Shirts to Skirts

This last Wednesday I had a relief society activity that I absolutely loved. We all gathered together and made skirts. And not just any skirts, but skirts made from shirts that we got at the DI.

It all started when one of my bishopric members wives came to church in the cutest skirt. We were all complementing her on it and she just started laughing. We asked what was so funny and she told us that she had made this skirt our of a sweater that she bought from the DI. At first we all thought she was joking, but the more she talked about it the more we actually believed her. She mentioned that she had gone looking for a new skirt and had seen one in Anthropology that she liked but didn't want to spend the money on. So instead of buying it she studied for a moment and decided that she could just make her own and she did. So many of us thought that it was cute and wanted to learn how to make our own so we decided to do it as a activity. It took awhile to put together, and get things organized so it would work. Eventually we got all of the details sorted out and got together to cut and sew last Wednesday night.

Before that night came we all had to go out and find our material. This was actually kind of fun. I went to the local DI and wandered around the tore looking for items that would make a cute skirt. I ended up buying three different tops. An extra large pink and black jacket, an extra large green jacket and a mens large sweater. From there I went to Joann's and picked out some ribbon, ribbing, elastic, and other accessories that I wanted to add to the skirts. It was fun to shop and think about how I was going to make them look.

So Wednesday night cam e and a bunch of us gathered together at the Larsen;s house. We set up multiple tables with sewing machines and others with cutting mats. From there we gathered around for instructions. They went somewhat like this:
First measure yourself from hip to hip. This was done by holding up the shirt against your waist and marking where you thought you should cut it.
Then measure from you waist to where you want your skirt to end. This was also done by hold the shirt up to your waist and marking it where it hit your knee.
Next cut the shirt to your measurements. This was done by laying the shirt on the cutting mat and angling the ruler to match your previous made marks. Then you took the cutting knife and sliced through the shirt.
Once it was all cut out you sewed the sides down to fit you. This was done mostly by guessing and checking. We would sew the sides then try it on to see how it fit. If it was still to big we would take it off and sew the sides again and repeat the process.
Once the side are sewn then you measure the ribbing/elastic to your waist size and sew it on the top.
After the ribbing is sewed on you can then add ribbon, edging, flowers, lace, etc to the bottom of your skirt to embellish it.

None of the instruction were very specific and none of the measurements were ever perfect. But that was the best thing for all of us. We all just went with it and for some reason it made it seem easier to do because you felt like there was less to screw up on since nothing had to be exact. We all laid out our shirts and started cutting and sewing and laughing a long the way. Most everyone at least got a start made on their skirts. A few of the girls finished them and they all look super cute.

That night I started working on the one made out of the sweater. Once I decided that I could figure out how to finish the rest on my own I then started to work on the Pink and Black Jacket. I wanted some help with starting this one because it was the one that I was most excited about and I didn't want to screw it up. I ended up getting the main part of the skirt cut out and the elastic sewed on but that was it. So then on Saturday night I purposely did not make any plans. I wanted to finish my skirts and that is just what I did. I sewed on tool, ribbon, flowers, edging and ended up completing the two skirts that I had started on Wednesday. I thought they turned out pretty cute and was quite excited about them.

This is the one made out of the mens sweater. The front and the back are the same.

This is the one made out of the Pink and Black Jacket. I am really happy with how it turned out and even wore it to church on Sunday. Everyone else thought it was super cute as well and couldn't believe that I made it out of a jacket from the DI. All in all I would say that this skirt ended up costing me maybe $20 by the time I bought the elastic, edging, ribbon, tool and flower. Not bad if you ask me.

On Sunday I decided to make my last one. So I took the following supplies: the Green Jacket, Ribbon, Lace, and Ribbing and sewed me a skirt. It tuened out pretty sute if I do say so myself.

All in all it was super fun to do and not very hard. I didn't spend a whole lot of money and I ended up with three new and cute skirts to wear. I think the biggest thing that has stuck out to me is that these skirts were made from shirts bought at the DI. It just goes to show that with a little imagination and some creative thinking you can do wonders on a small budget. It just goes to show that you should never pass something by without taking a second look at it ans seeing what it could become.