Yesterday, I was looking for a quick simple project and I found it at the thrift store. This XL shirt was a dollar and is mostly wool. I grabbed it and decided I’d figure out later what to make it into. Well, it made a super comfy casual skirt. For the waistband I used a leftover waistband from an old pair of knit shorts I’d cut into rags. My skirt was so easy to put together using that waistband that even with kids around it was a very quick project. I’ve decided that this is a genius way to make skirts and will be using it again!
So here’s all I did.
A Quick Skirt
TutorialI cut across the top right below the armholes.
I checked the waistband’s size to the top of the skirt. The waistband easily stretched to the same width as the cut top.
I marked the centers and sides with pens.
Then I matched each center and side together and pinned. I just slipped the waistband over the skirt to do this. So the wrong side of the waistband was against the right side of the skirt. This helped it lay nice and flat when I was done. The raw edges of the waistband are on top but they just curl a little. Knit doesn’t really fray. 🙂
I set my machine to the longest stitch length (6 stitches per inch) and sewed it using straight stitches. This works great on my machine but you could certainly serge it or experiment with zigzag stitch or even a double needle. I got plenty of stretch with a long straight stitch.
Then it was time to sew. I stretched out the waistband while sewing it which lightly gathered the skirt material. It took at least three hands to do this at some places so just have patience. When stretching it you need to have one hand holding the waistband in front of the foot and one behind it… so that you aren’t bending the needle or pulling the fabric in the opposite direction that the feed dogs are moving it.
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| un-stretched |
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| stretched |
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| and keep your ties out of the way because you don’t want them stitched up |
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| and you can ease extra top fabric under the presser foot with something flat and straight edged |
That’s it! I love my new comfy skirt! In fact I’m loving skirts a lot right now so I think I’ll try this technique again soon! See the baby’s hand? There’s the proof it was made with two busy kid’s underfoot.
Israel wanted to show off his thrift store finds too. We love treasure shopping as we call thrift store shopping in our family! His shirt and shorts were $1 each and are perfect for romping outside in the awesome weather we’ve been having.
that skirt is so cute! what a great idea! i love your creative thinking.
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