Armwarmers [Tshirt Upcycle]

I just wanted to quickly share these armwarmers I recently finished making for myself! Last year, I cut out strips of fabric of varying widths from some old tshirts I had. I recently managed to get round to sewing them up! I used a twin needle on my sewing machine (a learning experience!) and stitched the strips together to form rectangles. I then sewed the rectangles into tubes, having held them against my arms to get an idea of the size they needed to be. I left a gap where I wanted the thumb hole and just hemmed either side. They're lovely and soft and warm, so perfect for this time of year!

Skirt Refashion Pattern!

When I shared photos of this skirt refashion, I said I'd share a brief pattern too, and here it is! Let me begin by saying this isn't meant to be a tutorial... However, when I wanted to partially recreate an old skirt of mine, I could find very little online to help, and had to make my own pattern. And, just maybe, someone else out there can make use of these pattern pieces and how I stitched them together! Here's a quick snapshot of the original skirt that inspired me - it has such a lovely flow to it :)

I'm not going to lie - you're dealing with a lot of fabric strips here. It takes time. I used 75 strips of fabric for mine, and I'm approx a UK size 12. You might want to use more or less, and alter the length of the strips accordingly!

Here is a link to the PDF with the pieces. Seam allowance is included/shown.

I used a lightweight cotton for this skirt. To start, cut out 25 of each shape from your fabric, so you have 75 strips total. See the lettering on each shape? That will really help you when you come to assemble them...
 

1. Attach piece b to piece c. Create a 1cm fold on the right of piece c, and place covering 1cm on the left of piece b. Pin, and stitch down the length of this twice.

[Apologies for only taking photos part way through!]

2. Attach piece a to piece b. Create a 1cm fold on the left of piece a, and place covering 1cm on the right of piece b (it will also cover the top of piece c). Pin, and stitch down the length of this twice.

3. Attach piece c to piece a. Create a 1cm fold on the left of piece c, and place covering 1cm on the right of piece a. Pin, and stitch down the length of this twice.

Repeat steps 1 - 3 until you have used all your strips. This diagram might help you visualise how you are assembling them...

  To finish my skirt, I simply stitched twice round the base (I wanted the free flowing, fraying look, as opposed to the neat but potentially bulky hem!). I gathered the top and stitched to the denim base.

Again, more pictures here, and the pattern pieces here :)

I can't wait to make a full version of this skirt!

Skirt Refashion

So err, this was meant to be my summer skirt last year! I eventually finished it last October, by which point it became very difficult to get decent photos, due to a combination of the cold dark weather, commitments and health. Well, we were on the beach over New Year, the sun was shining, and the wall at the back of the beach had a beautiful structrual and textural appearance. Whilst we were completely unprepared for photographs, I was wearing my skirt and we had my camera, and what more really matters?!

This was a really interesting project. A few years ago I had a beautiful black skirt made from 75 strips of black fabric, and whilst I intend to make a replica soon, this was a variation and a learning experience! A chance to practise the construction of the strips, without the daunting challenge of a waistband and zip!

The top of the skirt is an old denim skirt, which provided a great base for me to work from. What I didn't realise, is that it is a stretchy denim, and so the frayed edges don't look how I would have hoped!

I added two panels to the denim skirt using black lace, just to add some extra character. I think next time I will add lace to the black strips as I sew them together, too.

I cut 72 strips of black fabric to make the lower section of the skirt, and stitched them all up. This post is getting long, but I will share the patterns for the black fabric, and how to stitch them together later this month :)

I really do love this skirt. I love the texture of the strips folded over and sewn together. I love the extra texture of the fraying (although that wasn't intentional! I don't own a serger, and my machine was rather unhappy at zigzagging edges!) I love the volume the fabric adds to the skirt. I'm excited to make a full version of the skirt now, but I also know just how much work it will be!!