So, it's the holidays, I'm looking for a challenge, and I've just finished a peasant blouse for a dancer at the school.

A is wanting a new jig dress. I'm basing it on the Highland World one, with the faux front panel and attached 'blouse' sleeves, but changing the neck line and criss-crossing.

My question is, should I make a gathered skirt to attach to the bodice, and if yes, how much width should I give it; or should I make a circle skirt, and if yes, how many circles should I put in it?

Gathered
Pros- easy to hem and easy to have a bit of length for growth.
Cons- bulky around the waist area; tends to poofiness.

Circle
Pros- more fitted around waist and hips; less bulk.
Cons- a pain (for me, anyway) to hem and trickier to have extra length.

Thanks for any advice!

Chris

Hi tassiemum - the hem width would be similar to that of the Aboyne skirt and is dependent on height of dancer / skirt length, but also on waist width ( for a large waist you can obviously accommodate more gathers). So, 3 yards for a young dancer and 4-4½ yards would be adequate for older /taller dancers. A circular skirt may provide just slightly more width but you would certainly not require more than one circle! If you use a poly/cotton fabric the gathered version doesn't produce too much bulk at the waist and that is covered by the apron band and straps so I don't think it is too much of an issue - unless your dancer is very tall with a very slim waist. The two biggest 'cons' for a circular skirt are the lack of a hem ( not a problem though if your dancer has stopped growing) and, the four bias sections of the circle will stretch, eventually making the hem look uneven. The heavier your fabric, or if you use two layers (red + green), the latter will be even more pronounced. Personally, I like to see a straight hem so I prefer the gathered version. Pleased to hear you still have sewing projects in progress! Good luck.