This presumes you can sew a straight seam and a zig zag seam. If you're not
confident with this, I recommend practicing on scraps of fabric.
Materials needed:
-
T-shirt that fits well
- 2 1/2 -- 3 yards of fabric that is 40-45" wide
-
Thread
-
Sewing machine
Instructions:
-
Pre-wash and dry your fabric and t-shirt (if you are going to put the outfit in
the clothes dryer make sure that the fabric can be dried in a dryer).
-
Have someone measure from your waist to however long you want the skirt to be.
(Don't try to do this yourself, as you will not get an accurate measurement).
This will be Measurement Q.
-
Lay out your fabric and cut two lengths, each one measured Q+1". (The extra
inch is for a narrow hem and seam allowance)
-
Cut the t-shirt off at your waist.
-
If you have a very defined waist, and are familiar with sewing, you might want
to take a few darts to narrow the bodice to be shaped to your body. T-shirts
are notorious loose in the waist.
-
Zig zag stitch across the raw edges of each piece (raw edges are the part where
the fabric has been cut. The selvage is the woven edges down the length of the
fabric).
-
With right sides together, match the selvage of the two and sew a 5/8" seam all
the way down the length on each side. (You're making a BIG tube!)
-
Match the right sides of the t-shirt and the tube of fabric.
-
If the t-shirt has side seams, match the seams of the tubes to the side seams
of the shirt. If there are no side seams, make your best guess where the
center of the side of the garment is and match there. (Easy way is to lay the
t-shirt flat and iron down each of the sides). Pin skirt on either side.
-
The fabric of the skirt portion is going to be much wider than the t-shirt.
You have two choices, you can either fold pleats to take up the ease or you can
gather the fabric. Folding pleats are the easiest.
-
If you are not an experienced seamstress, the easiest thing to do is to baste
the skirt to the t-shirt with long running stitches, then sew it down with the
machine. Otherwise, you can just sew over the pins (shame, shame).
-
Remove the pins or basting stitches and press the seams apart.
-
If you want to be able to have closer fit at the waist (I prefer it. My waist
is 12" smaller than my hips), make two strips of fabric about 24" long and sew
them to the side seams. There. You're done.
If you want a more finished look:
-
You can add trim from the skirt fabric to the sleeves by cutting a couple of
strips of fabric about 3" wide and the same length as the circumference of the
sleeves.
-
Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, and press down.
-
Fold each edge in to the center and press down again.
-
Baste the fabric around the sleeve, so that the bottom of the sleeve touches
the center fold in the fabric.
-
Machine sew down.
I have found that if you are not a skilled seamstress or not neat handed (as I
am NOT), making sure you take the time to baste seams - especially on edging -
makes all the difference!
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