Making a Skirt From a Sweater
Hello Readers. It is super chilly out there and you might be thinking it's too cold for a skirt. But if you wear thick warm fabrics you can stay cozy and warm all winter. Today I am focused on heavy sweaters. I found this striped men's sweater at a clothes swap. Men's sweaters are great for refashion projects because the run larger and give you more material to work with.
Before and after.
This is a men's sweater and it is large on me. That gives me a little extra fabric to work with. You can find men's sweaters at clothes swaps and thrift stores. You can also cruise Amazon for men's sweaters. Use a sweater that fits around your waist and hips snug enough to stay on your body but loose enough to be comfortable. (If it's a little too loose you can fix it at the end.)
I cut the body of the skirt away from the shoulders and sleeves of the sweater. It sounds crazy to cut a sweater but you can do it. Lay it on a table and make sure it it smooth with no wrinkles or bunches of fabric. I cut straight across the chest of the sweater.
This will be my new skirt. Mine is going to be more of mini length. If you want a longer skirt a sweater for tall men will give you more length.
When I cut the sweater I knew I had to deal with this cut edge. It will fray if I left it like this.
I had a plan to hem the cut edge and I describe that here. I needed to close or seal the cut edge. A serger or zigzag stitch right on the edge of the fabric will make the edge sturdy and prevent fraying. Then I turned the edge under and stitched it down with a zigzag stitch. It is 2 steps but sweaters will fray so you need to prevent that.
Here is a look at the edge when it was put through the serger. The serger sews around the cut edge and keeps it from fraying and falling apart.
If you don't have a serger, that's OK! You can use a sewing machine with a zigzag stitch. The sewing machine stitches might not look as smooth and even but it will do the same thing as the serger and keep this sweater from fraying. It will be hidden inside so it won't even show.
After I used my serger on the cut edge (White thread.) I turned it under and used a zigzag stitch (Purple thread.) to stitch the hem in place. It was a little bumpy and wavy so I ironed it smooth. I ironed the stitching with steam until it was flat. Use a heat setting that works for the material your sweater is made of.
You might need to adjust the waist band a little to keep your skirt secure on you waist. Try it on to see what, if anything, you need to change. Mark the inside of the skirt with chalk or pins so you know where you need the new side seams to be.
You can sew (Right sides together.) with a zigzag stitch to make a new side seam at the waist. The more fabric you remove the smaller your skirt will be. Once you are done, cut off the excess. The zigzag stitch will keep it from fraying. If your skirt fits well then you can skip this step.
I loved the new skirt. The waistband of the sweater was a perfect soft stretchy waistband for my skirt. It was very comfortable around my stomach and very cozy too.
Chickie
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I love this! SO cute! I can't wait to try this. Thanx for sharing!
Thanks for the kind comment! 😀
Chickie