Transform a Dress into a Skirt! | Style Pile #11

There is a box, in the corner of my sewing
room.

It is a box whose contents have not seen the
light of day for many a month.

Many crafters will be familiar with this box,
in all of its forms: There’s the ever-growing

amorphous lump
that lies underneath your desk…

The monster underneath your bed…

The stuff you vacuum-packed in a fit of organization
and stuffed into your garage in the hopes

that you’d never have to deal with it again…

This, my friends, is the UNFINISHED SEWING
PILE.

So the item that I grabbed out of the top
of the style pile box today was this robot-print

dress.

I thrifted the dress a couple of weeks ago
for 50 cents, because I LOVED the fabric,

but it had this massive rip on the sleeve.

I thought about simply removing the sleeves
and keeping it as a sleeveless dress, but

after trying it on, I realised that it was
too tight across the bust, and it "pancaked"

my boobs - so I decided that I would turn
it into a skirt.

So first up, I laid the dress flat on the
floor, and I made sure that the front and

back were even.

I put some pins into the fabric to hold the
front, back and the lining fabrics in place,

and then I drew a chalk line straight across
the fabric just underneath the arms.

And then I cut through the front, back and
the lining fabrics with a pair of fabric scissors,

leaving me with this – and it’s already
looking like a skirt, right?

I turned it inside out, and because it has
lining fabric which I want to keep, the first

bit of sewing that I did was to attach the
lining and the skirt fabrics together at the

top here.

This will keep the lining in place.

And for this I used a long straight stitch.

Next, I got myself some elastic and I measured
it to fit my waist, at the part of my waist

where I want the skirt to sit.

I made sure the elastic was slightly snug
around my waist, and then I cut it to this

length.

Now it’s time to make some casing for that
elastic!

I lined the elastic up next to the skirt,
because I’ll need this casing to be just

a little bit wider than the elastic.

And then, with it still inside-out, I simply
folded the top of the skirt down like this,

making sure both the robot fabric and lining
were folded in the same way.

When I was happy with how it was folded all
the way around the top of the skirt, I pinned

it in place, and then I sewed using a straight
stitch all the way around the top of the skirt,

front and back, leaving a SMALL GAP here.

And I used black thread because this stitch
will be visible on the right side of the fabric.

So after sewing around about 95% of the casing,
I stopped because I wanted to leave this small

gap in which I could insert some elastic.

To insert the elastic into the skirt, first
I put a safety pin through one end of the

elastic, which will help me to guide it through
the casing.

And then I guided the elastic through the
casing, all the way around, until it came

back out the other side.

Then, I sewed the two ends of the elastic
together like this, using a zig zag stitch,

and then I sewed over that small gap in the
casing.

Then I tried on the skirt, and I could have
finished here – but I decided that it would

look a little bit better if I could wear it
with a belt – so the last thing that I’m

going to do is to make BELT LOOPS.

Which would have been a lot easier to do before
installing the elastic.

But, hey – I never sew things in a logical
order, and I’m not going to start today.

I thought about using the rest of the robot
fabric for belt loops, but then I remembered

how flimsy the fabric is – that rip didn’t
happen because the fabrics were strong – so

instead I grabbed myself some thicker black
linen.

I drew equal-sized 4 rectangles onto the fabric,
and then I cut these out.

For each belt loop, I folded the edges of
the fabric into the middle like this, and

then folded this in half, and then I sewed
down this edge.

Then, I folded the raw ends in like this,
and sewed over the top of them like this.

Then, I attached each belt loop to the skirt
equally around the waistband, by sewing the

bottom of it on just underneath the casing
like this, and for the top of the belt loop

I hand-stitched on to the top of the casing
like this.

If I hadn’t added the elastic first, I could
have sewn it with my machine – but I didn’t

do that.

Anyway, illogical sewing aside, this is how
it turned out!

I really, really, really like it!

Now, you can basically do this for any rectangular-bit
of fabric, that is larger than your waist

and that you can fit over your hips, and that
you’ve sewn into a loop.

This is a really good method of making a dress
- without a fitted waist - that you loved

but maybe that you've outgrown into something
that you can wear again!

And I was definitely right about adding the
belt loops – I think that the skirt looks

SO much better with them.

I’m so happy that I was able to give this
broken dress another life as a skirt.

Thank you all so much for watching, and if
you haven’t already – check out my Patreon

page!

It’s really only through Patreon that I
have a stable source of income, which allows

me to keep making these videos.

Doing youtube and being my own boss is basically
the best kind of job for somebody living with

a disability, like me, because it means that
I can work whenever I’m feeling okay and

take breaks when I need them - plus I love
making these videos - but I gotta be able

to eat and pay the rent, too.

Any amount, even $1 per month, will really
help me out.

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tell your friends about me!

Thank you all for watching, supporting me,
and I'll see you all next time – bye!