Two-piece sets are so on-trend this year! I had an old dress that was very pretty but I knew it had more potential. I decided to refashion it into a modern, gorgeous two-piece set. I am so pleased with how this upcycle turned out! This ruffle skirt and off the shoulder top two-piece is one of my new wardrobe favorites!
DIY Refashion: Ruffle Skirt and Off the Shoulder Top
8 materials
$10
3 Hours
Easy
Tools and materials:
- Measuring tape
- Ruler
- Chalk
- Rotary cutter
- Pins
- Sewing machine
- Needle and thread
- Elastic
Upcycle an old dress
This is the dress I decided to upcycle. I love the fabric and I couldn’t wait to start the transformation.
Ruffle mini skirt
Seam rip the skirt
The first step in this upcycle project, was seam ripping the skirt.
Measure to the desired length
Cut to the desired length
Once I had finished opening the seams, I used a measuring tape and a piece of chalk to mark the new length for my ruffle skirt.
DIY ruffle skirt
I then used a rotary cutter to cut the skirt to the desired length.
Pin the sides together
Sew the skirt back together
Next, I laid down the fabric and pinned both sides together.
Sew a straight stitch
I then sewed a straight stitch along each side.
Easy ruffle skirt
Next, I pinned and sewed the fabric to the waistband.
Mark the excess fabric
Add the ruffle to the skirt
To make the ruffle piece for the skirt, I marked 200cm (79 inches) by 11cm (4 inches) on the excess fabric.
Cut the fabric for the ruffle
I cut the fabric into 4 rectangles.
How to make a ruffle skirt
I then pinned and sewed each rectangle together to make one long piece.
Fold and pin
Next, I made a double fold and pinned the edge of the fabric.
See the fold
I moved back to my sewing machine and stitched the fold in place.
How to sew a ruffle skirt
I then hand basted the stitch to create the ruffles. I made sure that there was thread hanging before and after stitching.
Skirt with ruffle
I then pulled the thread to create the even ruffles. I made sure that the ruffle had the same width as the skirt. I went ahead and pinned and sewed the ruffle.
Pin on the ruffle
With the ruffle finished, I pinned it to the bottom of my skirt.
Sew on the ruffle
I stitched the ruffle on to the skirt using a zig-zag stitch.
Sew the ends together
Make the sleeves
In the next step, I worked on the off the shoulder sleeves. I cut two pieces of fabric 16cm (6 inches) by 49cm (19 inches). I then pinned the edges together and sewed them to make a sleeve.
Measure the fold
To create a puff sleeve effect, I used the elastic to measure how wide I would need to fold the fabric.
Sew on each side
I folded the fabric on each side of the sleeve and sewed leaving a small opening for the elastic.
Insert the elastic
I attached a safety pin to the end of the elastic and thread it through the small opening. I pulled it all the way through, sewed the ends of the elastic together, and sewed closed the small opening. I did this on both sides of the sleeve.
Pin on the sleeves
I used the same method to create the crop top and once it was finished, I pinned the sleeves onto it.
Sew on the sleeves
All that was left to do was sew on the sleeves.
Make a skirt with ruffles
This ruffle skirt and off the shoulder top two-piece is absolutely stunning! I know I will get a lot of use out of this set! Let me know your thoughts on this upcycle!
The author may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.
Comments
Join the conversation
Love that matching sets are making a comeback, especially this summery one :)