Easy T-Shirt Skirts
It's tax refund time! I always love this time of year, because it comes around my birthday, too, and so I get myself a fun birthday present with our refund. This year, I got myself a new sewing machine. I don't know why - I never sew. And I already had a sewing machine that was my mom's, but it was very old. In fact, I just came across the original receipt for it, from 1974.
My sewing machine was older than I was.
So, with full intentions of teaching myself to sew, I purchased a new machine. It's fancy. It has a digital screen, and 60 different stitches.
Of course, I only know how to use two of those stitches, but I will learn how to use the rest! Eventually!
When my machine arrived last week, I was SO EXCITED. I was going to jump in and start making myself clothes! I would never have to go to the mall again! But I figured I should start simple, so I browsed Pinterest for easy projects, and came across this tutorial for "Super Easy Skirts" that promised I could do it, start to finish, in 30 minutes. That's my kind of sewing project! All I needed was a large men's t-shirt from Goodwill, and I was ready to go.
Last night, I sat down and got started. It seemed easy enough - cut the top off the t-shirt, and then sew 12-15 rows of elastic thread around the top. That was the part that tripped me up - I had the elastic thread, but it was SO ANNOYING. And it jammed up my machine three times in ten minutes. Once to the point I had to take everything apart and cut my skirt out of the machine.
So I scrapped that idea. Maybe when I know what I'm doing.
But I still had four t-shirts that I wanted to turn into something. So I searched Google this time, and came up with a video tutorial that seemed easy enough. It wasn't quite what I wanted - I didn't like the little flares at the bottom - but sometimes I can be creative. I could figure this out on my own.
I took a t-shirt and laid it flat on my cutting board, then cut from just under the arm across the front, ending up with a large tube piece, and a piece that consisted of the arms and neck. Then I cut off the arms, and cut three 1" strips across the front of the shirt.
Here's the only part that needed sewing: I took those strips and sewed them together - it's the drawstring of the skirt, and it will be inside except for the ends, so it didn't have to look pretty at all. Once they're sewn together, I pulled on them until they curled up into a thin tube.
I cut two little slits into the hem of the former shirt, put a safety pin on the end of the drawstring, and stuck it into the hole, then threaded it through to the other end. Tied each end of the drawstring with a knot, and removed the safety pin. Et voila! A brand new t-shirt skirt!
I made three last night, and another this morning before work - it takes about five minutes once you figure it out. If you want to try this at home, try and find men's Tall t-shirts - otherwise, they're a little short. Or go for a larger size - I used a men's XXL, and it goes down to my knees, which is about where I want it. It's also adorable, and SO comfortable!