I'm intrigued by this whole idea. Hannah and I don't wear jeans but I like this idea. I thought about trying it with a pair of my boy's old jeans. Here are the instructions I found for this, looks pretty simple. Jean skirts seem to come in and out of fashion on a regular schedule. The method given here uses two pairs of jeans. One is used to fill the “wedge” created when the inner leg seams are opened. A contrasting fabric can be used for the wedge if desired. The jeans for the upper portion of the skirt should fit at the waist and through the hips.
- Without cutting the fabric, release the inseam stitching.
- Remove the center front stitching beginning 1” below the zipper to the crotch (1).
- Remove the center back stitching beginning 6” to 9” below the waistband (where the grainlines begin to straighten) to the crotch (2). Remove the hem stitching at the lower leg edges.
- From a second pair of jeans, cut off the legs just below the crotch. Cut away the seams and hems right next to the seamlines-- leaving large wedge-shaped sections. These sections will fill in the wedge-shaped areas on the lower skirt.
- Place the first pair of jeans on a flat surface. Overlap the left front crotch over the right front and create a skirt shape by moving the sides until they’re parallel or a slight A-line shape. Measure the hipline and compare the measurement to your hips--adjust the skirt side edges to allow for 2” to 4” of ease through the hips.
- Place a piece of cardboard between the skirt front and back to prevent pinning through to the skirt back. Smooth the overlap areas and pin together, keeping the pocket linings free. Note: For less overlap, trim the crotch point (3).
- With right sides up, position a cut section from the second pair of jeans beneath the skirt front to fill in the wedge shape. For a skirt the length of the original pants, extend the filler fabric 1 1/4" beyond the skirt lower edge for a hem allowance. Position the filler fabric on-grain and pin in place to the skirt front, turning under the original inseam allowances (4).
- Using thread and an adjusted stitch length to match the original stitching, edgestitch the front skirt and wedge insert together. Stitch a second row, duplicating the topstitching on the jeans. Turn the garment wrong side out and trim away the excess wedge fabric to within 5/8" of the seamlines; clean-finish the raw edges.
- For the skirt back wedge, sew two sections from the second pair of jeans together, leaving 15” to 18” unsewn to form a slit for walking ease (5). Finish the slit raw edges with serging or a zigzag stitch and press the seam open.
- Topstitch the slit edges, duplicating the original stitching.
- On the skirt back, overlap the left crotch over the right, trimming the points if desired. Right sides up, insert and pin the prepared wedge to the skirt back, turning under the inseam allowances and extending the inset 1 1/4” beyond the skirt lower edge for a hem allowance. Sew the skirt back and wedge together; trim and finish as for the front.
- Even the hemline or cut to the desired length plus 5/8". Clean-finish the raw edge and turn under 5/8". Stitch the hem, duplicating the original topstitching.
Special thanks to Debbie Colgrove from SewNews for the instructions.
Too cool!
ReplyDeleteYea I thought so too.
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to do this for about a month now, but never got around to it. :) Last month at camp, the speaker's wife had two skirts she made out of pants...one jean and one khaki. She actually found material that matched to make the inserts, so she wouldn't have to use two pairs of pants for one skirt. The khaki material was the same color as the pants, and then had embroidered flowers going over it. The material she found to match the jean was a blue paisley print, which she turned inside out to match better! A very cool idea!
ReplyDeleteOne day I'll try it. :o)
I've seen these before, and I've been thinking of making one for myself out of khaki. I can't wear jean fabric to work in, and I can't seem to find a khaki skirt. Thanks for the post. I'll have to give it a try now!
ReplyDeleteI've seen these as well. Let us know if you try it out, and if it's as easy as it looks.
ReplyDeleteWhen you try it out ladies, make sure to post your results, for us less abled sewers. *Ü*
ReplyDeleteI've made a couple of these. One I recently made from 2 ripped out pair of jeans. It's a LONG skirt and I can't wait till cooler weather to wear it! The other one I can't fit in anymore and am not sure what I have done with it.
ReplyDeleteThe front isn't too bad to sew, but the back always gives me trouble.
Sis. Tori....I've seen skirts that looked like they had been made from breeches. I have printed off your instructions and I'm going to try to make a jean skirt this way. This is the first time I've visited your site. I will be adding your site to my list of sites I like to visit if that is okay.
ReplyDeleteSis Julie,
ReplyDeletePlease do and thanks.
I had a dozen or more of these in my teens. Of corse I used bright mod prints instead of denim. I wore them all the time. My step-daughters might get one for Christmas. They would love them!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! How neat that you have the directions for how to do this properly. I just made my first one the other day. I have decided this is about the only way I am going to have any maternity skirts. They just don't make them. But, you can always find jeans everywhere.
ReplyDeleteMy friend was asking for directions on how to do this so I am going to send her a link to this page if you don't mind.
I am going to try this. Thanks for posting it! Have you made one yet, Tori?
ReplyDeleteI made one of these a couple of months ago & posted a tutorial on my blog. I only used 1 pair of pants, but I made the skirt go just below the knees. Your blog is very nice!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tutorial. The illustrations are very good and clear.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! Just pinned it on pinterest. Blessings to you...
ReplyDelete