Cut your old jeans into a jean skirt and add flair by sewing lace beneath the hem.
Taking old clothes and making them into new pieces is a way to save money during difficult economic times. For example, instead of throwing away torn jeans, try cutting them into a jean skirt and pairing them with leggings for a stylish new look. There are many ways to turn old, raggedy clothes into trendy new garments. Look through your old clothes or visit a thrift store to start creating new pieces to add to your wardrobe.
Instructions
Turn a Pair of Denim Jeans into a Mini Skirt
1. Dig through your drawers and find a pair of jeans that you no longer wear.
2. Lay your jeans flat and cut them off where the legs meet at the crotch.
3. Put the garment on and use a measuring tape to measure from the crotch down to where you want your skirt to fall. Also measure around your legs. These two measurements will be the dimensions of the piece of material you will need to sew onto the bottom of the cut-off jeans.
4. Cut a piece of denim from one of the legs of your jeans using the measurements you have taken. Sew this piece to the bottom of your skirt.
5. Rub a cheese grater against the surface of the fabric to create trendy holes, or, for a decorative finish, sew a strip of lace to the wrong side of the fabric along the hem. Make sure the edge of the lace is visible from the right side of the skirt.
6. Add flower patches or sequins with a hot glue gun for added detail.
Shorts or Capris
7. Find an old pair of jeans that fits you in the waist and thighs.
8. Put on the jeans and use a washable marker to make a mark on each leg where you would like your shorts to end. Mark just above the knee for Bermuda shorts or below the knee for capris.
9. Remove the shorts and lay them on a flat surface.
10. Cut each leg straight across at your mark. Check to make sure that both sides are even in length. If necessary, trim the denim until the legs are even.
11. Use a cheese grater for a distressed look, or fold the edges under and sew them to create a polished hem.
Sweater Dress
12. Find a very large sweater in your closet or at a thrift store. Make sure it is a color that you like.
13. Try on the sweater and mark the bottom with a washable marker at a length that you would like for a dress.
14. Remove the sweater and lay it flat.
15. Cut a straight line across the bottom where you made your mark. Trim the sweater to straighten the line if necessary.
16. Hem the bottom for a clean look and add a belt to cinch your waist.
Off-the-Shoulder Shirt
17.Take an old T-shirt and lay it out flat.
18. Match up all the edges of the T-shirt evenly. Make a small incision on the right front side about 1 inch above where the sleeve begins. Do this on the left front side as well.
19. Cut straight down the front center of the neckline. Cut as low as you would like your new neckline to be.
20. Cut from the incision you made above the right front sleeve to the cut in the middle of the shirt. Make sure you are cutting through only the front layer at this time.
21. Cut from the middle to the incision you made above the left front sleeve.
22. Flip the shirt over and cut the back in the same scoop shape that you created on the front side. If you do not want the shirt to fall very far off your shoulder, you can cut a horizontal line in the back instead of the scoop neck.
23. Cut an inch off the bottom of the shirt and an inch off the end of each sleeve for an added tattered look. Cut through the front and back at the same time to get straight, even lines.
24. Pair your new shirt with leggings for an 80s look, or wear it with a trendy pair of skinny jeans and a long necklace.
Tags: make, clothes, look, stylish, front side, Make sure, would like, your jeans, back same, cheese grater, front sleeve
