Create with Care: How to Make a Skirt out of a Thrift Store Dress

 It's Earth week!

I think it's about time we had another "Create With Care Post!"

Create with Care: How to Make a Skirt out of a Thrift Store Dress
Hello everybody! My name is Claire, and I’m here as part of Rachael’s “Create With Care” project to talk about ways you can be more eco-friendly while creating!
There are lots of big environmental problems out there, and trying not to contribute to them can be overwhelming. That being said, it’s easy to change your lifestyle a little bit at a time. One piece of advice that I constantly give is to consciously choose to consume less.
Don’t buy something unless you absolutely NEED it. Most products in the United States (even food!) have traveled thousands of miles, and burned thousands of gallons of fossil fuels, to reach our stores. Yuck.
But it’s unrealistic to stop buying completely. When you need something, try buying it local or used! Check out your local thrift store! These shops are wonderful – they’re making sure that our slightly-used items don’t end up in a landfill.

And if you’re itching to buy some new clothes … try making your own! I get compliments on my recycled skirts all the time, and I love sharing how easy they are to make!

 Try it yourself - I’ve created a tutorial on how to make a skirt out of a thrift store dress. It’s super easy, super cheap, and the environment will thank you for it!

You will need: 1 thrift store dress, 1 piece of elastic slightly smaller than your waist, and thread.
 

Step 1. Bike to your local thrift store and buy a dress. It doesn’t matter if the dress is too big on you, but stay away from dresses with side slits. Figure out how long you want your skirt to be, and then cut the dress in half so the bottom part is a little bit longer than your desired length.

Step 2 (optional). Hem the top part (where you just cut). I fold over about a half inch of fabric and sew it down to ensure that my skirt doesn’t unravel in the future!

Step 3. During this step, you’re going to create a waistline where the elastic will be inserted. Fold over the fabric you just hemmed to create a waistline slightly wider than the elastic. Make sure the elastic fits inside the space! Sew along the bottom, but leave an opening to insert the elastic. 

Step 4. Insert the elastic in the waistline you just created. This part takes some time. I find that scrunching the fabric helps, you just need to ease the elastic through.










Step 5. Now is a good time to safety pin the elastic ends together and make sure that the skirt fits you. If it does, sew the ends of the elastic together! I was sloppy with mine, oops.

Step 6. Sew up the opening you inserted the elastic through.
Ta-da! You now have a recycled eco-friendly skirt! Enjoy!