Napkins to Skirt

 Hello Readers. I found these napkins at a thrift store and knew I wanted them to be clothes. They were a nice cotton and I loved the gingham pattern. I settled on making a skirt because I had enough napkins to go around my hips. So, let me show you my faux wrap napkin skirt.

Before and after.

These napkins were so cute, they gave me an idea. Could I make a skirt from napkins? Sure I could.  

Here are my three cotton napkins. They were very over-sized which made this project possible. There was just enough to fit around me. I used approximately 2 napkins for the skirt and 2/3 of a napkin for the front faux wrap panel. 

 

I used my rotary cutter to cut off the folded over "hem" on the sides of 2 of the napkins. The top fold over edge will be the waistband and the bottom fold over edge will be the hem. That means the hem and the waistband casing are already done. 
 

Here is a look at the top folded over seam. I wanted to put the elastic through that casing. I used 3/4 inch elastic because that was the size of the folded over edge of the napkin. 

 

I pinned a safety pin to one end of the elastic and threaded it through the casing. This was easy as could be. 

 

Here are the front and back pieces of my skirt. They are identical at this point so either one could work in front or back at this point. The elastic gathered the waist nicely. I just need to connect the sides. 

 

Here is my third napkin. I kept the waistband or top seam intact and I also kept the bottom or hemline fold over seam intact. I kept the right side seam in place but I cut about 1/4 of the napkin off on the left side.

 

I put the front and back pieces together with the right sides facing each other. You could sew your skirt together like that and be done. But I wanted to add a panel in front so that it would look like a wrap skirt. I put the 3/4 size panel in the middle. When I sew the side seams, one side seam will have 3 layers sewn together at the side seam and one side of the skirt will have 2 layers sewn together at the side seam. This video shows how to stack up the layers for sewing. 

I used my serger to sew the new side seams together. You can also use a sewing machine if you wish. Using a zigzag stitch will help control fraying inside the skirt. 

When you flip the skirt right side out the front panel will hang loose on one side like this. That's OK. It is not done yet. 

 

I used the dress form to hold the skirt. I pulled the front panel across the front of the skirt and saw where I needed to attach the panel at the waist. I didn't pull so hard that the skirt would be tight, I want to be comfortable. I just want the front panel to come across my skirt and give it that wrap skirt look. 

 

I used a small button at the spot where the front panel is connected to the waistband. It makes the skirt look more finished but I didn't make a buttonhole for the button. It is just for looks. 

 

 The elastic waist and the the front panel are loose enough to pull the skirt on and off. No other fastenings are needed.  

 

My skirt turned out cute and casual. I love it. 

 

I wore it to a clothes swap. I gave some things away and I brought some things home that I could use. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.