What you need:
Clown Trousers (must be baggy in the legs, light flowy fabric with a busy pattern, but a good fit on the waist)
Seam Ripper
Scissors
Sewing Machine
1. Turn Trousers inside out and unpick the inside seam, this is the seam that runs from your ankle, up your leg and down the other leg.
2. Open your trousers out to look like this, the tag is the back of the Trousers and the seam in the middle is your side seam.
3. Take a straight edge (honest no measuring) and draw a straight line in pen/chalk, from just above the crotch part (the weird triangle shape in the photo) it doesn't need to come to a point at your hem just a few inches up is fine. Repeat this for the other side.
4. Cut this part off and repeat for the other side, see it's already looking like a skirt, excuse the double vision!
5. Take the trouser/skirt hybrid to the sewing machine (I used my serger here but a sewing machine is equally good) and sew up the sides you've just cut. To make things easy start with the side with the back label on, then you'll know you are sewing the right pieces together. Repeat this for the other side.
Skirt all sewn up
How it will look inside out (this is the back of the skirt facing you), notice that you've made a new seam down the middle of the back of the skirt? well you made one at the front too. If you had a plain skirt then this would be more noticeable but this busy print and pleats at the front completely disguise this skirts humble beginnings.
Now this skirt would be too long for me and yes I know that longer hemlines are back but I can't pull them off so I chopped off the skirt to knee length then hemmed it.
If you're looking for a long skirt and the new skirt is the right length then you just keep it as is, you won't even need to hem it. Magic!
As usual the final and most important step is to send me a lovely message of thanks, and/or flowers (Lilies) or Belgian Chocolates, what can I say I have expensive tastes in gifts if not in clothing :)
11 comments :
Yay! Thanks for the tutorial. What a concept! Never thought to do this. You are a genius!
thanks for the tutorial, ruby! it turns out that i DO have a floaty pair of pants around! they belonged to my mother...i thought it was a skirt, but nope...red floaty gaucho-like pants. i'm hoping to turn it into a skirt using your tutorial.
i'll let you know how it goes :D
You guys are the sweetest, I'm going to play around with some non floaty trousers and see how useable this is for regular, more slim fitting trousers.
Janelle I can't wait to see your red version, I like the sounds of this in such a vibrant colour.
I have done this with jeans, but now you've gotten me to thinking maybe I could do this with some Docker's-type trousers I have that got too short after washing.....I am tall and have long legs so pants length is always an issue for me!!
Thanks! (sorry, all out of Belgian chocolates!)
great idea - now I need to look for some of those baggy pants
Hmmmm, would wide-leg baggy jeans work?
thanks for sending me the link - now if I just spoke French!!
charleymarie, the jeans to skirt change will definitely work but for a cuter shape you're best off following the normal tutorials for this and turning them into a pencil skirt maybe (there's one on Threadbanger I believe). When you use a heavier fabric you'll get a different look, still cute but not floaty at all.
Hi Ruby! I finished my red version last night, and I published a post featuring it in my outfit today. The pants were pleated, so it worked really well :) Thanks for the tutorial! I owe you chocolate!
THis is so great! I would love to feature this on my blog, Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured button. Thanks!
http://reuseandupcycle.blogspot.com
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