Jeans to Toddler Skirt Refashion

Remember the jeans I refashioned into a pencil skirt for me a couple of days ago?  Well, here they are again!

All done!

I really liked the nice big hem on these jeans and knew as soon as I started the skirt refashion for me that I wanted to do a toddler skirt for Arden.  How handy that Homemade by Jill also had a tuturial for a baby skirt as a guest on another blog I’m following – Kojo Designs!  I wonder if she had leftover parts from her jean to maternity skirt refashion as well?  Her tutorial was for an infant, so here’s my stab at it with a few changes to resize to toddler:

So, here’s where I cut the bottoms off the jeans to make my pencil skirt.

Remember me?

Next, I had to sew the pieces together to get a tube of the appropriate width.  Arden has an 18″ waist, and I figured that the pleats would take up about 8″, so I wanted to start with a 26″ tube.  I used a ruler and rotary cutter to get a nice straight line.

Straight edges

I sewed the pieces together using heavy duty thread and a denim needle.  I finished the seams with an overcast stitch (you can zig zag or serge if you have a serger), and then sewed the finished seams down to prevent any rubbing.

Overcast edges

I cut the height to 7½” and finished the top edge.

Finished tube

Next, I cut a tube of t-shirt material 5″ x 18″.  I did one piece instead of two in Jill’s instructions, but either way works.  I went with 18″, so the completed tube would be a little smaller than A’s waist and help it stay up.  I switched thread and put in a ball-point jersey needle.  Probably overkill on a simple seam but since I have the needles I should use them, right?

t-shirt tube

Pinned pleats

I sewed the pleats in place with a 1/4′ seam.  Finally, I folded my t-shirt tube in half with the seam inside.  With raw edges together, I pinned the tube to the skirt.  I sewed it on with an overcast stitch to finish the edges and allow it to stretch.

All done!

So, now for confession:  I adjusted all the measurements in my tutorial because somehow I had measured Arden’s waist as 21″ and completed this whole project based on that.  What’s that saying - measure twice, cut once?  I blame it on a toddler who won’t sit still for even a moment!  Anyways, it’s still cute on her and doesn’t fall off or anything.  It will just fit her for longer!  She’s wearing it to daycare today even if it is a little too big.

Extra roomy toddler skirt

Linking to: