Pt 2: button down shirts to circle skirt (stripwork)

This is part 2 of making a circle skirt from men's button down shirts (otherwise known as: Men, lock up your closets). You can find part one here.

The skirt I have made here is made of 4 panels of strip work and 4 panels cut from the front of the shirts. If you want to restrict yourself to just strip work and forgo the large panels made of the shirt fronts, allow yourself a more than five shirts, unless you are in the small size range. Once you begin cutting your shirts you will quickly have a good idea if you have enough or will need to raid the closet for more.

(Warning: make sure you definitely have enough fabric to make into a patchwork skirt before you start to sew. There are few moments more horrible than when you realize that you do not have enough of the same fabric to finish the job and must a) rip out your seams and start again with more fabric, b) finish with a bunch of new fabric that doesn’t match the other three quarters of the skirt, or c) toss it all and start again. Nevermind the cliché about measuring twice, when you do patchwork, just keep cutting.)

As you can see, the skirt is actually made up of eight panels: To make my panels, I made myself a circle skirt template. Using the same measurements as I do with a regular circle skirt (see part 1), I used the edge of an old bed sheet to make a template of ¼ of a skirt. If you have no old sheets, try extremely inexpensive or unlovable fabric. I usually have half a dozen or so old sheets on hand that I’ve bought at thrift stores because they make great solid squares for patchwork and tester fabric for new patterns (I’ve even occasionally pressed one into service on a bed). (You are asking why I am telling you to make a ¼ template rather than a 1/8 template, since we are cutting 1/8 of a circle panels. Well, you don’t have to. I found the ¼ template easier to make and more versatile for later projects, but you can fold you bed sheet at the 45 degree mark from the corner an make a 1/8 template. Whatever is easier for you.)

Now that you are armed with a template (which you should definitely keep around if you want to zip up a few circle skirts every now and then without having to do the whole math and measure thing), it is time to cut up some shirts. To begin, separate the sleeves from the shirt (cutting along the seam if possible. I save my sleeves to make the kids’ pants and capris.) Cut along the shoulder seams and take off the collars. If you are using the fronts of shirts as whole panels, button up the shirt and sew closed the front opening (trust me, you’ll appreciate this when you are wearing it, especially if you spend anytime around toddlers just learning to undo buttons).

With four fronts sewn closed, fold your template in half (lengthwise) and center it over one of the fronts. Cut out around your template, adding a seam allowance on the edges and top. Repeat for other 3 fronts.To make the stripwork panels, cut the backs of the shirts into strips (I cut mine into 5 pieces). Sew back together to form four rough panels or bell shape sheets. Position your half template over top of a stripwork sheet and cut out, adding seam allowances on the sides and top. Do this for to make four 1/8 panels.Now you should have 8 panels for your skirt. Sew together to form your circle skirt, alternating the shirt front panels with the stripwork panels. Add a waistband and hem the bottom, as per the instructions in part one.

Use the extra shirt bits to make a patchwork dress for a little one, adding a bit of grandma’s old dress for contrast. Done.

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This is a free tutorial and I encourage you to use the information in any way you need to (check the disclaimer at the bottom of the page). If it works for you, please consider supporting my etsy shop by purchasing a Little Print Design pattern or toss a dollar or two in my paypal to show appreciation and to encourage me to offer up even more quality patterns and tutorials.

Thank you!
Questions about the Donation? FAQ here.

Pt 1: button down shirts to circle skirt (basic circle skirt)

Who doesn’t love men’s button down shirts. For a long time I thought that I really loved to see my husband in his shirt and tie all ready for work. After awhile I thought it might be because he was leaving for the day. Now, I realize, it was really his shirt I loved to see. Now that The Man’s work does not require the same dress code, his shirts are mine.

(mwahahahahhaha!)

I took five large button down shirts and turned them into a strip-work circle skirt with an elasticized waist. Would you like one too?

I am, for reasons of needing sleep, going to divide this tutorial in two parts. This first part will be on the actual making of a circle skirt. Next part will get to the nitty gritty of chopping up and reassembling men’s shirts. Okay? Good.

A circle skirt, by the way, is just that - a perfect circle when laid down flat. To make yourself the generic circle skirt, measure your hips at their widest point and then add 2”. This is going to be the waist circumference of your skirt. The desired length is determined by measuring down from your natural waistline (though for this particular project, the length is going to be determined by the length of a man’s shirt).

