Lengthen a Miniskirt

 Hello Readers. I found this fun bright yellow outfit at the Goodwill bins. That was a fun detour on a road trip. When I got home and washed everything, the skirt was shorter than I planned.My mini had gone micro mini on me. How could I fix a skirt that was too short? Let me show you what I did. 

How could I add length? I had a plan. 

 

This skirt was dry clean only. Did I follow directions? No. Do I usually discard directions? Yes. Is it a problem with authority? Probably. But we aren't going to solve that problem today. Let's focus on the skirt. The lining is longer than the skirt now. This will not do.  

 

I decided that the first step would be to shorten the lining. It needed to be hidden under the skirt. This picture shows the nice black piping that trims the waist. It is a nice pop of contrast and it gave me the idea to finish this skirt. 

 

I simply turned the hemline of the lining under and sewed it in place. I folded the edge under by about an inch. That would be a safe length to make sure the lining did not show when I wore it. 

 

My next step was to actually make the skirt itself longer. I used my seam ripper to carefully remove the hem stitches and see how much fabric was in that hem. This took a little while and I worked slowly so that I would not damage the fabric of the skirt. There was about 2 inches of fabric folded up in that hem. That would make a difference in how short the skirt looked when I wore it. I ironed it to make it lay flat for my next step. 

The fabric was finished, cover-stitched around the edge so it would not fray but it was a little rough and untidy looking. My solution for that was bias tape. I chose some narrow black bias tape. This bias tape would look a lot like the piping at the waist of the skirt. 

 

 

I used the bias tape along the hem of the skirt. Bias tape is folded (Like a taco.) and the edge of the skirt fits in the fold. (Or in the taco.) I sewed the bias tape to the skirt with black thread to match and blend in. Since I am not turning any of the fabric under, the full length of the skirt will be longer when it is worn. 

The bias tape along the hem looks like a narrow black line of trim that has always been there. The length is good and the outfit is just great with a longer skirt. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

Fall Leaf Jacket

 Hello Readers. I love fall and I was feeling the fall weather and I decided to make a jacket with a fall theme. I wanted fall colors and fall vibes. Let me show you what I put together. 

Feeling those fall vibes yet? 

I found these two fall place mats at a thrift store a few weeks ago. I loved the colors and I had this jacket idea. I could tell that the place mats were quilted cotton, so I knew I could sew through them. (I don't think this would work with plastic place mats.) The place mats were only $1 each so it was not a huge investment. 

 

I already had this denim jacket. I knew I wanted to do something on the back of the jacket. The place mats were mostly orange on one side and had a ore golden paisley pattern on the other side. I went with the orange side for this project but the other side would work too. 

 

I have had this leaf shaped dish (Similar size dish here.) for years but another object or stencil you can trace would work. Use whatever you like. My leaf dish fit in my place mat so I knew it would work for my plan.

 

I flipped the dish upside down so that I could trace it easier. I used a marker so it would show for this photo but you can use chalk or a pencil that will wash out later if you prefer. I just traced all the way around the leaf. 

 

I cut out the leaf shape from the place mat with sharp fabric shears that could cut through the thick quilted fabric easily. My place mats were really heavy weight and not easy to cut. I just took my time and cut around the leaf shape slowly. 

 

I pinned the leaf shape to my jacket with a lot of pins. (Similar here.) I needed it to be held in place as I sewed it to the denim. I placed my leaf on its side a bit. That way it looked a little like a falling leaf. 

 

I went to my sewing machine. I used matching pumpkin orange thread and I set my machine for a zigzag stitch. I wanted to sew all the way around the leaf. Using a zigzag stitch that went back and forth across the cut edge of the leaf to cover the edge with the stitching. 

 

I sewed around the leaf twice. I did that to make it secure and also to cover the edge better. You can see some of the white quilt batting showing around my leaf. When I sewed around the edge the second time, it hid that white at the edge better. I liked having a very heavily stitched border around the leaf. It doesn't have to be perfect, don't stress about it too much. This isn't the Mars Rover, it's just a fun jacket. 

 

Here is my finished jacket. The leaf is a fun pop of orange. I liked how it fit on the back of the jacket and the color was perfect for fall. 

 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. Maybe you can make a fun jacket too. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add Elastic to a Dress

 Hello Readers. Big loose dresses are so comfortable and fun. They don't always suit me well. An easy fix is to add elastic to the waist. It's just as comfortable but it has more shape.

Before and after. 

This cotton was nice and light and the color was perfect for fall. It even had pockets. It also had a waistband or a waist seam. I could add elastic around the waist by sewing the elastic on the seam inside the dress.

 

I turned the dress inside out and used my sewing machine to sew the elastic to the waist seam. I stretched the elastic as I sewed and used a zigzag stitch so that there would be some stretch around the waist. 

 

Here is a look at the inside of the dress. You can see the white elastic along the waistband. 

 

The dress has a new shape and it will still be comfortable to wear. 

 

I liked the new fit and it only took about 15 minutes to finish this sewing project. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 
 

 

 

 

Yellow Plaid Pants

 Hello Readers. I love to go to thrift stores because there always seems to be unique items that I don't see elsewhere, like these yellow plaid pants, they were so fun. I had to have them. 

Before and after. 

When I saw these at the thrift store I grabbed them. The plaid was so fun, it really caught my eye. 

 

I brought them home and put them straight in the washer. (If I get something from the thrift store it goes straight in the wash.) 

