Blouse to skirt

Finally, I have time to blog! School's out, and my associate's degree should be coming in the mail soon.
Today, I thought I would share my most amazing, and miraculous project ever-- a front pocket skirt made out of my mom's old shirt.

I made it several months ago, but I wore it to church a few weeks ago, and several of the seams frayed out after the wash, so I'm going to have to use my new serger on them again to be sure that they stay. This project was kind of finicky,and I'm kind of amazed that it worked, so I don't think I would recommend that a beginner use as small or delicate of a shirt as I did.

You will need a large shirt, a favorite pencil skirt to use as a pattern, elastic, general sewing supplies, and a lot of patience.

Step 1: Take off the sleeves. If your shirt is very large, you can cut them, but since mine was going to be close, I took the seam out.

Step 2: Take out the stitching on both plackets starting at the collar, to just past the underarm seam. (sorry, I didn't get a good picture of how much to take out by itself, but hopefully you can see in the following pictures)

Step 3: Lay out your favorite skirt, and cut the length, including your skirt's waistband in your measurement. Of course, you can make it longer or shorter, but matching your skirt will give you a good idea of how you want it. Don't forget to take into account that many button ups are shorter in the sides than in the center. If you're hesitant, it's better to cut it too long than too short. (In my case I couldn't cut any more since the shirt was too narrow for my waist any higher up the shirt. This is partly why I suggested a larger shirt, since it will also be longer.)

Your shirt should look like this:

 Step 4: Turn your shirt inside out. Using your favorite skirt as a guide, mark the width of the skirt. Mine was really close, so I just had to curve for the waist. if your shirt is very large, you will probably have to do the whole side seam. Be sure to mark carefully, and sew along the line, leaving about 6-8 inches open in the top of the side seam. Try it on before you cut off the extra. 

Step 5: For the pockets, I used my sleeves, since I had very little material left. I can call this method a. If you have lots of extra, you might be able to use larger, better shaped pockets- method b.
this is how the pocket will sit for method a.

 I happen to have a pattern that uses the type of pocket I wanted, so I borrowed the pocket piece to give me an idea of how it should look.

Cut just the front of the pocket in the curve.

Using the cut piece from your pocket as a template, cut a matching curve in just the front of your skirt. This picture is of the opposite side of the pocket I show above.

 For method b, you can cut pockets in a similar shape as my pattern piece shown in the pictures above. just be sure that the back piece doesn't have the pocket scoop, but has a straight corner to cover the back of the pocket. Cut 2 backs and 2 curved fronts so that they mirror each other. Sew the inside and bottom of the pocket, and continue with the next step.

For both methods, with your skirt inside out, put your pocket's right side to your skirt's right side, and sew the front of your pocket in the skirt.

Turn your pocket so it is on top of your skirt, but the skirt is still inside out. Sew up the 8 inches left in your side seam with the pocket's outer edge in the seam.
If you can't, like me, just be sure that the pocket back is sewn to the skirt back above the pocket curve, and tack the bottom corner of the pocket in the side seam allowance.
Turn your skirt right side out. It should look like this:

Press your pocket.
Step 6: (Gee, that last one was long!)  Using the leftovers from the shoulders, cut a waistband. you can use your favorite skirt to help you determine the length. I cut one piece for the back of the skirt, and one for each side of the front. Don't forget to leave seam allowances.

 sew the waistband pieces together to make one strip. I used elastic in my waistband to help it fit better. I just cut a piece a few inches shorter than the back waistband of my favorite skirt. and sewed it into the side seams.

Step 7: Sew the waist band onto the skirt. Match the right side of the waistband with the right side of the skirt. Also be sure to match the center front. sew the waistband on.

 Flip the waistband up, and press it in place. If you are using elastic, sew a line of stitching to keep it in place. Be sure to stretch it tight as you go.

Step 8: Fold the placket over the top of the waistband and top stitch it on, inside and out. Re-sew the button hole, and sew the button back on.

That's it. I hope that wasn't too confusing. If you have any questions, or don't understand my directions, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me.
I've been kicking off my summer break with more projects, so I will show you more soon! (For real, this time...)  How are you starting your summer?