Butterfly Skirt from Thrift Store Mumu

I made this cute butterfly skirt from a giant sized sundress I found at the thrift store. The cloth was cute and in good shape, there was plenty of fabric due to the large size, and it only cost a few dollars.

Making the skirt only calls for making two cuts, sewing one side seam, making a casing and inserting one piece of elastic.

I cut off the bodice of the sun dress below the arm holes, leaving a good length of cloth for the skirt, since my daughter wanted it long. At this point you have a skirt basically already -  complete with side seams already sewn and the bottom already hemmed. If I made a casing and inserted elastic in the waist right now, the skirt would be much too thick and bunchy at the waist for my tiny-waisted daughter. The skirt needs to be trimmed down a bit for a better fit.

I took her hip measurement and added two inches - this will be the width of the skirt at the waist (the waist measurement).  Starting at one side seam with your skirt inside out and folded at the side seams, measure out half your waist measurement at the waist of your cloth. (Half because the cloth already has two side seams sewn and is folded.)  Mark the waist seam measurement on the cloth.

Dress Recycled into Skirt and Top

We recently went through all our clothes and gave away to Goodwill a good portion of stuff we didn't need or wear any more. I kept a few things behind that I thought I might like to recycle into something else. I kept three dresses that I had really liked, but that no longer fit me since I had lost weight or that I just did like the style of anymore.

This first dress was one piece with a short 3 button placket in front. It was high waisted and really was always a little too big for me up top. After I lost weight the whole thing was just too big. I really liked the material though, so I decided to cut off the skirt right below the high waistline. I had to move a side zipper down a bit so that it ended at the waist. I also took in about 3 inches all the way up the side seam opposite the zippered side to make the waist fit in tighter. I finished off the waistline with a simple rolled seam and topstiched.

My favorite Recycled Skirt

This is my favorite recycled skirt. I love it because it is so light and airy, plus it is roomy enough for my long stride. I got it at the thrift store for a few dollars and altered it to my tastes. First I got rid of the draw-string waist, which I hate because the knot or bow shows beneath your shirts, and I replaced it by running elastic through the draw opening instead. Then I added a side-seam pocket to one side to hold my reading glasses. I searched on the web for "How to sew a side-seam pocket", and just followed the directions. I like this skirt so much that I think I will make a pattern from it and make myself another one!

A Skirt from two Pants

This is what the skirt will look like when it is done. I added some white lace all across the bottom after this picture was taken, and it looks real cute.

I am going to take these two pairs of pants that no longer fit my daughter, and make them into a long skirt for her. I chose these two because they are of similar weight and the colors match. You can use two pairs of blue jeans that are too short or too tight in the waist, if as a skirt the waist can slide up a bit and fit just fine.

I will use all of one pants and part of the other. I will use the entire pair of the solid colored pants for the skirt top and sides, and the striped pants will provide a panel to fill in the front and back of the skirt. (If you are making a shorter skirt you would only need one pair of pants and you would cut off it’s legs a foot or so to fill in the panel.) The top part of the second pair of pants that will be left over can also be used to make another skirt by sewing a length of cloth in place of the legs. 

Lay your pant leg out flat inside out so you can see the inside seam (the inseam). It is a waste of time to use a seam ripper to rip this seam, so we are just going to cut the seam right off! Start at the bottom of one leg. Cut up the inseam, cutting off the seam all the way up across the crotch and back down the other pant leg. This opens up the pants. If you put them on now they look like a skirt with a triangular piece missing from the front and back. We will us the lower part of the pant legs of the other ( striped ) pair of pants to fill in this triangle. The cat is not really necessary for the work, although she thinks she is helpful!

What the inseam looks like as you are cutting it off.