How to Make an Upcycled Skirt Out of a T-Shirt
Whether sewing appeals to you for thrift or for fashion, once you factor in the cost of fabric, it's easy to spend much more making your own clothes than buying them off the rack. So it's no wonder upcycling has become so popular. With upcycling, you take a garment that is already made --- one you can often buy off clearance racks or in thrift stores -- and transform it into something new. Better yet, there's often less work involved since some edges are already finished. Here's a great example that uses a process called shirring to upcycle an oversized men's T-shirt into a cute and comfortable skirt.
Things You'll Need
- Oversized T-shirt
- Scissors
- Sewing machine
- Elastic thread
- Standard thread
Instructions
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Lay out your T-shirt on a smooth, flat surface. You may want to iron it. Make your cut from one side to the other just beneath where the sleeves attach to the garment. You won't need the top portion or sleeves for this project, but you may want to keep them for future use.
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Wind the bobbin -- the small spool that goes inside of the sewing machine -- with the elastic thread. Wind by hand and don't pull too tight. You don't want too much tension in the wind. Thread the needle of your sewing machine with regular thread and get set to sew as you usually would. The bottom finished edge of the T-shirt will be the bottom of your skirt. There's no need to hem the top edge, as it shouldn't fray.
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Start stitching about 1/8 inch from the raw edge to shir. You can use the edge of the presser foot as a guide. Gently pull the fabric flat as you stitch all the way around, but don't stretch it. When you complete one loop, tie the two ends of the elastic thread together so they don't unravel.
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Stitch another row about 1/4 inch beneath the first row. A good tip is to start each row on the opposite side of the shirt so you don't have all of your elastic thread knots on the same side. You'll need to do at least several rows, and you'll notice the material starting to gather more with each one. Continue shirring until you've formed a stretchy waistband. Six to eight rows should do it, depending on your preference.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're using a brand new T-shirt, you may want to wash it first since T-shirts often shrink.
While you don't need to finish the top edge, if you choose to, be sure to do so before shirring, as it will be much easier to hem before it begins to ruffle.
You likely will go through a few elastic bobbins as you do this project, so you may want to wind several before you begin to keep from having to stop midway to rewind.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
