How to make an upcycled skirt from a man's woven shirt and a woman's knit top - total cost - sixty cents!

1. UPCYCLED TURQUOISE SKIRT
BY APRIL IRIS MCLEOD
OF THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE

2. THE BEGINNING – 2 THRIFT STORE SHIRTS
Left-men’s woven
button-down shirt –
turquoise with
black and
turquoise lined
cuffs, back yoke,
and collar band
Right – women’s
knit floral print top
with lace trim

3. THE DECONSTRUCTION
Left – cut a 10” wide
strip off the bottom of
the knit top (for the
waistband)
Above – cut the woven
shirt just below the
pockets – straight across
Center – cut off sleeve cuffs –
carefully, leaving the
attaching seam intact – I’m
using that black pinstripe for
the front of my waistband!
Left – underside of
cuffs before cutting in
half – buttons will be
moved to black side of
cuffs
Right, cuffs cut in half
and placed above the
button placket on skirt
– this will allow the skirt
to button up all the way
up

4. DESIGN
Clockwise from top left:
- 2 halves of the cuffs ,
showing fashion fabric
and lining
- Stitching together two
halves of cuffs
– Both “half-cuff sets”
sewn together
- Basting new center
waistband on front of skirt
in preparation for adding
the knit part of the
waistband

5. DESIGN CONT.
Left to Right:
- Basting the 10 inch wide strip
of knit (folded in half) to one
side of the front waistband
(black cuffs) (cuffs are only
basted at this point)
- After measuring knit fabric
around hips (or waist) to other
side of FW – pin knit fabric to
top of blue skirt fabric
- Stitching knit waistband in
place – this is serged – but
can be straight-stitched and
zigzagged for strength

6. RECONSTRUCTION
Top Left: Knit waistband
is attached.
Top Right: FW (cuff) is
pinned to make sure
buttons are aligned – the two
FW halves will be placed over
the knit waistband and the blue
skirt fabric and topstitched
Bottom Left: The top edge of the
blue fabric, showing where I
serged it to prevent raveling.
Normally, this would be turned
down all the way around the
top of skirt, but I needed it to be
“sticking up” where the black
cuffs overlap the front
Bottom Right: One side of FW
basted in place prior to
machine stitching.

7. RECONSTRUCTION (CONT.)
Top Left: Both halves of
FW pinned and basted
in place
Top Right: FW pinned
and basted to skirt
and knit part of
waistband
Bottom Left: Stitching
over existing stitching
lines on FW
Bottom Right: One side
of FW stitched in place

8. RECONSTRUCTION (CONT.)
Top Left: Make sure you
backstitch here
Top Right: Stitching
around the FW
Bottom Right: Second
row of stitching on very
edge of FW all the way
around

9. FINISHED!
COMPLETED SKIRT – FRONT,
BACK, AND FW DETAIL!