Refashionista | Denim Skirt with Ruffles

This was a photo inspired project (see link at bottom of this post!). I have wanted to make this skirt for a few months, but I didn't know exactly what the finished product should look like. After completing the Thrift Store Finds | Capri's to Skirt project with the ruffles in the back I knew I wanted ruffles in this skirt. Ruffles are not the easiest thing to make, but because they are ruffles they don't have to be perfect!

What I Used

White Eyelet Fabric

1 White Pillowcase (you can use white fabric instead, this is just what I had)

A pair of jeans that fit you well

1 White dress shirt (you can use a different type of white fabric, this is what I had)

1. Rip open the inside seams of the jeans. On the front of the jeans don't rip anything extra out.

2. On the back of the jeans rip out up to an inch from the line in the back.

3. Cut open the pillow case into two pieces.

4. Overlap and tuck in the excess fabric at the zipper of the jeans.

5. Start with the front of the skirt. Put a piece of pillow case in the center. Position it to where the bottom is even and meets up with each side of the jeans. Make sure it is straight. Pin the pillow case in place at the bottom to keep it from moving too much when you pin in the ruffles.

6. Cut the eyelet fabric into wide strips to make the ruffles for the front of the skirt. Cut the white fabric/shirt into strips to make ruffles.

7. Fold the raw edges of both sides in and sew a straight line. Repeat for each strip of fabric.

8. Pick one edge of each strip of eyelet that has been sewed to ruffle.

9. Ruffle the eyelet and white fabric strips.

10. Lay as many ruffles as needed for the front of the skirt in the order they will be pinned. (Make sure to overlap each piece a little so there will be no gap! I used 11 pieces in the front of my skirt.) Pin in place where the bottom of one ruffle meets the top of the next.

11. Sew along the edges of the jeans. You will have to do this twice. Sew one line with the presser foot on the edge of the seam where the ruffles are. Then sew a line in closer between the edge and the previous stitches. Repeat for the other pant leg side of the skirt.

(Sorry for the funky color here, I was having trouble with the camera flash.)

12. Now secure the front ruffles. Start with the top and work your way down. The very first ruffle should be secured by the overlapped denim. If it isn't carefully add a few stitches to make it secure.

13. Turn the skirt inside out. Trim all excess fabric off. It should now look like a triangle.

14. Time for the back! Overlap and pin the back of the skirt.

15. Pin the back as far down as you can, but don't pin too close to where the piece separate.

16. Sew the two seams for the part of the back you just pinned. Leave enough space for the raw edge to be tucked under later!

17. Add in the second piece of pillow case. Line it up and pin the bottom of the pillowcase to the bottom of the jeans to keep it in place when pinning ruffles.

18. Make the ruffles for the back if you didn't make them all earlier. (Repeat steps 6, 7, 8 and 9.)

19. Pin the ruffles in place for the back of the skirt.

20. Sew the seams as shown in step 11.

21. Secure the ruffles as shown in step 12.

22. Trim the excess fabric as shown in step 13.

23. Finally, trim any threads which may be hanging from the ruffles in the front, back and inside of the skirt.

Your skirt is now finished! Enjoy!

Notes
~I went through 2 bobbins of white thread.

Links
The Inspiration Photo for this Project

This Post Was Shared!

• Refashion Co-op: October 25, 2012.

This Is So Me | PhD

I love Pintereset! I find so many interesting things on there. This little photo is something I found a little while ago and it fits me perfectly!

{found via Pinterest}

Seriously, I have so many half finished projects it's not even funny. Here are a few photo's of my messy bedroom/sewing room to show you what I have going on. Really, I am not a bit organized right now. I need some serious organization time, but I keep putting it off....

Somewere in this mess is a quilt in progress, a shirt refashioning,
and a ruffle skirt in the making.

This is just one pile of clothes waiting to be refashioned!

More clothes to be refashioned!

Two skirts in the making here!

Even more clothes to be refashioned!

My boxes of sewing fabrics and threads!

Some of my fabrics.

More of my fabrics.

My messy and very un-organized sewinng table.

Sewing supplies...and other crafting things.

As you can see...I have a lot going on. My goal right now is to pick something to work on each day. I try to do a project a day...only some projects end up being spread out over two or three days because they require more detail which means I get tired (because of the brain injury) so I have to take a break.

