How to Turn Thrift Clothes into Skirts

For many years now, my mom and I have been turning dresses and oversized shirts from thrift stores or yard sales into skirts. It’s really easy and simple to do, and it typically costs WAY less than buying a brand new item. Today I’m excited to share with you how I changed a dress I got for $1 at a yard sale into a beautiful summer skirt!

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Here’s what I used:

• A very short dress (you can also use long dresses or even oversized t-shirts)
• An iron
• Elastic
• A safety clip
• Scissors
• A sewing machine with matching thread
• A long hook (the one I used in the picture above came from a potholder loom set–but any hook will do as long as it isn’t sharp enough to pierce the fabric)

First, I hacked off the top of the dress, trying to keep my line as straight as possible.

Then I turned the whole thing inside out, and folded the top over on one side about a 1/4 inch…

Then folded it again to make a big enough casing for my elastic.

Here’s what it looked like when I was done…

Then I pulled out the iron and pressed my folds in place! Now if you’re like me, this step used to seem like a hassle–but I have learned that it actually saves me a lot of time and frustration in the long run to just go ahead and iron my projects! 🙂

Then I folded and ironed the other side the same way I did the first.

Once I had everything nicely pressed in place, I sewed a 1/8-1/4 inch seam around the edges, leaving a 2 inch gap.

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Next I wrapped the elastic around my waist, and cut off enough to fit comfortably with about an inch extra; attached the safety pin to one end; and began threading it through the hole in the casing I just created.

When I couldn’t push it through any farther, I used the hook to pull it through the rest of the way.

I tried the skirt on briefly, then pinned the pieces together where I knew I wanted to stitch the elastic together…

Then went ahead and stitched it! 😉

And stitched the hole closed while I was at it. 🙂

I also sewed two seams straight through the waistband to prevent the elastic from twisting around and getting all messed up inside the casing.

And ta-da! There you have it! Easy peasy, fun, cute, and super affordable! It also is a good practice project for beginning sewers. 🙂

Do you use thrift clothes to make projects? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy sewing! ❤