Skirts vs. Blouses

Sometime in the last year I bought a bunch of skirts and dresses from the thrift store (there’s a massive one a few blocks from my house and it ROCKS), with the intention of turning them all into blouses, and using leftover fabric for stuff in my shop or whatever. It’s taken me forever to get started on this project, but I finally did!

 

 

 

First, let me show you just a few of the things I bought – most cost $1-$3 each. I’ve got at least 15 more skirts/dresses/large blouses that will be turned into tanks/blouses. I bought a pattern for a wrap-top blouse, but am such a newbie seamstress that it’s confusing and I decided to just wing it.

 

Pillow sham that will be used somewhere in my daughter’s room.

So here’s how I made one skirt into a breezy tank:

The original skirt – not the accordion-folded fabric straps that are supposed to be belted & tied around the waist.

I took out the zipper on the side

And removed the white cotton underskirt/slip

I pulled the skirt up on my torso (inside out) to see where I wanted it to fit, and folder over the side of the skirt because it was too big for my torso. I pinned it in a couple places along the fold, took it off, and stitched up the side of the skirt to create a new seam. Then I cut off the excess fabric on the outside of the new seam.

 

I opened up the seam on the other side of the skirt at the top by the waistband (remember, I’d done the same thing by removing the zipper). I opened those seams enough to create holes for my arms.

Then I folded the waistband over toward the inside and sewed it down to create a small white piece across the top of the blouse.

 

Then I trimmed the extra waistband fabric from the inside.

I sewed up the seams of the “armholes”.

I took the “belts” off of the skirt and used that fabric to make 2 nice, thick straps for the top. I’d have sewn the straps to the corners (where the armholes start) except I wanted something cover my bra straps.

The finished product! This actually took me quite a while to do, but now that I’ve done it I know what steps I can skip, what to look for, etc.

Do you ever make clothes out of other clothing or objects?