Refashioned denim skirt

Denim skirts. Everyone has one, they come in and out of fashion but for many, including me they are a staple. I have a non maternity denim skirt, and I was about to make a new maternity version out of some lovely stretch dark denim that is sitting in the stash, when I remember this fugly version I made a few years ago that was dumped into the scraps bag for reuse. Whilst this doesn’t reduce the stash in anyway, I feel better about not wasting the fabric that went into the previous creation.

I made this at least 5 or more years ago. It is an a-line skirt, with a waistband facing, centre back zipper and two darts from and back. Made in dark blue denim, sewn with dark blue cotton it was oh so boring and a little fugly.

Well to give it new life and to make it work as a maternity skirt I made quite a few modifications and managed to come up with what I think is a pretty cool skirt. Yes I’m being smug at my thriftiness, but I think us sewists have the right to be smug about each and every thing we make because so many people can’t even sew a button on let alone what we do!

Anyway off my high horse and back to the skirt. Firstly I took the waistband facing and zipper out. Then I cut the front waistband down in a curve and cut down the centre of the skirt to create a new seam. I found in my stash a vintage zipper that had a really cool tri-coloured zipper tape so instead of making a concealed zipper, I sewed the zipper on the outside of the skirt. Then I cut away the sides to create pockets, finishing the edges with red bias bindng because there really wasn’t enough fabric to turn and finish the edge without showing too much of the pocket bag which is made from some lightweight cotton (note to self – it is much easier to create side pockets before sewing a skirt rather than afterwards). Then I sewed on an elastic waistband, that has an extension piece sitting behind the top of the zipper because the zipper is openable to help get the skirt over my rapidly expanding hips (good for childbirth I keep reminding myself) and I didn’t want skin behind it at the top being exposed.

And here you go: a completely different looking denim skirt made in an evening with a few notions that were already sitting in my sewing room. Too bad I didn’t have any scraps to create patch pockets on the rear, because they do go with the style and are said to minimise the visual size of one’s rear end, but again I shouldn’t be so vainly worried about that now should I? At least I’m not in tracksuit pants (yet)……….