tutorial: recycled jeans skirt
I do not have a pattern for this skirt. I just put everything on the floor, pin it together and then sew it. Good news is, the pictures tell the whole story here, the bad news is, you may have to tweak things as you go along. That said, this came out very well.
I grabbed two pairs of old jean pants. From one pair, I removed the stitching from the inside seem. I did this by hand without cutting the seam so that the fabric would not fray. Then I cut off the leg of the other pair of pants and removed the stitching from that as well, I used this for the front and back
panels.
I pinned these to the pants while it was inside out and then turned it back right side out (carefully) to mark roughly where the cuts needed to be made with some chalk. I made sure to mark, which was the front and back panel.
Before cutting and pinning these panels on I sewed the crotch and bum area of the pants to get everything to lie a little flatter. Then I laid the panels out again to check them one more time before I cut them to shape. I pinned them so that the seams would be facing the inside of the skirt.
I sewed the panels in with a light blue thread and just kept turning it right side out to check and make sure that I was straight, going over areas a few times until all of the seams were as straight and hidden as I could make them. It is not perfect but good enough to wear out around town without blushing.
I then cut the bottom to make the hem even and turned it under and pinned it. I made two hemlines about a 1/4 of an inch from the bottom and 1/2 an inch from the bottom (the width of the side of the foot on my sewing machine, which I used as my guide to make a straight line.) I made a couple more passes to flatten out the bum area at the seam and viola; I have a new skirt that reaches my ankles.
About the Author: Nikki Drachler Wright. Nikki is turning her love of crafting into a full time career by starting her own small business making handmade jewelry. Whenever she is not making jewelry she is knitting, crocheting, sewing, drawing, cutting, gluing, and in general driving her husband nuts with her need to have “just one more project.”
November 18th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
My girls love these skirts!
Is there a quick/easy way to open the inner seams of the jeans?
I’ve tryed several things, to no avail!
I finally made them a “deal”…you open the seams, and I will sew you
a skirt! I can sew two or three (…or eight..) in the time it takes me
to open the seam by hand on one.
Have a great day,
K.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:06 am
I’m sorry
I’m sorry
I’m sorry
But this is a dated project. As in, way out of style right now. Everyone I know did this like 7 years ago, and I’m really surprised Whipup found it post-worthy. Plus, it doesn’t look like a skirt, it looks like a pair of webbed jeans.