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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Men's Shirt To Cute Skirt

Last week, Sherry from my favorite blog Young House Love issued a "Pinterest Challenge" to create something based off an inspirational picture found on Pinterest. I wasn't able to make something for the last Pinterest Challenge this summer, so I didn't want to miss out this time. I decided to turn one of Alan's Oxford shirts that didn't fit him anymore in a cute skirt!

Here's a sneak peek of the finished skirt:


These were my inspirational pictures from Pinterest found here and here. 
                                 

First I cut the shirt straight across underneath the pocket.



I tried it on to make sure it would fit, then I turned it inside out and pinned the side seams at the waist. I sewed the sides to create an A line shape, then trimmed the excess fabric.



Next I cut off one of the sleeves at the shoulder seam, removed the cuff, and cut along the underarm seam so I ended up with a flat piece of fabric. I cut two pieces about 4" wide for the waistband and ironed on fusible interfacing to make it sturdier. I sewed the two pieces together, and pressed under 5/8" on one of the long sides of the waistband (this makes it easier to finish the inside of the skirt). The stripes on the skirt are vertical, but I wanted the waistband to have horizontal stripes, so using the sleeve was perfect!


I sewed a gathering stitch along the back of the skirt, then aligned the seam of the waistband with the center back of the skirt. I pulled up the stitches to make it fit, then sewed on the waistband.


To make the corners of the waistband along the front of the skirt, I folded the waistband with the right sides together, and stitched along the edge. After trimming the excess waistband off, I turned it right side out.



Now the folded under edge of the waistband covered the seam on the inside of the skirt, and I slipstitched the inside by hand so it doesn't go all the way through. 



I added two hook and eyes to the top of the waistband. I could have used larger ones like you usually see on pants, but I only had the smaller ones on hand.


Here are pictures of it all finished from the front and back. This was a quick project that was a lot of fun!




2 comments:

  1. I want to do this too but I was unsure of the results. Thanks for trying it out! Looks fabulous :)

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  2. I did see that on YHL and wondered which project was yours! This looks very cool! I didn't realize how involved it was from the first picture until I saw all those steps. You're awesome! I actually just used my sewing machine for the very first time this past weekend, but I can't seem to get pinterest to work and I didn't think "slightly uneven" pillows would count as a viable project! -Robyn

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