DIY a Denim Mini Skirt From Old Jeans
Normally we cut off the legs of jeans to upcycle the jeans into a pair of shorts or a skirt. What’s left is some extra denim fabric from the legs that normally goes to waste. In my tutorial, I show you a great idea for using this extra denim fabric to DIY an amazing mini skirt.
Tools and materials:
- Measuring tape
- Paper
- Pen
- Scissors
- Pins
- Sewing machine
- Old jeans
Sketch the skirt
I always like to start off by sketching out my design. I drew the mini skirt and separated it into four since it will be made up of the different legs from old pairs of jeans. I wrote down the measurements for how big each piece making up the skirt would need to be. The width would be an ⅛ of my waist measurement. Further down I marked an ⅛ of my hip measurement and of course from the top of the piece to that point would be my waist to hip measurement.
I also marked the length of the skirt on my sketch and added seam allowance since I would be adding 8 of these small panels together to make the skirt.
Draft a pattern
Next, I moved on to drafting the pattern for my skirt. I started by drawing a rectangle and measuring an 1/8 of my waist measurement plus 2 cm (0.8 inches) for seam allowance. I then measured the length of my skirt plus the added seam allowance and drew it in.
I then drew in my waist to hip measurement plus 1 cm (0.4 inches) for seam allowance.
After I had drawn in the line, I added 2 cm (0.8 inches) on each side which makes this an ⅛ of my hip measurement plus seam allowance.
Using my ruler, I then connected the ends of the top line to the bottom to finish off my pattern.
Finally, I could go ahead and cut out my pattern piece.
Cut the fabric
Next, I traced my pattern onto my four jeans legs and once I had cut, I was left with 8 denim panels for my new skirt.
I then made sure to overlock all my pieces before continuing.
Sew the panels
Once I had all my denim panels ready, I laid them down, alternating the colors to get the perfect look for my new skirt. I then started to pin the denim panels together.
Next, I headed to my sewing machine to sew along the pinned lines.
I then turned the skirt and sewed seams along the right side of the fabric where the panels meet.
Attach the zipper
I folded the skirt over, right sides together so that I could attach the invisible zipper. I closed the zipper and pinned it to one side of the skirt. I then pinned the other side of the zipper to the second side of the skirt.
I sewed on the zipper using a zipper foot to make the process easier.
Once my zipper was attached, I closed up the skirt below it.
Finish the skirt
I then moved on to finish off the top of the skirt. I didn’t have enough fabric to make a waistband but I was happy to fold in the top of the skirt because it gave the piece a nice, clean finish. I folded the top inward by 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) and sewed all the way around.
I moved to the bottom of the skirt and did the same thing, hemming it to get the perfect finish.
I love this DIY mini skirt! What do you think about this piece? Let me know in the comments!
How to fold skirts
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My granddaughters would love this. It would really look great with a fringed bottom!
I would of let the hem fringe out, but it's really cute!