"Daddy's Little Girl" : Repurposed Denim Skirt

I've seen a few of these repurposed denim skirts kicking around online, so I thought I'd have a go myself. You can make at least 2 toddler skirts out of one pair of average sized mens jeans. 

Front of skirt. 

My daughter loves this skirt, because it's made out of Daddy's jeans. I kept the pockets from the original jeans as my daughter LOVES to collect rocks and all sorts outside, as well as collecting the eggs from the hens each day. The pockets are a real hit. 

Basic Instructions

Measure the length of skirt you want, and the waist size. Create a rectangle of denim pieces that is [waist size x length]. Inserting a box pleated section (like in the middle of back section here), or a wedge section (like the fly section in front of skirt) will create the flare in the skirt, without any gathering at the waist.

Waistband

Backside of skirt. 

You could easily make a denim waistband, but your sewing machine could have difficulty joining it all together, due to the thickness. Also, I tend to think that big denim waistbands might be a little uncomfortable for little ones, and unforgiving as they grow (and/or eat a big lunch!). I've used a folded piece of stretch knit here, but I've seen other people in the US use a cut up T-shirt. This doesn't work so well in Australia as our T-shirts have side seams, whereas the US make the body of their T-shirts out of essentially a 'tube' of stretch knit, perfect for repurposing.

I also decided not to waste the zip closure, inserting it into the elastic waistband makes for a much snugger fit, as you don't have to allow for getting the waistband over the hips. Much easier to get in and out of too, with a wriggly toddler!

And here it is on the little munchkin - a new fave. Just the right size for her little teddies!

I will be making another one out of the rest of the denim without the ginormous pockets, or zip fly. Just a 'plain' pleated denim attached to a knit waistband - more pics to follow!