How to... Make a Skirt from a Pair of Jeans - Red Ted Art

Welcome to this week’s How to, where I am making a skirt out of an old pair of jeans!! To date, I have been saving all old jeans for crafting with the kids, using a small piece for a teddy bear’s leg here and another for some baby shoes there. Then the gorgeous Liz from Me and My Shadowsent me a 99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim and I was inspired to think bigger – that is – upcycle my old pair of jeans into a skirt for me! Could I do it? Well why not…

I adapted the pattern slightly from the book (I think I simplified it) and there are one or two parts I could improve on next time, but overall I am pretty chuffed with the result!

The instructions are quite “rough and ready”.. but to be honest, I don’t think it is a problem – as you will have jeans of all shapes and sizes at home and I noticed that as I went a long, things were pretty flexible.

Materials: one pair of old jeans, scissors, pins, sewing machine, thread and needle

1) Take one pair of old jeans. If like mine, they have a hole in it, then the position of the hole will determine the length of your skirt! The bottom half or you leg will become a panel in the front and back of the skirt. So you have to cut the leg so there is enough length from the crotch of the skirt to the hem.

2) Cut the legs off your jeans. Then cut out the crotch on both sides.

3) Take the bottom part of the leg and cut out a triangle – see images – cut off the hem of the trousers too.

4) Repeat with other leg and you will have two pieces as above – note that the triangle is not pointy at the top, but flat.

5) Place the panel underneath the front. Align the bottom of the panel with the bottom of the “main skirt”. Fold the top piece to create a hem and pin in place. You basically sewing the “main skirt” on top of the panel. I sewed the red lines with the machine TWICE. And then the yellow parts by hand. The yellow line (i.e. the crotch) is by far the hardest bit of this skirt and very fiddly. I actually have a small piece of the crotch seam sticking out, as it was difficult to bend it over. I just blanket stitched around it to stop it fraying. Repeat at back.

6) Try the skirt for length. If need be shorten or tidy the hem length a little. Then hem the skirt.

Done. What do you think? I think it is pretty cool way to upcycle one pair of jeans and I know what I will be wearing this summer! The skirt is pretty comfy too – as the waist band of my old jeans in nicely worn in and a perfect fit! I even have pockets.

Have you made anything from old jeans before? What is it? Do share in the comments!

Here are some of my other favourite “upcycled crafts“: