Restylin' - Shirts to Skirts

I'M A LUMBERJACK AND I'M OKAY......

Thanks to Leigh Miller, a rising senior phenom, for giving me the opportunity to try out a great idea that I found on the CRAFT magazine blogsite for restyling men's shirts. Leigh's keen sense of style, her superb eye for color and texture, and her all-around-wonderfulness are truly gifts to all of us women sewists and crafters who were blessed with solely male offspring - thanks for indulging me, Leigh!!

So here is the story - it's a simple one!
You turn old shirts into way cool, great fitting skirts with only a seam ripper and 4 straight seams!

And here's how we did it!

Visit your local Salvation Army or Goodwill thrift shop and buy (for less than $3 each) 2 or 3 men's long sleeve button front shirts. Living in Juneau Alaska, Leigh chose cotton flannel shirts in a variety of solids and plaids (the CRAFT site used cotton oxford cloth shirts for a more summery look)


Detach the sleeves from the shirts as close to the armhole seams as possible. The wristbands on the sleeves will be your skirt waistband. To determine how many sleeves will be needed to make you skirt, measure your waist or hips (depending on where you want the skirt to rest on your body) then measure the length of each wristband. Using your higher math skills determine how many wristbands you will been to fully circumnavigate your waist (or hips). Pin the sleeves (wristband to wristband) around your body and adjust the seams to fit.


Stitch the seams together and - voila - you have a skirt. No need for a closure as you simply unbutton one of the buttons and slip on your finished skirt! The last step is to finish the hem. You have two great options here - have the bottom of the skirt retain the curvy shape of the armhole or trim the skirt for a straight hem.


And here is the finished product! I am waiting for a photo from Leigh on the first day that she wears her restyled work of art!


Ever clever and resourceful - Leigh fashioned this very cool clutch from the remaining shirt fabric, the shirt pockets and the button plackets!

Thanks to Leigh and CRAFT magazine!

(Leigh on the lake)