The Shirt Skirt
July 28, 2010
I’m so excited to post about this!
When I met Dana, I fell in love with the skirt she was wearing. She made it herself (obviously) and she showed us how simply she’d shirred the waistband. The next day, during the mystery workshop at Whipstitch, we were encouraged to use thrifted tees. I’m devastatingly terrified of knits so I steered clear and made my (award winning) cotton fabric dress. But I was inspired.
I developed an idea in my head I thought just might be crazy enough to work. The next chance I had to steal away alone, I made a beeline for Goodwill. I found exactly what I was looking for, got my purchase for half-price, and excitedly headed home.
The Hubs thought I was a little crazy when I explained my idea to him. I measured, cut, and finally, with trepidation, I started sewing. Less than 30 minutes later I was wearing my Shirt Skirt!! That’s right–I made a skirt for myself from a man’s tshirt!!
It’s the easiest thing in the world to do! And I just can’t stop making them.
They’re perfect for summertime. They’re perfect for when you’re pregnant, they’re perfect for after you have the baby. They’re perfect if you change size or shape or hate your clothes. They’re just simply PERFECT. Comfortable, casual, and cheap.
I wore the green and white one to Sofie’s birthday party. And the navy blue one to a casual family wedding. I made 2 others for a cousin.
I had 2 women in Walmart stop me to tell me how comfy my skirt looked and when I told them how I made it, they demanded I call Rachael Ray immediately!
The process is so easy. I can whip one of these up in less than 30 minutes. Wanna make some of your own? GREAT! Here’s how I do it.
I do my shopping at Goodwill for 1 reason. Their tshirts are $2.09. But they tag everything with a colored tag and every week a different color is half price. So I usually seek out shirts that are the weekly color to score them for $1.05! So those skirts on my clothesline? Cost me $4.20 total to buy. Even if I find a shirt I have to have, it’s $2. You can’t go wrong for $2!!
So, get your super cheap thrifted shirt. The bigger you buy it, the better. The green and light blue shirts were large size Large’s. The Navy blue was a Tall XL, and the pink shirt was a 3XL! It’s hard to find them with stripes, so I’m always drawn to those first. If you really want a pattern, check out the polos. They’re more expensive, but if you get them half price, they’re still in the $2-$3 range. As with anything you get second hand, check it out to make sure it’s not faded, full of holes, or stained. I like to wash mine before I begin sewing.
To determine what shirt size you should get, just make sure it will go around you. Most of the shirts I use are at least 24″ across (so 48″ total diameter). You lose 2-3 inches after you shirr it, so take that into consideration. Like I said, the bigger the better!
So, lay your shirt out flat, and whack it off right under the sleeves. (see my red tag on the left sleeve?) This doesn’t need to be perfect. That’s the beauty of this skirt. No measuring, no perfection. Wing it–you won’t be disappointed! But don’t throw away the top half of the shirt yet. I’ve got other projects for those parts!
I like to use thread the same color as my fabric. You don’t notice sewing boo-boos so much if the thread blends in. But if you’re gutsy enough, use a contrasting thread! You’ll also need an elastic bobbin so your skirt will shirr.
**If you don’t know how to shirr, check out some online tutorials or videos. It’s VERY easy! I was highly intimidated by it at first, but I urge you not to be! A great place to start is Sandi Henderson’s tutorial.
You want to start close to the edge so you don’t have a huge ruffly waist band. There’s no need to hem the top band, your knit shirt won’t fray. I like my first row of stitching to be 1/8th of an inch from the top of the skirt. So I line my fabric up with the edge of my presser foot and put my needle in the right position.
Now, I break a rule of shirring. Instructions will tell you to leave your threads and tie them. Well, I threw that rule out the window 6 skirts and 2 dresses ago! When I start sewing, I back stitch a few stitches, then sew all the way around the skirt. When I get back to my starting point, I back stitch twice (so back 3-4 stitches, forward 3, back 3, forward 3) then leave my elastic ends about 1/4″ long.
This is inside the navy skirt:
And what it looks like on the outside. It doesn’t stick out or look funny at all when you wear it. It’s not even noticeable until it’s pointed out. I’ve washed the navy and green skirts about 10 times each and the elastic hasn’t budged. So break tradition and save yourself some time!
There’s no need to mark your rows. Just use the edge of your presser foot as your guide as you sew. I like to put my needle in the left position, but my machine doesn’t like that lately. Sewing at 1/4″ rows with the needle in the middle turns out just fine so that’s what I do 95% of the time.
Unlike 100% cotton that doesn’t shrink much as you sew, knit shrinks up LOTS. So you need to make sure you pull the shirt flat as you sew. Use medium pressure when you pull. You don’t want to work against your machine, so don’t pull hard. Do it in small sections to maintain control over where you’re sewing.
When you get back to the start, hold the fabric open and flat while you do your back stitching.
Just keep sewing as many rows as you want! I do somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-15, depends on my mood and the length of the skirt. I generally need to use 2-3 elastic bobbins, so you might want to wind several before you start sewing to save yourself the hassle. Check your bobbin between rows to make sure you have enough to get back around. It’s okay if you don’t, just back stitch a few times with the new one and keep going. It just doesn’t look as tidy that way.
And that’s it! The best summer skirt you’ll ever own!
Posted in 
July 29th, 2010 at 3:04 AM
SEW cute! I just posted my T-shirt skirt today too, check it out. I’ve never used that elastic before, but I might try it now. Thanks for a great tutorial!
July 29th, 2010 at 8:30 AM
I’ve been scared to try elastic, but this looks easy! And if I mess it up it’s only a t-shirt! I might try it . . . when I actually can grab some time to sew!