A regular circle skirt is made by taking a sheet of fabric and cutting a donut out of it. The easiest way to do this is to fold the fabric in half and, if you have a large enough swath of fabric (like you would if you are using a bed sheet) or are little enough, folding it yet again.

For a children’s circle skirt I can fold a meter twice and cut out my doughnut.

Ta-da, no seam circle skirt.

For an adult size, or rather, an adult length, a couple of meters of fabric or so can be folded twice. If you do this twice, you will have two halves to join together for a circle skirt.

To figure out how big to cut out the middle of your donut, take your hip measurement plus 2” (to make sure it’ll go over the hips) and divide it by 3.14. Then divide that number by 2. (That would be radius equals the circumference divided by pi then divided by two, or r = [c/π]/2)

From the folded edge of the skirt, measure that number (the radius) out and make a chalk mark as many times as you need to start to see a semi circle. Draw in the semi circle. This is where you will attach a waistband. Repeat this process using your desired length measurement. This is your bottom hem.

Cut out your first semi circle and use it as a pattern to cut out a second. Sew the two semi-circles together to make the skirt.

Hemming a circle is a little annoying, but isn’t too terrible if you keep it narrow. I prefer to use double fold bias tape on my circle hems or a rolled hem on my serger. It is up to your preference and imagination.

For an elasticized waistband, determine what width of elastic makes you happy (I actually use an extra large maternity elastic because not having my body bifurbicated with a sticky out belly roll underneath makes me happy). Size your elastic by trying it on your waist and finding a place where it feels like it will hold the skirt but not pinch your waist. Or take your waist measurement and subtract a few inches.

Using some left over material or a different contrasting fabric, cut a strip that is the same length of your hip measurement plus 2” plus a seam allowance on either end. For a width, multiply the width of your elastic times 2 and add a seam allowance times two. (Could I make that sound any more complicated?)
Sew your waistband and elastic into loops.

If you now fold your waistband in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, press, and then unfold it again, you’ll have a handy guide to show you where to position your elastic. Position the elastic on the wrong side of the fabric so that one edge of the elastic just about meets the midpoint where the pressed fold is. Stitch your elastic in place while stretching elastic.

Fold your waistband in half again to meet the raw edges. Let's call the backside side of the waistband the backside (so the stitching does not show). Align the raw edges of your waistband to the top of your skirt, right sides together, and stitch in place.

There be your circle skirt.

Up next post: pt 2, with instructions for the men's shirt stripwork skirt.
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This is a free tutorial and I encourage you to use the information in any way you need to (check the disclaimer at the bottom of the page). If it works for you, please consider supporting my etsy shop by purchasing a Little Print Design pattern or toss a dollar or two in my paypal to show appreciation and to encourage me to offer up even more quality patterns and tutorials.

Thank you!
Questions about the Donation? FAQ here.

fair weather jacket pattern giveaway

Next month I will be doing my very first craft/art show. To commemorate the event (and not embarrass myself) I've swanked up the covers of my pattern zines. My etsy shop has also been updated with the new covers.

I shall have a few more by show time, but I wanted to share the new covers on the zines you all are already familar with:

oooooh!
aahhhhh!

Now, since you were so kind to put up having to read about my shop stuff, I would like to giveaway one of the fancy shmancy new Fair Weather Jacket pattern zines:

To enter, please leave a comment on this post and I will do a random number draw on monday night (march 15) after the kids go to bed.

Good luck!

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oh, the kids are finally asleep! Btw, I knew is was the 16th today, but, well... Okay, I really have no idea what day it is - sorry!

Right. So, I popped over to Random.org and they pulled up this comment for me:

Jeff and Meg said...
I love this pattern, and your site!
March 15, 2009 5:54 PM

I shall be sending you a fair weather pattern zine promptly! Well, when I get your mailing address: please contact me vegbee[at]littleprintdesigns.com

And thanks all for the lovely nice comments. Honestly, this whole thing is about my ego ;D

maternity top to wrap tee

Maternity clothes drive me nuts. They are so very much needed for a 6 months (or a whole year if you are really unlucky), but then, what? Most of my maternity clothes were bought second hand, and I sent a good deal of them away to the thrift shops and pregnant friends. Still, a couple have lingered and I could really use something new to wear at 10 months post-partum (as I type this, I am, in fact, wearing an unaltered maternity top :O).

