T-Shirt Skirts

I had leftover material from my 5K Shrug from a few weeks ago that I was going to throw away if I could not make something useful from it.  I figured it might make a cute skirt that I could use as a bathing suit cover-up or hanging around the house skirt.

Leftover 5K Shrug Material (T-shirt Bottom)

Here is what I had to work with.  It's not much, that's why I think it would be a good pool skirt.  I evened off the top raw edge with my rotary cutter.

Nice and Even

I always have elastic lengths in my sewing kit, so I measured some out and use the width of it to determine how thick my elastic casing needs to be.

Casing for the Elastic

I measured an inch and did not bother to iron the fold nor did I do a double-fold.  It's a hanging-around skirt, so I'm not too concerned with being exact and perfect.  I marked an area with purple chalk on the casing, to leave open so I can feed the elastic through.  You can't see the chalk markings, but they are between the cutting ruler and my second ruler on the right. 

Feeding the Elastic Through

I have a handy-dandy threader that I use in cases such as this, but if you do not have one, then a large safety pin works well too.

Once the elastic was in, I sewed the elastic ends to each other and then sewed the casing closed.  I made sure the elastic was flat and not twisted.  Then I fixed the runching so it was evenly distributed around the waist.  I sewed a tacking stitch or two on each side to anchor the elastic to the casing so it will not twist when I wash and wear it.

Very Plain

The skirt is very plain, but functional.  I would wear it with my tank top or shirt over the waistband.  Otherwise, it came out fine.  I'll have to bedazzle it or something (later, though)!

It's Comfy!

I have a second t-shirt that I wanted to chop up.  This one is an XL t-shirt that our bowling friend gave me.  He always gets promo stuff because he works for a liquor distributor company.  The t-shirt has the Malibu Black logo on it.  I love the original coconut-flavored Malibu rum, but I have not tried the Black yet.

This Will Make a Good Skirt

I cut the top part off, right below the armpits.  This t-shirt was really big, so I had to cut some width off too, or this would have looked like a sack on me.

Sewed Along the White Chalk Line

I did not want to have an elastic on this one though.  I decided to cut two strips from the leftover fabric and make this a side-tie skirt.

Side Ties

 I sewed these strips horizontally along the side of the top raw edge of the skirt. 

Sewed Only the One End Down

I tried it on and tied it.  Not too bad...I like it!

Side Tie Action

Here it is again:

Another Pool Skirt

This one is a bit more form-fitting, but I still like it.  I've lost a few pounds so I'm feeling pretty confident. 

Watch out pool...here I come!  (Saturday was really warm, like 80's, but today its back down to the high 50's...brrr!).  I will put these two away until the end of April.  It's never too early to prepare for warm weather!

Sun Skirt

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  This is an easy-peasy project today.  I had this sundress that was a bit snug in the midsection and because of that, I never wore it.

I had placed this dress in my box-o-tricks for when I went to a friend's house to use her serger (I used it to finish the sleeves from the Summer Lovin' Sweater).  It became a sewing party, with very little sewing going on (bottles of wine and sharp objects don't mix well, ya know?) so I only got to a thing or two and this dress never made it out of the box.

I decided to make this a skirt.  I lopped off the bottom below the breast cups; I figured, "Why not make it a longer skirt?"

I took it over to the ironing board and steamed a double hem.  I did not even measure, just eye-balled it.  It was not critical because I won't be wearing a top that will be higher than the waistline; it will be covered.

I sewed the waist line hem.  This fits as-is without feeling like it will fall down, but just to be on the safe, I wanted to have a cinch.  I figured out the middle of the back and went to the left about an inch.  I went to my button jar and found a cream button.  I attached the button on the outside of the skirt with matching thread.

Then to the right about an inch from the middle of the back, I wanted to place a loop.  I grabbed my embroidery thread holder and chose three colors that were found in the dress: sage green, light pink and yellow.  I cut about a foot of thread of each color, braided it, and tied it in a loop with a knot.

I sewed the loop onto the outside of the skirt, with the knot on the left and the loop on the right.  This way when it is buttoned, the knot will be hidden.

Once the back is cinched, there is no fear that it was slip down on me while wearing it.  I placed a dab of glue on the knot for good measure.

Viola!  The finished sun skirt!

