Afternoon Craft Project :: Skirt from a T-Shirt
In school, the biggest sewing project I had to complete was a set of pockets designed to hold a reading book, notepad and pen on the edge of a bed by tucking a long tail of the pocket beneath the mattress. A nifty idea, perhaps, but it was ironing rectangles of fabric and sewing them together, and I can’t say I’d ever sat in bed really searching for a place to keep my reading book. So when a reader emailed me recently to say her daughter wanted to learn to sew things for herself but was finding her school sewing lessons a bit less than inspiring, I totally understood. She is thirteen and just getting to grips with the sewing machine, so I thought this might be a good starting project, as turning an old t-shirt into a new skirt is super easy, and you don’t even need elastic or a zipper. All you need is the shirt, plus scissors, thread, iron and sewing machine (or needle and patience). Plus an optional second piece of fabric for the waist of the skirt, if you prefer a contrast trim. In case it’s useful for you or someone you know, I’m posting it here too!
A few Sunday reminders: There are two giveaways that close tonight: the butterfly prize pack from Jenni Bowlin and the Acrylic Photo Block from your own picture. Today is also the last day to enter to win prizes for April’s 4×6 Photo Love challenge both here and at Two Peas. And you can vote or play along with Scrap Factor over at UKScrappers. Who knew it was such a busy day in the crafty world?! And now, on to the ridiculously easy skirt!
You’ll need a t-shirt to start. I had this shirt that has been bothering me – the very first time I wore it, tiny holes started to appear in the fabric. Clearly I fell for a bargain price that wasn’t actually a bargain. But all the holes were at the very top of the shirt, so it seemed something could be done from the rest of the fabric. Make do and mend, as it were! Start by making sure the work surface is clean (which seems obvious, but I can’t be the only person in the world you might have inked or misted on the same surface where they lay out their fabric? Oh. Maybe it is just me.) and iron the shirt to make it easier to cut and sew.
Cut straight across the shirt, right under the arms, so now you have a tube with an unfinished top edge. Go try it on. The bigger the shirt, the looser the skirt will be, of course. Unless you’re sewing this for someone quite young, you’ll probably find the top edge of the skirt is way too loose for the waist, even if it fits at the hips. Make a note of roughly how much you need to take in by pulling the fabric at the sides and marking the spot that would make it fit.
Then take the skirt off, turn it inside out and sew a diagonal line on both side seams that will take it in to a good size for the waist. You don’t want to make this too tight, since you’ll need to get the skirt on and off without a zipper (we’re going to add a tie to keep it snug while it’s on). Try it on again to see if it’s a good fit. If not, rip out those stitches and sew again. When you’re happy with the fit and you’re sure these stitches are secure, go ahead and cut off the excess fabric.
Next we’ll add a sash-styled waistband. For this, you can use a piece of contrast fabric or you can use the leftover fabric from the top of the t-shirt. You need a length that will go around your waist and tie. If a measurement will help, grab some string or ribbon and find your own waist + bow measurement! You can also decide how wide to make your waistband. The fabric will be folded in half, so cut a strip that is twice as wide as what you want. If you use a different piece of fabric, you may be able to cut this all in one strip. If you use the t-shirt leftovers or scraps of fabric, you’ll just need to patch and piece it together to make the length you need.
Fold the strip in half, right side out, and iron in a crease. You can also hem the very ends if you would like.
With the skirt and the sash right side out, find the centre of the sash and the front centre of the skirt. Pin the unfinished edges together, then pin around the edge of the skirt if you like. Jersey will curl around the unfinished edge, so either pin or go slowly while you sew to uncurl those edges.
Sew all the way around with a plain running stitch on your sewing machine. You’re sewing the unfinished edges together, right sides facing – the sash is going to fold up from this seam when you’re done. Leave an inch or two unstitched at the back centre of the skirt. That will let you pull in the waist of the skirt when you tie the sash.
Trim any loose threads and iron the waistband so the join of the two fabrics are smooth. And that’s the basic skirt done! Of course, you can further customise it with patches, bling, embroidered butterflies… whatever your style may be.
And if you have extra fabric left over from the top of your shirt? You can cut that up to create fabric flowers or an alice band or something else lovely to match your new skirt from your old t-shirt.
…and I’m not sure which is better: super easy projects or projects that work for both youngsters and grown-ups!
So… what have you been making this weekend?
xlovesx
Read more about: tutorials with-a-needle-thread
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