July 29th, 2010 at 8:37 AM
Oh my, this is so cute ! My niece and I will be making a ton of these this summer. thanks for the tute. I just need to figure out if my bobbin will work with elastic……
July 29th, 2010 at 9:37 AM
This is such a cute idea. This would be a great project for a 4H sewing group. I can see them taking all of their dads sirts and making skirts out of them.
July 29th, 2010 at 9:38 AM
I am on a mission to Goodwill, I am not the best at sewing but I dabble in it and I want to try this!!! Adorable and easy (hopefully)!
July 29th, 2010 at 9:51 AM
I finally get to see the shirt skirts I’ve been hearing so much about – and they’re awesome!
July 29th, 2010 at 10:57 AM
I am “sew” blown away with your awesomeness! It makes me want to go buy a sewing maching and get to it! I have never done it before but this makes me want to so badly… and makes me want to have a girl!
July 29th, 2010 at 11:05 AM
Those turned out cute!!! Great job! Your blog is so cute with lots of fun ideas here! I’m a follower …coming from Sassy Sites.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:02 PM
Hey! Those look comfy and cute! I’ve been on a shirring kick lately, so I just may have to try one of these for myself!
July 29th, 2010 at 5:03 PM
Thank you so much for linking this genious project up to my blog. I am a lover of all things goodwill because our goodwill has a different $1.00 tag every week. I once got a wedding dress for a dollar!
I am going to have to try this one!
July 29th, 2010 at 8:09 PM
What a fun idea – elegantly simple, boho chic! Thanks for sharing!!
July 29th, 2010 at 9:51 PM
awesome!! i love this idea! it’s so hot here in ATX i need some new skirts to keep me cool, and i think these are the ticket!!
July 30th, 2010 at 2:20 PM
Saw these kercheifs and thought of you!
http://www.zulily.com/babynay072910.html
I know they’d be so cute on Sophie and Kenzie
July 31st, 2010 at 10:13 PM
Ohh I adore these skirts. I am going to have to make some! My husband just gave me a pile of shirts he no longer wears that would be perfect for this project. I will let you know when I post them thanks for sharing!
PS That is how I shirr as well – back stitching is so much easier!
August 2nd, 2010 at 6:35 PM
Oh wow! Those are so, so cute! Betsie emailed me about these and she was right- I love them! I’m so glad she let me know about your awesome blog. I would love to link to this post if you didn’t mind.
August 2nd, 2010 at 6:50 PM
Of course I don’t mind! I would be honored!! Betsie is a wonderful friend!
August 2nd, 2010 at 6:51 PM
Thank you everyone! I hope you’re all trying it out. Maybe I should start a Flickr group so I can see the skirts you all create!
August 3rd, 2010 at 10:46 PM
Love, love, lovety love!
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:38 PM
I love, love, LOVE this and being pregnant this summer it’s the perfect project for me! I can’t wait to run to Goodwill tomorrow though mine doesn’t have the color dot sales. I am linking to this post from my blog tomorrow; I hope you don’t mind! If you do please let me know and I’ll take it down. If not, you can see it tomorrow here: http://oxfordfam.blogspot.com/
August 4th, 2010 at 9:51 AM
This sounds so fun and easy! I can’t say that it *looks* fun or easy though because sadly all but one picture is that Photobucket Bandwidth Exceeded sign instead of the actual pic :/ Just wanted to let you know. But, even without the pictures, I think you just gave me my project for the day!!
August 4th, 2010 at 11:36 AM
How cute! I’ve seen so many shirring projects that I’m tempted to finally buckle down and try it! This skirt totally looks like what I plan to spend the rest of my life wearing. I found your site through One Pretty Thing and am hooked! Thanks for sharing! (and shirring ^_~ )
August 4th, 2010 at 1:43 PM
How simple and fun!! What a great and easy idea. I love it on the striped ones…
August 4th, 2010 at 6:47 PM
Wow how easy is that?!! I bought a skirt like that years ago and it is so comfy… now I can make my own! thanks.
http://www.modelmumma.blogspot.com
August 4th, 2010 at 7:28 PM
So totally awesome!! I have made about a billion skirts this summer (and I wear them all) – my husband just laughs at me – like you really need another skirt? But yes, yes I do – and this one looks just so perfect! Thank you!
August 6th, 2010 at 2:29 AM
Just made one and LOVE it. So easy and comfy. Thanks for the tutorial.
August 10th, 2010 at 1:27 PM
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, this idea! I can not wait to try it!
August 12th, 2010 at 9:11 AM
How cute! I might be trying this very soon! I love, love, love knit skirts but cutting/sewing knit from a bolt is SUCH a pain! I’m not the straightest cutter anyway and then when its curling up on you its a nightmare! T-shirts take most of that out of the equation! I love it!
Also, Heather Ross (fabric goddess) did a tutorial on Martha Stewart on shirring. She did this really cool thing at the end where she stretched the shirred fabric and sprayed it with water then ironed it and it made the elastic shrink up nice and tight so if the shirring is still a little loose, maybe you could try that! I mean, it will stretch back out when you put it on, so that might ensure a nice snug fit. Great tutorial, thanks!
Would you mind if I shared it on my blog?
August 12th, 2010 at 9:40 AM
No Katie, I don’t mind at all if you share!
And typically, yes, you spray and iron shirring. But with this project, there’s no need to do so. The knit shrinks up so much there’s not much difference when you wet and iron it. You’ll notice a little difference after washing, but you can wear this straight off the sewing machine!
I hope you try it, you’ll love it!
August 12th, 2010 at 4:02 PM
Ive been sewing for 29 years and still love it . your shirt skirt is one of the greatest i have seen love it love love it
August 28th, 2010 at 11:02 PM
[...] See the full tutorial here. [...]
August 29th, 2010 at 5:30 PM
[...] See the full tutorial here. [...]