Anyway, now you have seen a peek into the life of a creative artist! Yes it is true that an artist's desk is never clean! haha. :)

Wednesday Weekly Review #1

Every Wednesday I plan to put together a post of my favorite things I have seen throughout the week. This will include Bible Verses, Pinterest pins, and links to posts on other blogs. So here's to my first Wednesday Weekly Review!!

1. Bible Verse
Acts 18:11-10. Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace. For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I have much people in this city.

2. I started following 49 Dresses!
A lot of her posts are on clothing that she has refashioned! I am in love with this dress which she refashioned recently.

3. I started following Paisley Boulevard!
She has a lot of adorable projects on her blog! This Vintage Heart Cardi Upcycle is adorable and I plan to attempt it in the near future!

4. My favorite recipe from my blog!
This is a tough one! I've posted a few really good recipes this week. I do have to say that the Blueberry with a Hint of Lemon Pie was definitely my favorite!

5. Reviving a Post from the Past!
This is a post that I had awhile back, when I first started my blog. Homemade Body Scrub. This has three ingredients and is something I use a lot! Especially since I have been doing my Care For Your Legs routine.

6. My Favorite Refashion of the Week!
This is also difficult, but I must say that the Capri's to Skirt has inspired me to make more clothes with ruffles because they are adorable.

Featured? Grab a Button!

On the left sidebar click the "grab a button" tab (or click the link) and scroll down to the "I was featured @ Blue Eyed Beauty Blog" button to share on your blog!!!

Interested In Seeing More Blogs?

If you loved these blogs, you may enjoy the other's I've featured since the birth of The Wednesday Weekly Review. How can you find them without going through each post? Easy! Just view all the buttons on my Pinterest board: Blogs I've Featured!

Edible Cookie Dough Bites

I have tried perfecting this recipe since I first published it. I have finally got the trick down and now can make perfect bite size balls of cookie dough any time I want. I have also learned that some recipes need to be worked on before I post them too quickly...sorry about that! (Everything currently available is a good recipe so no worries!)

Makes about 35 bite size balls of dough.

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon of vanilla

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave butter for 1 and a half minutes then add sugar. Stir until thick and creamy. It will look almost like caramel.

2. Stir in vanilla then add flour. Stir until smooth.

3. Add in chocolate chips. Stir.

4. Set the dough on the counter for 10-15 minutes. This step is important if you plan to make this dough into bite size pieces.

5. Roll the dough and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. Eat whenever you want!

Links

Fun Foods On a Budget!

Refashionista | Capri's to Skirt

This project is one I figured out as I went along. I have made several skirts out of jeans and figured it couldn't be much harder to make them out of capri's so why not give it a try? Actually, this skirt was very simple and I absolutely love how it turned out!

Here is the before picture. I used a pair of capri's and an old dress shirt of mine (which was much too small for me to wear anymore) to create a brand new, cute skirt!

Here are the after photos:

I love the length! It turned out much longer
than I had expected, and I'm glad about that!

The sides were difficult because the ruffled back kept trying to fan out too much.
I did eventually get the back lined up right so that it had a more smooth effect overall.

Here we have my favorite part! I absolutely love the ruffles!
I have seen this on several pins on Pinterest and wanted to try it.
I finally had the chance and I love it!
This is my newest favorite way to finish the back of a skirt!

To Make This

You know what you need so here are some simple directions... If you know how to sew, or have made a skirt from pants/jeans then you are set!

1. Rip open the seams on the inside of the capri's only. Leave the bottom as it is.
2. Inside out the capri's. Pin the front pieces together.
3. Trim the middle piece which sticks out more than the rest of the front so that it is even from the zipper to the hem.
4. Sew the seam closed.
5. Cut out a piece of fabric to use as a base in the back.
6. Cut out wide strips of fabric to use for the ruffles.
7. Place the fabric piece in the back of the skirt. Line it up and put a pin in the bottom corners to keep it in place.
8. Fold the raw edges of each strip in together. Pin in place and sew. Repeat for each ruffle (I used 6 ruffles).
9. Ruffle each strip of fabric.
10. Pin in place on the skirt. Make sure that all of the raw edges are covered by the ruffle above it. On the edges of the skirt make sure that there is no gap for the fabric underneath to sew.
11. Sew the sides of the skirt to keep the main part of the ruffles in place.
12. Sew the ruffles in place starting with the top on and working your way to the bottom ruffle.

There you have it. The basic directions to recreate this skirt! If you have any questions let me know! (Sorry for the lack of photos, I didn't have a camera available.)

This Post Was Shared!

• Refashion Co-op: October 18, 2012.