Here is an idea to make those maternity tops not only wearable after the little mite arrives, but actually quite useful for nursing. Since I have no before picture, you'll have to believe me that until recently, this was a maternity tee shirt:


The tee shirt has two front flaps that are attached to double fold bias tape that come around behind and tie at the back.



To convert your maternity tops to a wrap around tee, you'll need your maternity top in knit material, another tee shirt or bit of knit fabric (for the underneath panel), single fold bias tape and double fold bias tape.

(Truthfully, you could make a wrap tee with any overlarge tee shirt, but you would also have to adjust the shoulders and sleeves for a proper fit. With the maternity shirt, the shoulders, sleeves and arms should already be well fitting, and the extra fabric at the front is used to create the wrapped portion.)

A quick note on sewing knits. Use a ball point needle on knits. For this project, a woven material (the bias tape) is being sewn on also, for which you want to switch to a sharp needle. When sewing the two different materials, position the knit material against the feeddogs, with the woven material on top. When pressing (ironing) knit material, do not rub the iron along the material. Press the iron straight down and lift up again. For the most part, hovering a steaming iron closely above your seam will pull the stitches and fabric straight and there will not be much need to directly apply the iron to the material.

I recommend trying on your shirt a few times during construction to see how it will drape on your body (or, if you are lucky enough to have a dressmaker's dummy, this is a good time to use it). The instructions here are a guideline for you to follow, but there are no measurements. With refashioned clothing, your best guide is your body. Rely less on my diagrams and more on your instincts - you know your body best.

Now, let's chop something up!



Here is your maternity tee. Note tent-like properties.

Take your scissors and cut a more flattering line (use a good fitting tee from your closet as a guide) down one side of the shirt. On the other side, split the seam with your scissors to almost the armhole (don't cut the armhole!) and cut the flattering line on the back only. On this second side, leave the front of the shirt uncut. This will be the front wrapping flap.

Next, cut off the neckline ribbing and seperate the front wrapping panels in a general V neckline shape. Use the diagram below as a guide.
Still with the scissors, shape the bottom of the front flap with a curve (see diagram below). The idea is to have a curved shape but still cover up the belly area. While you are at it, cut off the bottom hem all around the shirt. Also make a cut on the back front flap on the side to make to bring it in line with the cut side on the back.

Cut off a large panel from your additional tee shirt (or piece of knit material) to use for the back front flap. Following the diagram below, slip the panel under the cut half flap (the portion to be the back part of the wrapped front). Use a piece of chalk to trace the curve of the half flap, trace out the sides (as shown by the back of the shirt, and draw a curved front down to the bottom hem. This will be the extra material to form the under flap of the wrap. Make sure to add a seam allowance to the top curve and side before cutting.



Sew the panel onto the back flap. Sew closed the flap sides to the back of the tee.


To stabilize the neckline, sew your single fold bias tape on the inside of the neck. Attach the single fold bias tape by opening up the tape to the raw edge and sewing that edge to the neckline all the way round, right sides together. Fold up the tape again and press the tape on the inside of the neckline. Secure by top stitching all around the neck.


Use the double fold bias tape to make two straps for tying by top stitching the length of the tape closed. Sew two bias tape straps onto the pointy edges of the flaps. Put a small button hole in the knit at the side of the top flap (where the bottom flap tie meets the shirt) to allow the bottom tie out.

The bottom of this top is finished with a lettuce edge. Lettuce edges are easy and attractive way to finish knit (in my humble opinion, anyway).

Lettuce edging is created by stretching the knit edge while sewing a zig zag stitch over the edge. The ripple is created by the stretch being held by the stitches. The zig zag stitch length should be just a bit smaller than your usual stitch, but not too tight (such as with a satin or applique stitch). To stretch, use both hands and pull the material apart as it is fed into the machine.
Lettuce edge all around the bottom hem, except where the bottom flap goes underneath the top flap. Keep doing a zig zag stitch on the hidden portion of the bottom flap to finish the edge, but do not stretch the material to prevent a noticable line underneath.



Done! Wrap tee around your body. Open for babies.


Standing in the snow in your new wrap tee is optional.

(the circle skirt from button down men's shirts is the next tutorial in the hopper... coming soon!)
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This is a free tutorial and I encourage you to use the information in any way you need to (check the disclaimer at the bottom of the page). If it works for you, please consider supporting my etsy shop by purchasing a Little Print Design pattern or toss a dollar or two in my paypal to show appreciation and to encourage me to offer up even more quality patterns and tutorials.

Thank you!
Questions about the Donation? FAQ here.