Now, this is something that I will wear this weekend. I'm glad I saved this sundress from forever being in the dark.  Enjoy the day!

Fix It - Skirt & Tank

Happy Memorial Day!  I had big crafting plans for this long weekend and I ended up doing none of them!  Hey, everyone needs a do-nothing weekend once and awhile, right?

Alterations are never very high on the sewer's to-do list.  I have a huge pile of to-do's that I never can find the time to fix.  So, since I was lazy this weekend I figure I would look in my cache of pics to see what I have done recently and I found a white denim skirt and a blue tank top.

First the skirt.  I bought this at Goodwill for less than $4.  It is a J.Crew white denim skirt that has a normal waist.  By normal, I mean not the hip-hugging, low-rise style that gives anyone who is a few pounds above their "desired" weight muffin top.  I have my fair share of low-risers, but I was glad that this one is one that I do not have to suck in my tummy to wear comfortably.


White denim, so 90's!

There is actually nothing wrong with this skirt, but since I only paid a few bucks for it, I had no buyer's remorse wanting to make it a bit more chic for the summer.  The bottom hem has a roll to it and I know that I will have to break out the iron every time I wear this.  Not very grab 'n go if you have to take the ironing board out in the morning.  I have frayed the ends of skirts and jeans before, so I was leaning towards that direction, but I did not want a mini either.  The length of this skirt was good as it was, so I decided to unstitch the bottom hem and unfold it.

Carefree, here we come!

The unstitching was a bit tedious, but not too bad.  I took a standard seam ripper and went all the way around the bottom hem of the skirt.  Then I unfolded it, like you see above.  You can also see the the raw ends are already fraying: Perfect.

When you unstitch something, be patient.  You will have to break the thread several times and pull out the tiny lengths with you fingers or tweezers, but you will be rewarded in the end with no rips or holes.

Orts of threads

Once it was unstitched and unfolded, I took it over to the ironing board and ironed it with steam and starch.  I knew the folds were not going to iron out, that is why I went this route rather than lopping off the bottom hem.  This way, it gave the skirt a meant-to-do-that deconstructed look.  Done!


Ta-da, Starch!


Next came the blue tank top.  This is a sale rack, Forever 21 purchase.  The straps were very long, so I had to shorten them.


Soon to be stunted straps

I prefer to alter the backs of items, rather than the fronts, so that you do not see stitching or other imperfections, in case the thread does not exactly match or an otherwise "oops" happens.  I took the same seam ripper and unstitched the back straps. 


Mark where they came from with a pen


I marked where they originally went so I could affix them in the same location.  I pinned it in place and tried it on.  I did this until the straps fit well.  These straps were originally placed at an angle so I wanted to ensure that the same angle was pinned.


Look how long the straps were!


Since the band gong around my chest was elastic, I installed a ballpoint needle on my machine.  I did not bother with a zig-zag because I was not sewing around the circumference, just an inch or so.  The elastic will still be stretchy around the rest of the top.  This is not fabric that will fray much, so I did not finish the edge, after I cut the extra length off.  No one will see it.


Perfect criss-cross angle!


This ensemble was less than $10 and it is very comfy!  Just a little bit of stitching skills and you can decontruct and alter someone else's cast-offs to be unique to you.


Plenty of daylight left to enjoy!


I have worn both of these pieces since I fixed them at the end of March and am truly satisfied with how they came out and how they wear.  This skirt will fray more as I wash it.  I will trim away the excess long threads, but you can keep them there and that will give it an even more casual look.

Try looking in your donation pile of clothes and see if there is something that you can tweak about them that may make them wearable to you again.  It doesn't even have to fit, you can totally cut it up and make a headscarf or a fabric belt.  Or if it has a stain, consider dying it a darker color or try tie-dye. 

Let me know if you try a Fix-It project of your own!  Happy Deconstructing!

More Shirt Skirts

Another thing I like to make that are so easy is the Shirt Skirt.  I made one last year and it is my bi-weekly rotation of either pjs or hanging around clothes.  I followed the basic steps that I did in an earlier post (Shirt Skirt) but changed it slightly.  Instead of an elastic waist, I used a shoe string and instead of sewing all the way to the bottom of the front, I stopped just under the second to last button to give it a slit in the front.  Keep reading and I will show you....

