[Ana Enriquez]

The kid I sew for has recently expressed an interest in skirts that are good for twirling. What are your favorite Oliver and S patterns for achieving a twirly skirt? (I’m looking for ones that come in childrens’ size 5.) What about fabrics? And any general tips on types of patterns to look for? Thanks!

[Liesl Gibson]

The Swingset Skirt has been really popular because it’s quite full and can also be reversible… That might be a good place to start?

[Enbee]

If you’re also interested in dresses with twirly skirts, the Building Block dress is twirly, and you can add additional fullness to it to make it even twirlier.

In general, I think skirts/skirts of dresses that are cut curved are going to twirl more than skirts that are gathered rectangles – see circle skirts as the extreme example. I’ve made a modified BBD and accidentally added enough fullness that the skirt is just a little bit shy of a full circle, and it’s my daughter’s favorite dress precisely because it’s the “twirliest.”
(I say accidentally because I didn’t realize how close I’d come to a full circle – had I realized, I’d have just made a circle skirt!)