I am always in awe of people who make their own clothes. To a very beginner DIY-er like myself, turning a length of fabric into something I'd actually want to wear in public seems like a massive chore.
Even more incredible are people who can take an existing garment and transform it into something else, like this woman who turned an old sweater into a cute new beanie.
Making and repurposing clothes is a great way to save money and express your own fashion sense, however, so it's all about finding the right DIY project for your level of sewing confidence.
This super-simple post on Instructables demonstrates how to turn inexpensive tea towels into a cute skirt for your little daughter or granddaughter.
Rather than going to the fabric store and wrestling with big bolts of cloth, you can simply pick up these pre-cut towels and half the work is already done!
Scroll through the images below for instructions on how to do it. Would you wear the final product? Let us know in the comments below!
You can alter the fullness of the skirt you make by choosing two or three dish towels. Two towels make a pencil-style skirt, while three towels will make a skirt with more volume.
Be sure to use tea towels made of thin linen-like material, not fluffy, woven dish towels.
Lay out the towels to determine how long and wide they are.
Cut the towels to the desired length, but don't touch the width (unless they're really wide for some reason).
If your towels have at least one hemmed edge, leave it in tact! This saves you time later.
Sew the long sides of the two towels together.
Place right sides together and, working from top to bottom, stitch each edge together.
Jojoross, the creator of this project, says: "This next step is not completely necessary, but gives the skirt a more finished feel."
"Press the newly sewn seam out. Next topstitch about 1/8 inch away from seam on both sides of the seam and on both seams."
Jojoross continues: "Once both sides are finished, finish the top edge. You can either serge the top, or do a zig-zag stitch."
Now it's time to add an elastic waistband so your child can easily pull the skirt on and off.
Fold the waistband over 1.5 to 2 inches, depending on how thick your elastic is.
Mark with a pin where you are going to begin stitching and where you will end, and leave a 3-inch gap.
Sew from pin to pin leaving the gap open. Sew another line around the top edge about an 1/8 of an inch from the top. Before you sew it closed, add the elastic.
Jojoross explains: "I use a safety pin attached to one end to feed it through the newly formed casing. If you can, have the intended recipient try on the skirt to make sure the elastic fits right."
Once the elastic is in and properly fitted, sew up the gap.
If your towel was hemmed on the bottom edge, you're in luck! You don't have to create a hem.
If for some reason the hem was cut off when you sized the fabric, you'll have to sew a hem at this point.
And here is the finished skirt!
You can see that it looks very clean and neatly made. The pattern makes it look like something you'd find in the store. No one will ever guess it started as a towel!
Have you ever made clothes for your child or grandchild? Tell us about it in the comments.
Please SHARE if you love clever uses for cheap items!
