traditional jeans waist on the majority of mens trousers. This location will result in a significantly larger waist measurement than one would normally be accustomed to. Also it doesn't hurt to cut the skirt panels long as scissors and hemming will true things up.

More conversation to follow.

[Uncle Al]

FYI - The 'drop' is measured from the waist to the top of the
hip. Some 'drops' may range from 6" to 8" depending on
the person. The "Full" length, to hit mid-knee is have the
person kneeling, measure from the waist to the floor. Once
the material is all sewn up, the hem-line will fall mid-knee.

Works for me every time

Uncle Al

[Big and Bashful]

FYI - The 'drop' is measured from the waist to the top of the
hip. Some 'drops' may range from 6" to 8" depending on
the person. The "Full" length, to hit mid-knee is have the
person kneeling, measure from the waist to the floor. Once
the material is all sewn up, the hem-line will fall mid-knee.

Works for me every time

Uncle Al

Yep, that's how I was measured for my first kilt, just right for me, I always think a top of the knee kilt looks a bit short, but many people seem to like them that way. Back to this thread, now that Midas has gone, I may have to invest in one of those new fangled sewing machines and have a go myself. Trying to find knee length cargo skirts for a man with a 44" waist is proving difficult!

[johnb]

To help with planning simple skirt patterns, I have made an online calculator which works out panel sizes from the waist, drop and hem lengths. It can be used with any reasonable number of panels and will work in inches or centimetres.

http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/dressmaki ... tCalcs.php

Hope this is helpful, it could save a lot of tedious geometry.

I haven't done any sewing myself as yet, but I'm thinking about doing some, and the calculator looks really useful. Thanks for posting it.

John

[beachlion]

This is the program I used for most of my skirts. I used to do my own calculations until I found this program. The results are spot on. I was about to make the same set of calculations into a spreadsheet but this program saved me the efforts.
I use the results to make a panel in SketchUp, add seam allowances and print the panel on multiple sheets of paper. After taping it together, I have my pattern.

This type of skirt is more flowing and depending on the hem length, little Willy is less visible.

Thanks for the program.

[pelmut]

...I was about to make the same set of calculations into a spreadsheet but this program saved me the efforts.

My original idea was to do it as a spreadsheet which could be downloaded, then I realised that if I did the calculations on the server in PHP, they could be integrated into a webpage and would be much easier to use.

[hoborob]

I did try the Calculator using what I think is a pencil skirt design and thus the same dimensions for the waist and the hem lengths and the results where that I would not need any material at all to make the skirt???????

[beachlion]

That is the magic of this program.

The program calculates panels based on a part of a circle called a sector or pie shape. And that part could be between 0 and 360 degrees. If your hem is as long as your waist than you have a cylinder and no place to fit your hips.
The skirt, when finished, is a part of a cone. To fit properly, the diameter at your hips should be large enough to feel comfortably and show some flow of the fabric. In my case, with a waist of 87 cm, a hem of 140 cm is smallest at knee level to fit comfortably. With a shorter hem little Willy may be more noticeable.

[pelmut]

I did try the Calculator using what I think is a pencil skirt design and thus the same dimensions for the waist and the hem lengths and the results where that I would not need any material at all to make the skirt???????

That should drive the apex to infinity and result in a message saying "This isn't an 'A-line' skirt".

If you just want a tube, divide the waist measurement by the number of panels, then add two seam allowances per panel to get the nominal total width of material. You will need to allow a bit more than that, to give some extra seam width on the two edges which meet the zip - and you will want some for the waistband (and pockets if you can find somewhere to fit them without spoiling the shape).

[beachlion]

The bottleneck is the hip. That defines your fabric diameter plus some extra for comfort. To the waist you have to taper it with darts. But than you are already leaving the field of a simple skirt.

[Daryl]

Nice work. I am certain this could be very useful for a lot of people.

[pelmut]

The bottleneck is the hip. That defines your fabric diameter plus some extra for comfort. To the waist you have to taper it with darts. But than you are already leaving the field of a simple skirt.

It is possible to use the calculator to design a skirt in two sections -- hem to hips and hips to waist.

Hem to Hips
Put in the hip measurement as if it were the waistband size and use the distance from hip to hem as the 'drop'.

Hips to Waist
Put in the hip measurement as if it were the hem size and use the distance from waist to hips as the 'drop'.

This gives you two skirts which can be joined together along the hip line to make a single one with two different degrees of taper. The number of panels in each section need not be the same, but this can make the final assembly 'interesting'.