How to Make a Jean Skirt

I have had so much fun making jean skirts!  My mom is the one who introduced me to the possibility of converting jeans into a cute skirt.  She made me my first jean skirt when I wore the knees out of my favorite pair of jeans while in junior high.  To remedy the "hole-y" jeans we cut them off just above the holes in the knees and it made the most comfortable and perfect jean skirt ever!  I wish I still fit into it!...and that I hadn't worn two holes in the back pocket area either!  Although to fix that you can use some spare denim and cut out and sew on an extra pocket to cover the hole.  It's actually quite cute! :)  I have made several skirts on my own now and used regular denim jeans, khakis, and corduroy.  They've all turned out great!  The only caution is when using jeans with stretchy denim...they don't turn out as well and kind of hug the bum area.

Step 1:  Rip out the inseam using a seam ripper.  On the front, rip to within one or two inches of the zipper.  On the back, rip to about the bottom of the pockets.  These are just estimates and can be adjusted accordingly. This part is the most boring part, so I watch “I Love Lucy” or something to help pass the time in a more profitable manner.  :D

Step 2:  Try on the “open” pair of jeans to find the length desired.  Mark with a pin.  Keep in mind a hem length of a half inch or so.

Step 3:  Measure from the bottom of the jeans to the pin mark to make sure you will have enough denim to fit in the middle section of the skirt.  If making a longer skirt, you will need to have another piece of material to fit in the center.  This could be from another pair of jeans or a piece of cotton fabric.

Step 4:  Cut the jeans at the pin mark.  Be careful to cut straight across the leg.  If it isn’t cut straight the skirt might bell, being shorter at the sides and longer in the middle.  This can be corrected, but not usually without making the skirt shorter.

Step 5: Use the bottom sections of the cut off jeans to fill in the middle (front and back) for the skirt.  This will take some time playing with it to get it to fit just right and be smooth.  Pin and try on to see if the middle piece is fitted in right.  I normally have to re-pin and try on several times to get it to work right.  How it looks on you when it is pinned is fairly close to how it will look once sewn, so make sure it fits smoothly with no bells or wrinkles.

Step 6:  Sew!  :0)  On denim skirts I will mimic the jean look with the gold thread and two lines.  On my brown corduroy skirt I used brown thread and only one sewn line.  I do not sew the bottom of the skirt yet. At this point, the middle section is a little longer and hanging out at the bottom. To make handling the skirt easier as you sew, you can trim some of the extra material off of the inserts.  Be careful not to cut into the skirt or cut too close to where you will sew.

Step 7:  Cut the extra material off from the inside of the skirt and some from the bottom.  Once you finish step 8, then completely even out the bottom.

Step 8:  On denim skirts I will sew a line around the raw edge of the bottom of the skirt about 1/4-1/2” from the bottom.  This will prevent the skirt from fraying too far up.  On the brown corduroy skirt I sewed a small hem instead of leaving a raw edge.  It just depends on what you like and what material you are making the skirt out of.  Some jeans will be hard to hem because the hem will become too thick.

Step 9:  Wash and dry the skirt (in the dryer).

Step 10:  The raw edge should have some fray now and you can wear as is or cut long threads to even out.  :0)

"Ta da"

My prego skirt.  :)