DIY: How To Make Skirts Out Of Dresses
In grade school, we had a class where all we did was handcraft “stuff.” I didn’t like it since I’m quite bad with precise art (re: Sacred Geometry). In retrospect, sewing turned out to be a life-long skill along driving and cooking. Now as a grownup, my day job now is computer-intensive, so I prefer manual work to unwind.
One day, I found two oversized dresses in my Mom’s closet. Why not make them into skirts? I googled, “how to make skirts out of dresses” then quickly picked up a garter and tailor’s chalk from the hardware store.
Skirt #1 : Bright Floral Pattern, Linen fabric, and Lined
Color theory tells us that complementary colors pop. I love the blues, pinks and greens of this skirt for Spring and summer in the Philippines. I’m sure they will fare well in semi-formal outdoor gatherings and yet still be also versatile for work.
I started by cutting the excess fabric off the bottom and top. Then, I closed the lining by sewing with my hands. Lastly, I ironed fusable sewing tape to finish the hem.
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There’s an invisible zipper in the back that you cannot see. For this, I followed this tutorial:
Skirt # 2 : Lace, Lining, and Garter
The second item is a beige skirt from a size 10 Guess dress. I can’t fathom giving up on its delicate lacework, so I decided to save the bottom half.
Following instructions from KIN DIY’s video:
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| Left: Oversized and dowdy | Right: Lace and beige can be paired with everything |
First, I cut the dress with a few inches of allowance for the garter to fit. Second, I sewed the hem and lace together by backstitching. Third, I folded about an inch for the garter. Third, I did an all-around backstitch, for the garter. Lastly, I closed it up.
The #1 thing about DIY’ing is knowing if it’s worth the effort. Is the fabric high quality enough to worthy of saving? Will the clothes actually fit? Doing this took me about five hours (a.k.a learning curve) while watching ’12 Years A Slave’.
The tactile results above cost me $4.88 for supplies.
Cheers for life skills!
-C.