I made four skirts but I will demonstrate on one shirt to show how I made the others.  My first shirt came from an estate sale for $1.  I think it was bought in Hawaii because not only did the brand tag say Tailor Hawaii, it was essentially a Hawaiian shirt.


Aloha Mr. Shirt


This shirt also had some cool buttons:


I wonder what those symbols mean?

The first thing I did was iron the shirt, but I didn't worry about the sleeves.  Then I unstitched the pocket on the front and set it aside.  Then I laid the shirt out on my cutting mat and lined up the bottom hems.  I took a rotary cutting ruler (a yard stick or long ruler would work)  and used a rotary cutter and cut it from armpit to armpit - straight across.

A shirt, shoestring and thread is all we will need

At this point, I no longer need the top part of the shirt for the skirt.  I will put it in my scrap bag, because you never know when this will come in handy (I love buttons, so I take off all of the buttons and keep them in a jar).  Now, I am only working with the bottom portion of the shirt.  I am now calling this the skirt.  The top button on the skirt was removed and I also removed the buttons that are often found on the inside towards the bottom.

I pinned the bottom skirt front closed and sewed down the front along the button panel.  At the last button, I went about an inch further and stopped and stitched across to meet the stitching on the opposite side of the button panel.

I went back to the iron and ironed my drawstring casing by folding in about 1/4" and then about an inch.  I pinned it so when I sew, it will sew the 1/4" hem, making a casing.  Before I went and sewed, I unpinned the front area and figured out where the drawstrings were going to come out.  I made marks so I could make button holes.

I used chalk to mark my guidelines

I should mention that on this skirt only, I had to flip it around so the bottom was the top of the skirt.  There was something strange about this shirt bottom that made me do it; I can't remember why though!

Anyway, before you sew the casing, you need to make the buttonholes.  My sewing machine has a buttonhole guide thing so it was a snap to do.  I made two on this skirt, but the other skirts I only made one.  One is really all you need.

Cut the buttonhole open with a seam ripper

Now that the buttonholes are made and cut, I sewed the casing as I had it pinned before.  Once the casing was made I went and sewed the pocket on the front of the skirt.

I'm right-handed, so I like my pocket on the right-side

Now, I have this gadget that threads string and such very easily.  I got this at a very small store in my hometown called Goldstein's (which is like a 5 & 10 store) and I have no clue what it is called.  But, I'm sure Joann's has something similar.  I attach my shoestring (really it was a boot string and I got it in a really long length) to this gadget and threaded it through until I reached the second hole and pulled it all the way out, holding onto the first end of the shoestring so it does not get pulled all the way in.

Shoestring was a-go!

Once the shoestring is in place then I had to hem the bottom (of this skirt only).  The button that I took off earlier I attached it to the bottom button panel where it logically would be on the shirt.  It went in the slit area.  I then made another buttonhole for that new button.  But it is for looks only, I do not intend on buttoning it.

All done! Now it is Aloha Ms. Skirt!

That evening we went to a birthday dinner at the Melting Pot, which is a fondue restaurant.  I got compliments on my outfit, which I said, "Thank you very much, I made the skirt today from a man's button shirt!"  I love the reactions when you say you handmade something.

The Fondue Runway!

I also made a few more shirt skirts that I will model:

Very comfy!

That one will be a gift and so will these others:


Yeah, I'm not modeling these but you get the idea!

On the striped one, I took it in about and inch on each side then made the casing for the drawstring.  I would have done the same on the pink one about, but it had these cool side pleats, that I would have lost if I took it in.


Side Pleat - Cool!


Again, I got these at a thrift store and/or Goodwill.  They each cost under $5, and the shoestring was about $2 for two pairs.  I pick the shirts for their pattern and fabric quality.  For example, if you pick a white button shirt, your undies will be seen through it, unless that is the look you are going for.  I hold my hand under the shirt when shopping.  If I see my hand, then it is a no-go.

Have fun and good luck.  Let me know how you make out.

Laptop Bag

This project had been on my mind for awhile; for I had this pair of jeans that I loved, but sadly, a hole had worn itself on the inner thigh.  I had worn them, even with the hole there, but I knelt down the other day and I heard the "rrrrrip" of the threadbare fabric; I knew their time had come.  But I had these jeans since forever and wanted to repurpose them somehow.

