Denim skirt from stash scraps
Lately I’ve started thinking I really need some more basics in my wardrobe. Nothing too dull, just some staple items to pair with my more colourful, patterned and printed pieces. At the same time, I need to start reducing my fabric stash and “to do” pile. This denim skirt killed two birds with one stone!
(I’m wearing it with a top I made from kimono lining, plus jewellery from my Wilderness Bazaar brand and shoes from Zomp)
Can you tell what my skirt was originally? The faded line around the hem is a bit of a giveaway – it used to be the hems of some denim jeans that I cut off to make into shorts ages ago. There are all kinds of things you can make from left over bits of material, depending on their size, of course, but I didn’t have a basic skirt so I set my sights on making one. There was only JUST enough fabric – this project would not work for very skinny jeans! The pair that I used were men’s jeans that were several sizes too big as well as being a roomy cut to begin with (obviously they were from a while ago, you wouldn’t even be able to make half a skirt from the skinny style that hipster dudes are wearing at the moment).
Anyway, I sewed the cut-off hems together like this… (disclaimer: I did this about two years ago but never got around to finishing it! Fortunately I am still much the same size as I was then!)…
Basically, if the jeans or pants are straight-legged, you can think of the cut-off hems as rectangles. So if you want to make something similar, you could use rectangles of scrap fabric. They would each need to have a width of 1/4 of your hip measurement, plus 2cm (2 x 1cm seam allowance). The length can be whatever you like. Can you see that I have tapered the seams towards the waist? Otherwise you will just end up with a tube shape! I then added an open-ended zip on each side, and to neaten the waist section, folded it over and sewed some tape to it to make it sturdier. And now I have a skirt that goes with just about everything!
(I’m wearing it with a top I made from an op shop scarf, plus brand new shoes I bought recently at an op shop for $5. Pretty pleased!)
I could have taken up the hem of the skirt to get rid of the faded line and make it a more mini length, but I kind of like the unfinished hem and the fact you can tell it was something else to start with. Plus it means I can sit down without revealing too much, which is always a bonus!
All of these pictures were taken in between other photo shoots – details of which will be revealed later, although if you follow me on Instagram you may already have a fair idea of what has been going on!