Skirt Hacks: Transforming Oversized Thrift Store Finds
Skirts can be one of the best finds at a thrift store, there are so many of them! And usually, skirts are easier to find in your size...or not. I love to thrift because of the availability of unique fabrics and fashions you can find, however, how often do you pass up a very cool find just because its the wrong size? Skirts are so easy to alter, when you learn a few simple alterations you can get a great garment, and bargain, while refining your sewing skills.
This project is a great 1 hour endeavor for a beginner sewist. The skirt actually was on sale, so I got it for only $2.50. If you are on a budget and want sewing to help you build your wardrobe, shopping thrift stores is a great way to practice your new skills and save on your clothing expenses.
Get set up to sew! For this project, I use my ruler, scissors, trimmers, and a seam ripper. This skirt is made of a very stretchy rayon. To make marks on it, use soap instead of chalk because the soap will glide over the fabric better than if you use chalk.
This skirt is a size 20 and an XXL. I really liked the fabric though and I knew that it was going to be a great fabric for summer here in the south. So before I bought it I analyzed it. It was just a simple 2 side seam elastic waist skirt. To make it smaller, obviously I could have just hacked the extra off the side and sewed it. But I want this to be comfortable and look good too. My first step is going to be to remove the elastic waistband.
The most time consuming part of this project is removing the serging. Start by ripping out at the loops, or edge of the serged seam. Then remove the straight stitches, they should actually release if you pull them gently apart and then take the ripper to it.
Now that you have the waistband off, measure it to your waist size by placing it where you want the skirt to sit on your waist. I'm going to cut off about 5 inches.
Now that I have cut 5 inches off of the elastic waistband, I need to cut the same amount from the skirt at the side seam. Then I re-pin the side seam (don't mind my cat Littles' photobomb) and serge the elastic and the side seam.
When you have that finished, re-pin the elastic waistband back to the top of the skirt. Then serge all of the layers together, finishing up the waistband.
Now my skirt is finished and ready to wear! I'm so glad that I didn't pass this one up, I will be wearing this all of the time in the spring and summer weather.
Do you love thrifting and have an alteration you want to know how to do? Let me know in the comments below. And check out a few more alterations here from my archives!
