DIY: Upcycling Old Skirts

Upcycling old clothes is one of my favourite things to do. Whether it be bleaching denim, attaching studs or simply adjusting something I bought in the charity shop so it fits; there is something extremely satisfying about taking a mundane item of clothing and making it fabulous.

A few weeks ago I had a real craving to go digging around in my local charity shops. However, as I mentioned in this post, it is nigh on impossible to find anything wearable in the charity shops of Bristol. This mid-length skirt caught my eye because the pattern is pretty groovy, and the shape of it means it can easily be adapted in to a little skater skirt (and we all know how much I love those!)

As I began to work on reinventing it, I decided that I would photograph the process so I could do a tutorial on it - if you'd like to see more tutorials on upcycling clothes then comment down below!

The original skirt had an elasticated waist and is a circle shape so it falls nicely. This is the kind of style you want to look out for if you want to make a skater skirt. 

 The standard length for a skater skirt is 17". Using a tape measure, measure about 18"-18.5" from the waistband down, so as to leave enough room to do a hem. Mark it off and then continue to measure and mark all the way round the skirt, making sure you follow the circular shape, as pictured.

 Snip snip snip along the lines.

Find the side seam, it will look something like this...

 ... and chop it off. (This step is only necessary if the skirt is too big for you)

 Open the skirt up and it will look something like this. You can then wrap it round your waist, figure out how much smaller it needs to be and cut off the appropriate amount from one of the sides.

 Now begin to hem the skirt.

To do this, turn your skirt over so the inside is facing up and fold the bottom over once...

... twice...

... and stick a pin in it. Do this inch by inch.

Don't run a mile at this picture, if you don't have a sewing machine don't panic! You can hand sew, or use fabric glue; these are both sturdy and secure ways to maintain your skirt. Sew or glue along the hem where you have put your pins.

Fold the skirt in half, so the left and right edges are aligned on top of each other and the skirt is inside out. Pin from the waistband to the hem and proceed to sew or glue it. 

 Turn your skirt the right way out and wear it!

KJ xo