Ruffle Waist Skirt Refashion (and Tutorial!)

I'm a little self-concious about the fact that I'm doing another skirt. How many skirts have I made?? Goodness! But I've always wanted to try the paper bag waist skirt, and as long as I'm making it, I may as well share it with my dear friends, right?

So, this is pretty easy in concept. 

Shorten a long skirt and use the excess fabric to make a ruffle and a sash! 

See? 

That is probably all the instructions many of you will need. 

I started with this vintage polka-dotted skirt that I've had for a while. It was an awkward length (and a size 20), but for some reason I needed it. I guess it was the polka-dots.

(You can see that I got ahead of myself and whacked the bottom off before the photo...oops!)

• Just cut your skirt off an inch or two longer than you'd like it, fold the bottom over twice and hem.

• From the skirt's old hemline, cut a 2.5" strip that is twice the length of your skirt's waistband. (Be sure that you have the hemmed edge.)

• You'll want to serge or zig-zag the raw edge of your strip to prevent fraying. 

(The machine I was using yesterday didn't have a zigzag, so I folded my edge over, thinking for some reason that would do something. It didn't.)

• Ruffle the serged edge by stitching with a long, straight stitch, then pulling one thread to gather. 

• Once gathered, pin and sew your ruffles to the inside of your skirt waistband. If you can match up your seams with an existing seam it will look nice and tidy. :o)

Then you'll just need to make a few belt loops. 

• Sew a 1.5"x 15" strip in half, right sides together. 

• Turn it right side out and cut into 5 even pieces.

• Fold the tops and bottoms in, and sew to the skirt.

• I didn't get a photo of the sash (sorry), but all I did was hem all four sides of a 5"x66" strip of fabric!  

And there it is!

So, my heart is just bursting today. I am so happy! Not for any particular reason. I just feel like running out into the street and hugging someone! Of course it's after midnight as I write this, so I'm thinking that if I found anyone, they would be more than a little frightened by that. But do you ever have happy days like that? When you just want to literally skip along? I hope so. In fact, I hope that's today for you!

Love,

-Disney