Repurposed Shirt to Skirt Tutorial

Repurposed Shirt

Taken by SSarr

to skirt…

Repurposed Shirt to Skirt

As a busy mom, I liked to be dressed in workout clothes as they are so comfortable. I also want to be ready to exercise at the drop of a hat, and I don’t want to give myself any excuses or barriers to get moving. I got the idea to wear a skirt with workout pants/leggings while hiking with my friend Carin. She wears the combo when she is active, and it is such a good idea. I love the thought of giving my backside an extra layer, especially in the cold winter months to keep me warmer. Of course, you don’t have to wear it as an extra layer. My skirts are shorter since my tops are shorter, so I need pants on the bottom. Using the right shirt you can have a nice skirt for casual occasions, too.

My friend Jolie and I started this project together. We had some tension issues with my sewing machine, but after getting that fixed, it took about 20 minutes, start to finish! What really makes this project quick is that the hem of your skirt is already done because it’s the bottom of your former shirt. It can be a bit difficult to work with knit since it’s stretchy, so try not to overly stretch out the material.

I now find myself looking at objects, items, clothes, life with different eyes. ‘Can this be reused for something else?’, I’ll ask myself. For this project it was so fun to look through clothes to find things that could be given a new purpose.

Repurposed Shirt to Skirt Tutorial Instructions

What you’ll need:

t-shirt
matching thread
scissors
sewing machine
3/4” elastic (enough to go around the intended waist comfortably)

Instructions:

Cut the shirt in a straight line just below the armpits.

Make a casing for the elastic waist band by folding the right side into the wrong side 1/4 ''. Then fold again 1'' & pin.

Sew very close to the edge of the bottom of the casing all around the waist, leaving an open hole about 1'' for the elastic.

Pin elastic on both ends. Pin 1 side of elastic to the end of the casing. Thread it through the casing.

Make sure the elastic is evenly distributed.

Overlap the elastic 1'', & sew together wildly to make sure it doesn't come apart.

Sew the casing closed.

Enjoy!

Update: My shirt was a baby doll shirt, but I think it works better with straight shirts. After making this Thursday, I made 6 on Saturday, and they got faster and faster. I think I averaged about 7:30 minutes. My fastest one was 6:30!