From Old Jeans to Summer Skirt!

Remember these denim corsages I've been making?

From Left: My first denim corsage, denim corsages I made for my shoes, denim corsage I made for our Valentine Fair

They all came from the same pair of cut-off jeans I've had pre-maternity. I loved those jeans. Great fit, soft, and really, really comfortable. I found an old photo of me wearing it.

Yes... this is really me... back in 2008.

I used to wear it a lot. So anyway, 2009 I got pregnant and after I gave birth, I was never able to fit in these jeans comfortably again. After I lost a little of my pregnancy weight, it fit... but it was a little tight. After a few months of wearing it post maternity, I saw that some parts were showing obvious signs of wear. I decided to 'retire' it and since then, I've been cutting it up to make my denim corsages.

Last week, I saw this post from Camilla of Rosy Red Buttons about a monthly collaborative project called Point of View. Their theme for this month is skirts. I've never made a skirt before so I decided to try making one so I can link up to Point of View at the end of this month. I saw someone convert an old pair of jeans to a skirt in one of the link parties I join every week. However, I forgot to bookmark it :( But I got the idea from her (if anyone recognizes my project, can you send me the link to that blogger's site or post so I can give proper credit? Thanks!).

Anyway, to make my skirt, I used:

1. Old jeans... or in my case, what's left of it :) If you are using old jeans, cut it off a little above the crotch area.
2. Half yard of fabric (I used the fabric my friend got for me from IKEA, it's a little wide, around 59 inches so half a yard was enough for this project).
3. Matching thread.

Please ignore the ribbon. I was planning to use it but in the end, I liked the finished skirt without the ribbon so I didn't get to use it.

Step 1: Figure out how long you want the skirt to be so you will know how long your fabric has to be before you cut it..

Step 2. Measure the bottom of your cut off jeans.

Double the value of your measurement (you need this much to be able to create pleats), and add your seam allowance. That's how wide you need your fabric to be. Mine was 18 inches wide so my fabric was around 38 inches wide (18 x 2 + 2 inches seam allowance).

Step 3. You already know how long and how wide you need your fabric to be. Cut 2 pieces with those measurements. You will need 2 pieces: one for the front, and one for the back.

Step 4. Hem the bottom of both pieces of fabrics.

Step 5. Place one fabric on top of the other, right sides facing in. Hem both sides.

Step 6. Pin one hemmed side to one side of the jeans. Since I didn't hem the top, I made a small fold inward at the top of the fabric before I pinned it to the jeans.

Step 7. Fold the fabric into pleats and secure with pins. Make sure to fold the top edge inward to hide the raw edge.

Step 8. After you pin the fabric around your jeans, sew the fabric on to the jeans.

And here's my skirt:

Since the jeans I used was a little tight... then this skirt is still a little tight around the hips as well. I need to lose a little weight before I can fit into this skirt comfortably :) But when I do... then I will have a new skirt to celebrate with ;)

I linked up to the following link parties, check them out!

Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Craft Couture Monday at Craft Couture | Made by You Monday at Skip to my Lou | Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Craft | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Link Party at Passionately Artistic | Transformation Thursday at Shabby Chic Cottage | Sundae Scoop at I heart Naptime | Free for All at Young and Crafty | Making Mondays Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Round Tuit at Creating my way to Success | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios | Make It Wear It at The Train to Crazy |