Don't you hate how the knees wear out in jeans and there goes your favorite pair of pants? That fit you just right? Sure, you can make cut offs, but you probably already have some of those if you're like me ;)
A wonderful alternative is making your old jeans into a cute pencil skirt.
Cut or tear off the legs at the length you want the skirt to be, or where you're forced to because of those pesky holey knees.
Using a seam ripper, rip out the seams from the inside of the pant legs, up to the crotch.
Lay your soon to be skirt flat inside out as shown below, with the sides together and the front and back opposite each other so the crotch sticks out.
Using a long ruler, mark/pin a straight line from where the edge starts curving out, straight down to the bottom. (On mine, I started just below the zipper on the front and cut straight down). I took this picture after it was cut, but just make sure it's a straight line.
Baste with a wide stitch along this line and try on. If this fits well, sew along the line again with a normal stitch. If there are lumps or indents, come in a bit more and try it on again. Repeat this step until you are happy with how the skirt lies.
Press the seams open and top stitch along your seams for a neater look.
If you cut the legs off at the beginning, you will need to hem your skirt. Serge the bottom and fold up once, sewing along the bottom, or if you don't have a serger, fold the bottom hem up twice, however wide you want the hem to be.
If you tore the bottom off, and your skirt is even along the bottom, you can let it be for the frayed look. It shouldn't unravel anymore and looks super cute! If it's uneven (half of my skirt was an inch longer), tear off the part that's longer to make it even.
Caution! This skirt is not for chasing children in :)
If you would like a little bit of wiggle room, follow Jill's instructions on keeping a slit. Jill turns her jeans into a super cute maternity skirt!
Thank you Aleesha @ Ready, Set, Create for my inspiration!
I'm linking up to Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Showoff, Made By You Mondays @ Skip to my Lou, Motivate Me Monday @ Crafts Keep Me Sane, Creative Chick Parade @ Trendy Treehouse, and Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter.
Hi, thanks for finding my blog and following - I'm following back :)
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial for making the skirt - now can you tell me how to get good legs so i can look good in the skirt?!! Between my chunky knees, spider veins and "cankles" I could do with some help - lol!
~Wendy
I love how you are standing on the bathtub in the last picture. Totally HOT!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judy! You got me into my craft room again :) I just got some new jeans cause my old ones have holes in the inseams. I didn't want to just throw them out, so I'm so glad you posted this! I've turned them into a skirt, and I added a godet to the back for some walking ease (cause I don't like slits. they show way too much). It's so cute!
ReplyDeleteLove this! So very cute - great job!
ReplyDeleteOooh a pencil skirt is a great idea too!!! Love it!
ReplyDeleteBut yes, the panel in mine, makes it very comfortable!! (Good for an "old mummy" like me!!!)
Maggy