How to Make a Skirt From an Old Sweater
Making a skirt at home is a wonderful way to be resourceful with old fabric material you no longer use. One fun, and useful project, is using an old sweater for this purpose. Choose a swear that is large enough to provide enough material for the skirt, in a color or print that would be attractive, and then follow these steps to make it into a new and stylish piece of clothing.
Things You'll Need
- A skirt pattern
- An old sweater
- Thread
- Needles
- Pins
- Measuring tape
- Elastic
- A large safety pin
Instructions
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Making the Skirt
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Choose a skirt pattern for the design of your skirt. Many fabric stores offer patterns, and there are also many available from various websites. Make sure to choose a pattern that won't require more material than you'll be able to use from the preexisting length of your skirt. Take your sweater and cut up the seams on both sides, to separate the sweater into two halves. Then cut both sleeves off of the sweater. Finally, cut the neckline off of both sides: beginning right under where the curve of the neckline begins, cut straight across in a straight line, to make two even square or rectangle shapes of fabric.
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2
Place each piece of the sweater on your skirt pattern and cut according to the directions. Then take the pieces of cut sweater and stack one on top of the other. Make sure you have both printed sides (or sides you want to show) facing outward, so the inside of sweater is hiding. Pin the sides of the skirt together using sewing pins, placing the pins closely to the edges of the skirt.
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3
Using thread that matches the color of the sweater fabric, stitch both sides of the skirt together, leaving about 1/2-inch of room on both sides outside the seam. Once both sides of the skirt are sewn, the skirt will look like a tube with both the top and bottom open. Fold under the top part of your skirt with about a 1/4-inch of seam allowance: This will be for the elastic casing. Hand-stitch down the center of the seam. Fold the waistline again, but this time leave 1 1/2-inches. Pin in place. Chalk or pen may be used as guidelines on where to sew and where not to.
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4
Stitch around the waistline where it is pinned in place, forming a casing. Measure your waistline and cut the elastic to the same size: If your waist is 26 inches, use 26 inches of elastic. Attach a large safety pin to one of the ends of the elastic, as a guide for pulling the elastic through the casing. Once you have pulled the elastic all the way through, stitch both ends the elastic together.
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5
Try on the skirt and make sure the fit is okay. If so, stitch the final opening closed. If the skirt does not fit, carefully trim off some excess fabric and elastic to make the skirt fit tighter. The last step is to hem the bottom of your skirt: Depending on the size of your sweater and the desired skirt length, the amount you will have to cut off the bottom will vary. Determine the desired length by checking the fit against your reflection in the mirror. Remove the skirt and place on a flat surface or table. Pin the bottom to the desired hemline, then sew right above the pins, as closely to the pins as possible. Once the hem is completed, remove the pins.
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References
- Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
