Thrify Thursday #1: The Denim Skirt

Now, before I start, I have to say that my original thought for this post was about sewing a denim skirt from a pair of jeans. But then I kept thinking. Dangerous, right? My thought is that a flattering, appropriate length denim skirt is a very wise investment. (Even if you were to pay full price. Oh, did I type that out loud?!) But seriously, it truly is. And here is why I think so.

• A denim skirt is like a pair of jeans. They go with anything. No matter what color or print.
• They are all season. Yes, even winter. Think of hosiery or Capri leggings underneath.
• They can be dressed up or played down. Very versatile.
• They are a bit more rugged than a silky, lighter weight fabric. I'm thinking toddlers or messy eaters. (including the one wearing the skirt!)
• The fact that they go with anything means you can dress as quickly for church on any given Sunday in which you sleep in too late or have the "I Have Nothing To Wear" dilemma. (In which you really do have lots of things to wear, but you are bloated, grouchy or just don't feel like having to deal with skin colored undergarments that slim!)

Also,  a denim skirt may feel more comfortable for those who are trying to get into the skirt wearing habit. I know that I have sisters in the Lord that feel led to wear skirts exclusively. I am not one of them. I do want to start wearing them more often, at least on Sundays for church. I'm not going to go in depth of this issue, as it can be one of the hot button issues for some. Suffice it to say, in my humble opinion, do what you feel led by the Lord to do. I wear pants 95% of the time, and I don't feel that wearing a skirt makes you more godly.

Now, onto making a skirt from a pair of jeans. This was one of those things I saw on another blog where they had made one. I thought to myself that that was really cool, maybe someday. Someday came sooner than I thought when going through my......u-hum.....large pile of mending and hemming to get to my sewing machine. I found a pair of jeans that I had given up on mending, but was keeping for the material. LIGHT BULB!!!! I had the pair of jeans to make a skirt. And I had material that I had purchased to make a skirt last summer, but never got to. (Shocking, right?) I got on line so I could click the link for the tutorial I had saved. After a couple of hours, (I had to get the kids off the bus, make and eat dinner in the middle of all of this!) I had a beautiful skirt! I'm very proud of it, especially since I've never sewn a skirt before, and with the exception of the tutorial post, had no help.(In other words, I didn't bug my Mom for her help, didn't even call her!)

I know, the hem in the back is a tad longer than the front.

The appliques I made using the denim and fabric scraps. They really make the skirt!

Then, inspiration really struck! Languishing in my closet was a denim shirt dress that I bought at the thrift store many moons ago. It was brand new, never worn or washed and I had never worn it because it just didn't feel "right". So, I hacked off  the bottom, let out the darts in the back to add some of the flowered fabric and added some fabric flowers. Voila!

I need to change out the buttons to some silver ones. One of those "I have to
sit down but also need to do something productive" projects.

The added fabric in the back. It makes it kind of swingy. (Oh alright! It also made it fit a bit better!)

The flowers.

So, that is my up cycled outfit!!!! I love it because I can wear a blouse or a t-shirt with this outfit. And, I don't really have to wear the jacket with it either. And I finally have a skirt I can wear to work at the school and not feel too fancy in.

Now, I'm not giving a tutorial, I think we can all agree I'm not that good at it, at least not on projects of this magnitude. But I will give you the link to the tutorial that I used. She used 2 pairs of jeans so that the skirt was completely denim, whereas I used fabric to fill in the gap.
~Jean Skirt Tutorial from Stand By Faith

Thank you so much for stopping by today! If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you. Have a great rest of your Thursday.
Blessings,
Kelly