Re Purposing a Mans Shirt into a Girls Ruffle Skirt

Re purposing a mans polo shirt to a girls ruffle skirt
I have a pile in our room of clothes that are bound for Goodwill. I won't let my husband take them just yet though because I am sure I can find a new use for them. This polo has been calling my name for a few weeks now and I finally got the inspiration to do something about it. Owen was at pre-school this morning so I had some time to do some sewing. Really the skirt only took about an hour to make and that's only because I had to take out a couple of seams that I messed up on. So here is the process.
Raid your husbands closet and find an old shirt. The bigger the better. I will be keeping my eye out this summer at garage sales for some XL castoffs.
Cut the bottom hem off and save for the drawstring. Then cut three 4 inch strips all the way across the shirt and then open them at one seam so you have long strips of fabric. Cut about 7-10 inches on the top around where the sleeves are depending on length. Cut the sleeves off leaving yourself with a rectangle of fabric that will become the underside of your skirt that the ruffles are sewn to. Sew the two pieces together to make one long piece. Fold over about an inch of the top part of that piece to make a casing for the drawstring.

Make gathers on your three strips of fabric and then lay the first layer on the bottom of the long 7-10 inch piece. Then sew about 1 inch up placing the next ruffle on making sure it's the same length as the base layer. Do that with the third layer. My third layer was on the same sewing line as the casing line.



Here it is with all three layers and the casing done. Now put the right sides together making sure all your ruffles are laying flat (I usually shake it down while holding the edges together) and sew together. Make sure you leave the top inch open so you can insert your drawstring. Cut off the extra material at the seam. Thread the drawstring through with a safety pin and Viola a new skirt!







So I am sure I will regret using my 4 year old son as a skirt model later, but he is what was at home at the time. My daughter (who is nearly 8) is the same size as he is and I wanted to check on the length as well as the fit. For the record, I will be happy to pay the therapy bill later.


9 comments

Andrea said...

I love this idea! So cute! I'm starting a new blog link up this Thursday called Make it, Wear it if you want to stop by and link up!

Andrea @ TheTrainToCrazy.com

honeysuckle said...

This turned out so cute. I love re purposing things. Also love that you used your son for the model! I also posted about little girl's twirling skirts on Kimba's today. Check it out!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Love this idea! I featured it at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com Grab My "featured" button.

Tiffany said...

so gosh darn cute. my hubby is an XL, and I have a little girl who is 3. What size do you think this skirt is? (oh please say 3-4T) i am a greeen sewer, gareeen (meaning new), but I luv it and it is going in my todo folder. thanks for sharing =)

Unknown said...

Miss Tiff, My daughter is nearly 8, but she's super petite. I would say it's around a 4T or 5T but you can make it longer or shorter based on the length of the base layer (the part you cut from up top by the sleeves).

So glad you guys like it!

Rachel

Andrea said...

I love this!! So cute. This would be perfect to link up to my new weekly Thursday party called Make it, Wear it. Stop on by!

Andrea @ TheTrainToCrazy.com

Stacie@HobbitDoor said...

Great idea! Thanks for sharing!

Sumo @ Sumo's Sweet Stuff said...

Super cute! I think even I could handle this with my limited sewing abilities. I featured it on my blog!

http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Love this idea! Thanks for sharing!


Women jerseys

Powered by Blogger.