skirt from huge pants

[susank]

I had a great old huge pair of corduroy pants, which I made into a skirt that fits.  You could use any pants for this project-- including pants that already fit you, or that are too small.  See http://megan.scatterbrain.org/notmartha/tomake/jeanskirt.html for another great how-to guide.

1.  open inseam of pants all the way around and up center back seam
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt1_640.jpg

2.  fold over front crotch and sew down out of the way. should make straight vertical seam from front;
mark new center back seam lines. I took mine in by about 2 1/2" each side. lines should be straight, bypassing back crotch piece which will stick out as extra
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt2_640.jpg

3.  pin straight vertical center back seam. pants legs should be laid out as they fall naturally, in an A line.  If you want a straighter skirt silhoutte, gently move the pants legs inwards.  For more flare, move them more outwards.
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt3_640.jpg

4.  straight center back seam, past old back crotch area. Pin straight down until fabric doesn't come together anymore
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt5_640.jpg

5.  cut off legs at desired length. I premeasured this.  Here you can also see the front & back center seams pinned
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt6_640.jpg

6.  pin extra leg fabric into triangular gaps left by center crotch seams. If using nap fabric. make sure it lines up nicely! I made the corduroy wales vertical in the inset, although they were following the A line of the skirt on the rest of the fabric.  It might be cool to use a totally different fabric here
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt7_640.jpg

7.  take the whole thing to your machine and sew front and back vertical center seams

8.  front: sew in inset.
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt8_640.jpg

9.  back, as above. Note that back inset is smaller than front. I just laid the fabric as the pants fell, but you could move it around to make the insets the same size
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt9_640.jpg

10.  I staystitched bottom of skirt all the way around in two parallel lines so that it would fray up to the stitches. I didn't stitch the insets because they were made using the pants cuffs. contrast thread color looks rad here.  You can also do a regular hem for a cleaner look.

11.  worn, front
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt10_640.jpg
12.  worn, back
http://www.nolke.com/images/picKLE-cache/susan/projects/cord_skirt/cord_skirt11_640.jpg

--susan.

[thewalrusisme]

Hmmm, this didnt seem quite as simple when a friend and i tried to make one out of her pants.. but maybe with these instructions and the page u listed we'll try to finish it again.... thanks susank  

now, ive been thinking of trying it with a pair of too small jeans... was wondering how much more clearance u think this'll give me? or if it would look silly if i added a stripe of fabric down one side or both even to add some more space? or i guess i could just force myself to go to the gym like ive been planning.... but, somehow i think thats a lost cause this time of year  

[kategirl]

well, for pants that are too small, I've successfully opened up the side seams and inserted strips of fabric.  everyone thinks it looks cool.  I think it should look just as cool if it were a skirt.

[leah]

well, for pants that are too small, I've successfully opened up the side seams and inserted strips of fabric.  everyone thinks it looks cool.  I think it should look just as cool if it were a skirt.

Ooooh - I've been thinking about doing this for a jean skirt that I don't, ahem, fit into anymore. Think you could post pics of how your pants turned out?

I was kinda thinking it would be cool to open the side seams and sew a piece of a neck tie into the sides to that extra coupla inches I need.

[Kallese]

megan has a nice tutorial as well on Not Martha:

http://megan.scatterbrain.org/notmartha/tomake/jeanskirt.html

[megbo]

I made a short jean skirt like that using Megan's instructions on not martha and a combination of any others I could get my hands on.  I did a lot of pinning of panels and seams until I was totally happy, then sewed.  

My skirt came just above the knee so I used the scrap denim for inset panels.  Turned out nicer than anything I could buy!

[kayray]

Oooooo now I know what to do with the too-large, perfectly good, brand-new Levis I found on the dumpster!

Thanks for the great tutorial!

Kara

[BadKittyUSA33]

wow that came out totally kewl! ur skirt looks awesome    great job!

[SHELLYK.]

TOO CUTE!!! AND VERY CREATIVE.

[mazzle]

good job on those cords !

yes, i did that with some jeans that, as you say "ahem" dont fit anymore... and found that by making the skirt out of them, it made it all fit again - amazing!!! tho i kept it as a long skirt, using a second pair of jeans to fill the triangle ...  (long skirt cause im too lazy to shave the legs!!!


mazzle