Upcycle Tutorial: How to DIY a Net Skirt
I went on a trip to a local thrift store and came back with a mini-haul of items that gave me some new thrift flip ideas.
As you know, I love to thrift flip clothing, but even I was surprised I came up with this one!
One of the items in my stash was a net curtain and I had the crazy idea to make it into a long net skirt to wear with a blouse that I got in the same haul. So here goes!
Best fabric scissors!
Tools and materials:
- Net curtain
- 1 inch wide elastic
- Edging trim (optional)
- Large safety pin
- Scissors
- Pins
- Sewing machine
1. Make the casing
My curtain had a plastic insert in the top casing that I couldn't remove, so I cut off the whole strip.
If your casing is usable as it is, you can skip this step altogether.
Otherwise, measure the depth of your elastic and make the casing half an inch or so deeper.
Turn down the top edge on to the wrong side, fold under a narrow hem if you need to, and stitch the casing down.
2. Bottom trim (optional)
The bottom of my curtain was a raw edge that didn't look too good. Luckily I had some vintage lace trim that I really wanted to use.
I turned up a narrow hem and stitched the trim to it, so instead of a plain hem I had a pretty edging.
If your curtain is already hemmed, you can leave it as it is or trim it.
3. Insert elastic
Cut the elastic to fit comfortably around your waist, plus extra so you can overlap the ends.
In the past, I've made simple skirts by sewing up the seam first, then inserting the elastic and closing the casing.
This time I used a large safety pin to thread the elastic through the casing first, and I saved myself a step.
If your curtain is very lacy, take this step slowly or the safety pin will get caught in the holes.
Overlap the ends of the elastic and sew them securely, then try the skirt on.
4. Sew the main seam
With right sides together, pin the main seam from the waistband to the hem, making any adjustment to the size that you need.
My skirt was a little loose around the waist, so I took in a half inch extra on the seam.
Sew the seam in place.
DIY net skirt
And there is your net skirt. It’s floaty and floofy and I love it! I styled mine with leggings and a wide belt, or you could make separate slip linings in different colors to wear under it.
On its own, it makes a great beach cover-up. You could even wear it as a mini dress!
I hope this gave you some thrift flip ideas to use found items in new and fresh ways.
If you have items that you don't know how to flip, let me know in the comments and let's see what we can come up with together.
Check out my post on How to DIY a Cool Upcycled Jacket.
Enjoyed the project?
Suggested materials:
- Net curtain
- 1 inch wide elastic
- Edging trim (optional)
- Large safety pin
- Scissors
- Pins
- Sewing machine
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I've used similar mesh shower curtains to fashion window valances & as narrow sheers on side door panels. An affordable fabric for many unrelated shower projects --including your snazzy beach cover-up!