Maxi Skirt Refashion

I have been super busy crafting, baking & sewing but I needed to take time out to perform my civic duty. For the 3rd week in a row I am working at our local election office. There are important issues out there so don't forget to get out and vote August 7th! That leads me to this new blog. I have met some wonderful ladies and I promised I would blog about this maxi skirt I wore into the office one day. This is for a budding sewer. It will be easy and fun to wear to school this year. I apologize I did not take photos while making it originally so what you see is the finished product. And like I said I have been busy so it came out of the dryer wrinkled and I have not taken an iron to it. Busy Mom's/Wives Unite!! HA HA anyway, onto the tutorial.

This is what you'll need:

• I used 3 adult men's polo shirts. They are thicker than a t-shirt most of the time. If you are taller than 5'3" you'll need more shirts, if shorter, then less shirts. I also choose medium because it fit around my hips comfortably. Pick your size accordingly.
• thread
• sewing machine
• scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• enough elastic to go around your waste

The original polo shirts I started with were similar to this. Lay them flat on a table one at a time. Cut off the lower part of the shirt at the armpit. I like using the rotary cutter and mat for this as the ruler gives me a nice straight line. However this is just as easy if you draw a line with a pen and cut with scissors. Do this to all shirts. You now have 3 fabric tubes. Decide what order you want your shirts to be in. I chose from top to bottom; brown, brown stripe & blue. From my 3 shirts bottoms I then cut them in half. So now I had 6 pieces (tubes). Cut off the hem of all shirts except for the piece that will be the hem of the skirt. With right sides together pin & sew your pieces together, ending with the hemmed piece at the bottom. Press seams open as you go.

Now we'll make the casing for the elastic waste. I used 3/4" wide elastic with an inch for the casing and 1/2" seam. This is how I did that. Judge what length you want your skirt. My skirts' finished length is 36 1/2" long. I added 1" for the casing and 1/2" for the seam. Then I cut the remaining fabric off. So now I have a skirt that is 37 1/2" in length. Turn the top under to the inside 1/2" and press. Fold down this area 1". Pin in place. Sew the the casing, making sure you leave an area open to insert the elastic. Measure and cut the elastic to a comfortable length. Insert it into the casing. Before loosing it all inside the casing leave the ends out so you can sew them together. This automatically gathers your wasteband of the skirt. Sew the opening to the casing closed.

 What I would reccommend you do now is open up a side seam at the bottom of the skirt to allow for easier walking. Just up to the knee should be far enough. Turn edges under and hem for a finished look. My short legs tend to take long strides and I did not do this. Ooops! It is on my to do list.

Enjoy your maxi skirt! If you make one send me a picture. I would love to see it!