The Circle dress pattern by Domum, I didn’t buy it: I won it. From one dress to the next, I took first place in the 2023 Thread & Needles contest on the theme “National Architecture Days” with my Rushcutter dress, and I spent my Domum prize on the Circle dress… Two dresses, two moods.
I’d been eyeing it for a while. It looked as swishy as humanly possible, I’d heard good things about it, and I wanted a summer dress that twiiiirls.
The catch: I had to use a viscose plain weave. Ugh. Since last time, this fabric has not become any less annoying to sew. The dress also spent 6 months on a dress form and cost me a laser level.
Anyway, I sewed it last year but it dragged on, far too long for me to wear it that summer. So the summer of 2026 was its christening!
| ITEM | SHOP | QUANTITY | PRICE |
| Circle dress pattern | Domum | 1 | €0 (won in a contest) |
| Printed viscose plain weave | Sewtoo (secondhand) | 4 m | €28.50 |
| Cotton voile (lining) | Tissus de Rêve | 1 m | €7.50 |
| Navy bias binding | Réserve des Arts | 8 m ? | €2.00 |
| Thread | Stash | 1 | €1.00 |
| Invisible zip | Stash | 1 | €0.50 |
| Fusible stay tape | Stash | 1.5 m | €2.00 |
| Total | €41.50 |
The Circle dress pattern
The Circle dress by Domum is a long, twirling dress with a vintage feel: defined waist, fitted bodice, very (too?) low open back.
It closes with an invisible zip at the side seam and has two pockets hidden in the seams.
The sash wraps twice around the waist and is held in place by belt loops (which I didn’t sew, why? I can’t remember).
The pattern comes in two size ranges (EU sizing):
- range 1, sizes 34 to 46, with bust darts on the front,
- range 2, sizes 46 to 58, with princess seams to make fitting a fuller bust easier
The pattern is drafted for a height of 1.68 m.
The Circle dress pattern costs €12, as a PDF or a printed envelope, in French and English. I got the PDF: an illustrated booklet of about twenty pages, a 36-page A4 tiled sheet and an A0 version on two sheets.
The 1 cm seam allowances are included, but there are no layers.
Taping the 36 pages together went without a hitch. On the other hand, the front and back pieces are drafted whole rather than on the fold, on the A4 sheet as well as the A0. Quite a waste of paper, no?
The stated level is intermediate. In the end, the construction isn’t very complicated: the difficulty lies elsewhere.
This isn’t my first Domum pattern: I’ve already sewn the Netta jeans and the Square shirt.
Margaux’s instructions are clear, well laid out and illustrated with diagrams.
The Square shirt, an early pattern of hers, doesn’t feel entirely resolved to me; the Netta jeans were far more satisfying, even if they ran large back then (an update has been released since, which I received free on request).
Sewing the Circle dress
The size I sewed and my adjustments
I graded the bodice from a 38 at the bust out to a 40 at the waist, then took 1 cm back out at the waist. So I probably ended up more or less back at a straight 38.
The pattern recommends making a toile of the bodice.
I did it my own way: I sewed the bodice lining to check the fit, and since it looked fine, I carried straight on with the rest.
Clever, but not enough: the weight of the circle skirt pulls on the bodice and changes the way it sits once the dress is finished.
Which is why I think the bodice should sit 1 or 2 cm lower to land on my natural waist.
The fabric, a secondhand botanical viscose
Finding the fabric was a struggle, for three reasons.
- It has to drape: the lighter the fabric, the better the dress spins. And I’m not especially fond of viscose, but I had to give in, because it was the most obvious suitability-to-price ratio.
- It takes yardage: the pattern calls for 4.60 m at 140 cm wide for a size 38, when most remnants stop at 3 m.
- The print has to appeal to me, and I’m not a fan of the very literal florals you find on most summer viscoses.
Domum creation recommends a woven fabric of 250 g/m² maximum (cotton voile, poplin, viscose crepe, viscose plain weave or twill…). Given the volume and the weight of the skirt, I can confirm!
I found what I was after on the late Sewtoo, the secondhand sewing and knitting supplies site: a viscose with a botanical print that isn’t quite floral, in a 4 m remnant.
The bodice lining is cut from a very, very light cotton voile.
Cutting the circle skirt, the real ordeal
The Circle dress skirt is a true circle skirt, meaning a half circle for the front and two quarter circles for the back, gathered at the waist.
On paper, that’s elegant. On the cutting table, with a viscose that shifts and pieces largely falling on the bias, it’s a nightmare.
Then you have to let the fabric relax before trimming the hem. The dress stayed on my dress form for six months (yes, really). Result: up to 10 to 15 cm of difference around the hem.
I even bought a laser level to cut it straight.
Roaring success: I never quite worked out how to use it. That’ll have to improve before I start putting up walls!
My hem is surely not perfectly level, but once the dress is on, you really don’t notice. Ahem.
The finishes, between burrito and overly athletic pockets
I went with option 2 for the neckline, the plain seam finish, and used the burrito method for the armholes. The inside is neat and the bodice fully lined.
For the hem, I sewed on 12 metres of bias binding. At least 12 metres, feels-like, as the weather forecast would put it.
And then there’s my “is perfect the enemy of good?” blunder of the day. (📝 💬 Discuss in the comments, I’m expecting your essays, you have two hours)
I wanted tidy finishes, so I went for French seams at the sides, except the pocket openings weren’t cut for that.
So there are indeed two pockets, but getting your hands into them is a bit of a sport.
A skirt with no pockets, absolutely not; a skirt with pockets your hands only half fit into, better?
(Answer: YES! At least you can stash a tissue or your sunglasses clip in there, and that’s already something)
The verdict
I wear it and I think it’s lovely. It spins beautifully, it moves beautifully, the swishiness delivered on its promise. The one downside of all that volume: the dress is heavy.
Two reservations all the same. The armscye digs into the front of my shoulder when I reach forward: it chafes, and by the end of a day it’s tiresome. And it’s one or two centimetres short of putting the waist seam spot on my natural waist, so the bodice feels a touch short.
Will I sew it again? No. Not for lack of love for the result, but because the cutting wore me out. Anyway, the Circle dress pattern by Domum creation gives you a dress that’s a real success to wear and an ordeal to cut. Once is enough.
Frequently asked questions about the Circle dress
How much fabric do you need for the Circle dress?
The Circle dress pattern calls for 4.40 m (size 34) to 4.90 m (size 46) at 140 cm wide. That’s the first constraint of the project, since most remnants stop at 3 m. I cut my size 38 from a 4 m remnant.
Is the Circle dress pattern suitable for beginners?
The intermediate rating is justified, but not for the reason you’d expect. The construction itself stays accessible: darts, shoulder seams, armholes, invisible zip, gathers. What takes experience is cutting circle panels in a fluid fabric and dealing with a hem on the bias.
Can you wear a bra with the Circle dress?
The open back of the Circle dress sits low. I wear it braless, or with a backless bra whose band still peeks out. The pattern offers a band you can add at the back, option 3, to hide it.
The photos were taken by the sea, not far from where I’m moving in a week’s time. Which brings me to today’s teaser: I’m not sure I’ll keep up the publishing rhythm, seeing as I’m about to be literally head-first in cardboard boxes.
So, how do you go about cutting a circle skirt hem level? The laser level, clearly, is not my calling. See you in the comments!
See you soon! ☀︎
