Learn How to Turn an Old Bed Sheet Into a Fun and Flowy Peplum Skirt

Tools and Materials:

• Old bedsheet
• Fabric scissors
• Ruler
• Marker
• Pins
• Elastic
• Sewing machine

I had an old bed sheet which I had previously tie-dyed and I decided to upcycle it into an amazing tie-dye peplum skirt. Start by folding the fabric four times. 

To get the perfect fitting skirt, make sure to measure your waist and hips if you don’t already know your measurements. 

Next, take a piece of string and measure it so that its length is a quarter of your hip measurements with an added 10 inches for seam allowance. A great tip is to wrap your measured piece of string around your marker at the right length to make marking much easier!

Take your string and marker and make markings of the hip radius at the corner of your fabric. I love that the string wrapped around the marker is a DIY compass which makes marking simple and easy! 

From the edge of your marking measure about forty-five to fifty centimeters, which will be the length of your peplum skirt. Create a marking just above and below the ruler. 

Move the ruler upwards at a diagonal slant and mark the same measurements of forty-five to fifty centimeters. Keep on moving it upwards and marking the fabric every few centimeters until your ruler is standing vertically on the fabric. 

Now that you’ve reached this point make the same measurements. Having clear measurements will make it way easier to cut later! 

Now that you have your markings ready, use your marker to create a semi-circle along your markings. A great tip is to go over all your markings so that they are clear and easy to see for cutting. 

Now it’s time for the fun to start! Cut your fabric along the outer semi-circle and then along the inner semi-circle. 

Now you’re going to begin your peplum preparation! Cut the peplum with a length of thirty cm with the same measurements at the waist, as the skirt. 

Before you can start sewing, place the two pieces together, right side facing each other. Start pinning them together at the waist where the waistband of your awesome skirt will be. Once your pins are in place sew all the way around. 

This step may seem a little destructive but don’t worry! Cut lightly inside the circle making small incisions all the way around. 

In this step, turn over your skirt so that it’s facing outwards the right way. Gently press around the waistband seam until there are no creases to be seen! 

You are so close to the finished product but before you can throw on this stunning skirt, it’s time to add an elastic to the waistband. First, measure the width of the waistband so that you know how big to make your top stitch later. Mark the width around the waistband using your marker. 

Make the elastic casing by topstitching another circle around the waist according to your new markings. Make sure to leave an opening to insert the elastic through!

Now that you have a perfect topstitch, attach a safety pin to the one end of your elastic and start threading it through. Chop off any extra bit of elastic and sew the end pieces together. Now you’re ready to sew closed the opening. To create that perfect finish on your upcycled skirt, sew all the raw edges with either a zig-zag hem, an overlock hem, or even with some bias tape. 

I love how fun and flowy this skirt is! It’s hard to believe this was once a bed sheet! What other fun pieces would you upcycle from a sheet? Let me know in the comments below!