How to Make a Midi Skirt Out of Old T-Shirts

Tools and materials:

• Big t-shirt
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Chalk
• Scissors
• Seam ripper
• Pins
• Sewing machine
• Elastic

1. Remove the sleeves

Draw a straight line from the armpit of the shirt to the shoulder and cut off the sleeve. You could always flip the sleeve inside and use it to make a pocket if you want to.

2. Remove the collar

The next thing you need to do is cut off the collar. Place the t-shirt so that the back of it is facing you, draw a straight line from shoulder to shoulder, and cut that off.

Next, flip your skirt round to the front and do the same thing. The front of the skirt is going to be a little bit shorter than the back, but I’m going to show you how to fix that later.

3. Unpick the seams

Now you have turned your t-shirt into a tube that is like a skirt.

The problem is that the seams are on the side that I want to be the outside of the skirt. Use a seam ripper to unpick the hem of the skirt as well as the side seams.

I chose to do that so that all of the raw edges and seams would be on the inside of the skirt so it would have a nicer finish and be more presentable.

4. Cut waistband pieces

Take another old t-shirt and cut two waistband pieces from it. The waistband is going to be a long rectangle, about maybe 15 inches (38cm) long and 2.5 inches (6cm) high [for the length, just measure your waist and add a little bit extra for seam allowance].

Cut out two of these pieces and make sure that they are both the same size. It doesn’t matter if there is a picture on the other side of your t-shirt because the waistband will be enclosed; just make sure that one side of the fabric is nice and plain.

5. Pin the waistband to the skirt

Next, pin the waistband to the front skirt piece and do the same for the back.

To do this, mark the center of both pieces and pin them together right sides touching at that center point, then pin them together at the sides.

Sew along where you have pinned, then flip the waistband over the front of the skirt, fold the raw edge of the waistband in and sew it one more time.

6. Sew the seams

Now it’s time to sew your very first seam; you can use an ordinary sewing machine with a ballpoint needle.

The most important thing to note is that when sewing with stretchy fabric, be sure not to stretch the fabric as you feed it into the sewing machine.

Try to feed it in as loosely as possible so that the fabric will still have some stretch to it after you have sewn it.

7. Attach the elastic

The next step is to sew the elastic for the skirt. Cut a piece of elastic that is 1-2 inches (2.5-5cm) shorter than the length of your waist and sew it closed in a tube.

Then put the tube inside the waistband of the skirt and fold the waistband over it. Now you just need to sew the waistband closed; it’s important to go slowly and be really careful.

8. Sew the hem

The last step is to finish the hem of the skirt. On my skirt, the back is slightly longer than the front, so I will be trimming the back but in a curve so that it is still a little bit longer. Simply draw a curved line and cut along that curve.

Now take this to the sewing machine and fold and sew as you go along to finish the hem. You don’t have to do this, but it creates a neater finish.

How to make a midi skirt

Here is the finished look! It is a super comfortable skirt that is great for wearing around the house. I love that I was able to transform a large t-shirt into a completely new piece of clothing. Looking at this skirt, who would have thought that it started out as a t-shirt?