 

I needed to re-size these pants but I didn't want to start from scratch. I wanted to save as much of the pants as I could. It would save me some work and some time. I started by cutting the pants apart on the sides and along the inner leg seams. I wanted to separate the front of the pants from the back.

 

I folded the 2 back legs on each other and cut out the shape I wanted. I used other pants I already liked as a guide. These are going to be loose fit. 

 

After I had the front and back cut out the way I wanted, I sewed the front and back together again. 

 

OK. This wasn't quite right. It was closer though. The fit was fine but the length was not going to work like this. 

 

I cut some length off and then I cut even more off. 

 

When I had the length I wanted I sewed a new hem. 

 

They turned out just as I hoped they would. I liked the loose fit. They were great for a day of running around to school activities and meetings. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

The Simplest Skirt You Can Make

 Hello Readers. Happy Halloween 2025

 Sewing is so much fun. I love to put pieces together and make something new and hopefully wearable. My daughter gave me a piece of amazing argyle fabric that she didn't want and it was perfect for making a very simple, very basic skirt. This is the kind of skirt I wish I learned to make in junior high sewing class when I was forced to make a tote bag. The bag wasn't fun or cute or colorful. It felt like a wasted opportunity. If the sewing isn't fun, why are we doing it? We can answer that later. For now let's make a skirt.

 

Before and after.

 

 

This is the fabric my daughter gave me. It is a soft knit and I love that. The argyle pattern was fun and nostalgic. It was also a perfect rectangle. Believe it or not, that is a great start to making a simple skirt. The wider the rectangle the fuller the skirt will be.Wrap it around yourself to see if it will fit well. If you want a very full twirly skirt, you need a wide rectangle. I only had the amount I was given so I will work with what I have.

The first step was to fold the right sides together and sew the ends together. This is going to make a tube shape and that is the beginning of the skirt. 

Now, we need a waist of some kind. There so many ways to make a waistband. I wanted this to be so simple that a very beginner could do this. I am going to attach wide elastic to the top edge of the skirt. That is going to be the waistband. Elastic is comfortable and it is easy to fit. It forgives when You had a big slice of cake and it is easy to put together. Choose a color that matches your fabric.

Measure your waist. This is so important. You want the elastic to fit around you comfortably. Even elastic can be tight if it is too small. Every body is different. Your waist isn't the same as mine. Cut your elastic the size you need. You want it tight enough ti hold up your skirt but not so tight it hurts your tummy. Connect the ends of the elastic with a zigzag stitch. I like to sew over mine back and forth a couple times to make sure it will never come apart. I overlapped the edges of my elastic and stitches over the edge to hide any fraying threads.

Use pins to attach the skirt to the waistband. You want the skirt fabric to be evenly spread around the elastic waistband.

Now, My skirt is all pinned and it's time to sew. I like to use pins or clips to arrange my fabric for sewing. It makes it easier to sew. I used a zigzag stitch because I want to be able to pull the skirt on over my hips and bum. It needs to stretch to do that. If I sew the elastic on with a straight stitch it won't be able to stretch as I want. 

Now I can check my sewing. Did I miss any spot of fabric? If I did (Or you did.) It's OK. No one is perfect. Just go back to that spot and go over it again. If your thread and elastic match well, it won't show at all. 

The last thing I need to do is hem the skirt. Any length is fine. Trying the skirt on is the best way to decide how long it should be. I marked my skirt and folded the lower edge under and stitched it down. The fabric I am using is a knit so it won't fray. A woven fabric would need to be folded under twice to hide the fraying edge.

My skirt turned out great. It is as comfortable as sweatpants but so much cuter.

I feel like it really works with this "Pink Ladies" jacket I found at a swap. I think it's too much. Maybe for Halloween? We'll see. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- This skirt was so simple and I really like it. I wear it with a brown sweater in cooler weather. I like the bit of pink with all the brown.

 

The Velvet Cape Part 2

 I am re-posting Halloween costume ideas for October. A great place to start is with a cape. A black cape can be a vampire, a witch, a Medieval Lord or Lady, a hermit, a bat, a spy.....

 Hello Readers. I am back with more of this velvet cape. I originally got this in the mail from Amazon. I didn't order it, it was sent to me by mistake. (They didn't want it back and acted like I was crazy when I reported it. So, thanks to Amazon, I guess.) I used most of the cape to make a dress but I still had the top of the cape left over. What should I do with that?

Before and after.

 

This is the dress I made from the cape. I turned out well enough but there was a lot of cape leftover.

 

I had the whole top of the cape leftover but it was pretty thin and lightweight. What if I lined it with something?

 

I had this red, white and black LLR dress. It was too small for me so it has been sitting and waiting to be used for it's fabric. Today is the day!

 

When I was done with the dress I cut the extra fabric away from the cape and I had a short velvet cape, it was ready to wear, but it would be nicer if it was lined.

 

I cut the skirt open and spread the cape on top. I thought the skirt would be similar in shape and size to the cape. And it was! I used the cape as a pattern to cut the skirt into a matching lining piece. I sewed them together with the right sides facing each other. Then I turned the pieces the right way out.

 

I used a second piece of fabric to make the lining of the hood. I used the velvet hood as a pattern for the lining. I stitched it to the hood along the edge with the right sides facing each other, then I connected the lining pieces to each other inside the cape.

 

The lining made the cape more fun and added a layer of warmth. 

 

My new cape is so much fun! I don't know if I needed it but I really like it!  And if I have a super hero emergency, I am ready. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

***Year End Update- This cape was very handy at Halloween because my youngest decided 5 minutes before walking out the door that he really wanted a cape. And I was ready!