I've been to craft shows where little girl's pants are transformed into cute purses and seen denim purses selling in stores.  I went online to take a closer peek at these said items and came across a video on YouTube on making a laptop case out of a pair of old jeans.  The unknown chic who made this sped up the video so it was only about a two minute tutorial on how this is done, but it is really all you need.

But, you know me, I'll drag it on a bit longer than two minutes.

My poor favorite jeans!

First I took my jeans (see the worn spot), and cut the legs off just below the crotch.  This depth was adjusted later, but I did not want to cut it too short to begin with. 

Then, with the seam ripper, I opened up the front to the bottom of the zipper flap.  If anyone says that Gap jean are crap, then try taking the seams out and get back to me.  The inner seam had three layers of stitching.  Three layers!  It took longer than I though because this was baffling to me.  After I unstitched the plethera of stitches, I had all these little thread bits every where I cut the stitches (on both sides of the jean fabric and on the table).  There is this little trick I learned in a quilting class to get those little bits out of there in a jiffy.  So, I took a lint roller and slowly rolled it over where I cut the seam stitches.  Each one of the bits stuck to the lint roller in a crazy straight line.  Amazing!  Alternately, I ran out of lint roller tape and had to use packing tape.  That worked well too, you use it like you are waxing (put on, press where the threads are and rip)!

Flap over and stitch

Once, I had all of the threads out, I arranged the front so that one side flapped over the other (like in above pic) and sewed to the end.  Coats and Clark makes a denim thread that is orange and is a bit thicker than your average thread.  I used this to sew the flap down.  I only did one pass with the sewing machine, but a second, double row would have matched the way the rest of the stitching was done. 

Next, I then figured out how deep I needed the "bag" to be.  Then turned it inside-out and drew a line across the bottom so to make it straight, then I cut along the line and sewed it shut.

Measure from the waist to determine your line

The below pic shows that I also sewed and trimmed the corners off, but this is not necessary. 

You know, what this could be...

I turned the bag right side-out and ironed it.  The waist was crinkled from the store during the stonewashing, so they were always crinkled.  I ironed the heck out of it with a touch of starch so it would stay uncrinkled.  A little starch goes a long way.

Almost there!

If you watched the video link, you will see that the chic made holes in the waist and cut the side seams off of the legs.  She used the side seams as the handles to the bag.  In my opinion, this will not do for me.  I did cut them out, but I did not like the way it was going to look.  I imagine that you could tie them to the belt loops or thread them through the belt loops as you would a belt, but my legs are short and I would have to sew them end to end to make something long enough to do these ideas.  I was not in the mood for that.

Instead, I chose to insert rivets or grommets in the wasit area.  Just poking a hole was not enough of a finish for me.  I marked where I was going to place the grommets with some screwdriver thing with a point on it and tapped on it with a hammer.  (Vince said it was a size 1 Philips scewdriver, if that means anything to anyone).  This gave me a guide to make my snips into the denim to insert the grommet.

Two-piece grommet with anvil

I just followed the directions on how to install the grommets.  This type uses an anvil with that cylinder you see in the above pic.  I inserted the cylinder into the hole and tapped it with a hammer until it was flat.  I did one and then Vince did the rest.  My taps on the hammer were lighter than his.  He only needed two or three taps while it was me tapping several times.

Tap on a hard surface, like concrete

Once they were all in, it pretty much was done.  I just had to figure out what to use as handles.  I looked through my craft closet and then my belts and found a yarn belt that I made with an i-cord maker.  It used novelty yarn and a string of sequins.  I used it as a dressy belt tons of times, but the sequins-on-a-string got caught on themselves one time and I almost could not untie it to use the bathroom.  Yeah, so I had rarely used it since then.

My personal touch!

At first I thought this bag was a bit juvenile, but once I put my i-cord belt on it,  I was loving it!  It is large enough to fit my laptop and it's battery power cord with plenty of room to spare.  The front and back pockets are still functional and can hold your cell phone and/or mp3 player.

Very Chic!



As I was doing this project, I had a thought of another idea.  Take the same jeans and cut the leg a lot lower and make a skirt.  You have to do it slightly different, but it is the same concept.  I have another pair of jeans that just ripped, maybe I will have to give it another life as a skirt. 

Stayed tuned.