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June 10, 2013 by: Melanie

EASY Little Girl Dress to Skirt

I have a long-legged little girl. She’s tall and skinny, but that means that dresses and pants get short way too quickly. The hardest part is when she gets attached to a dress only to have me tell her it’s too short to wear any longer. So I’m always looking for ways to extend her wardrobe. Recently, after her long legs outgrew a favorite dress, I decided to chop it up and refashion it into her new favorite skirt.

Dress to Skirt from It Happens in a Blink

Sewing Skill Level: Beginner

Supplies:

  • Sewing Machine
  • Thread
  • Scissors
  • 3/4″ elastic
  • Safety Pin
  • Pins
  • Dress to refashion

Begin by deciding how long you want the skirt to be. To extend the wear of mine, I cut mine right under the arms. Be sure to add an inch and a half for the top elastic to the final length measurement. In other words, if you want your total skirt to be 10″, cut the dress at 11.5″. DON’T cut the bottom of the dress. The point of this is to make the skirt super easy by using the bottom hem.

Dress to Skirt from It Happens in a Blink

kirt from It Happens in a Blink

Right sides together, fold over 1/2″ and pin.

kirt from It Happens in a Blink

Fold over another 1″ and pin.

kirt from It Happens in a Blink

Using a zigzag stitch, sew along the folded edge. Be sure to leave an inch or two opening for threading the elastic. I used a zigzag stitch because my fabric was knit. A straight stitch is fine for other fabrics.

Dress to Skirt from It Happens in a Blink

Measure your child’s waist. Add one inch to this measurement and cut the elastic at this measurement. Thread the elastic through the opening, using a safety pin.

Dress to Skirt from It Happens in a Blink

Overlap the ends of the elastic and stitch it together. Pull the elastic so it’s inside and then stitch the opening closed.

Dress to Skirt from It Happens in a Blink

Dress to Skirt from It Happens in a Blink

Done! Easiest. Skirt. Ever!!!

Dress to Skirt from It Happens in a Blink

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Comments

  1. Sharon L. says

    June 10, 2013 at 8:37 am

    Cute skirt! What a great way to upcycle clothes too!

  2. Alli says

    June 10, 2013 at 8:45 am

    Beautiful dress to skirt for a beautiful little girl. How creative!

  3. Marilyn says

    June 10, 2013 at 9:03 am

    Melanie, this is GENIUS! I love how you got so much more use out of a piece of clothing by turning it into a skirt when the dress got too short!

  4. Paula -Growing Up Bilingual says

    June 10, 2013 at 9:06 am

    What a cute skirt and a wonderful money saving idea, thanks for sharing!

  5. Abby @ Just a Girl and Her Blog says

    June 10, 2013 at 9:26 am

    Genius! It makes an adorable skirt! Your tutorial is so simple to understand, too– beginner sewists like me REALLY appreciate that! Hope you have a wonderful week!

    ~Abby =)

  6. shelly says

    June 10, 2013 at 10:00 am

    I never would have thought of this! I will definitely pin this to refer back to. I haven’t a clue about sewing but this looks easy.

  7. autumn eaton says

    June 10, 2013 at 12:58 pm

    What a great idea! Great way to save money and reuse clothes.

  8. Giveaways 4 Mom says

    June 10, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    This looks incredible. However, with my sewing skills I know it would not turn out anything like that.

  9. Jill says

    June 10, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    Great refashion Melanie!
    I would love if you came and linked this project to my clothes upcycling project page. It has a long term linky, so your project would stay there for more than just the week of a usual linky. We have over 400 projects linked up now – some fantastic ideas.
    Do come and take a look!
    http://jembellish.blogspot.com/p/clothes-upcycling-projects.html

    • Melanie says

      June 10, 2013 at 11:12 pm

      I will have to come check it out!

  10. Emily Anne Ploch says

    June 11, 2013 at 11:18 am

    Super cute! Wish I knew how to use a sewing machine.

  11. Liberty Boblett says

    June 11, 2013 at 11:27 am

    I love this idea! My daughter is 6 and is growing like a weed…I will have to try this w/some of her too short dresses as well…:)

    • Melanie says

      June 11, 2013 at 1:48 pm

      Would love to see pics if you do!

  12. Lexie Lane says

    June 11, 2013 at 11:38 am

    I love the pattern! So Summery! You did such a great job. This is really beautiful!

  13. Nancy Davis says

    June 11, 2013 at 3:31 pm

    Such a clever idea. I know my Mom would wish she would have done that when I was younger. Thank you for sharing.

  14. Emily says

    June 12, 2013 at 2:52 am

    so cute! Thats an easy project with great results! Emily @ Nap-Time Creations
    Oh and just to let you know I’ve got a Photobook giveaway from Smilebooks going on this week. Three winners will each get a free photobook valued up to $300 each!! Come on over… low entries!

    • Melanie says

      June 12, 2013 at 9:57 am

      I stopped by! Thanks for the invite!

  15. Corinna says

    June 12, 2013 at 4:28 pm

    I can see why it is her favorite…I love the fabric pattern and colors!

  16. Gina says

    June 13, 2013 at 10:49 am

    Super cute way to extend the life of their clothes. I have been doing the same things for all those dressed I bought at the end of the summer last year & they didn’t get enough use out of them. Now they are too short.

    • Melanie says

      June 13, 2013 at 2:30 pm

      Yes, it definitely helps- especially on a budget!

  17. Bethany says

    June 14, 2013 at 9:19 am

    Very clever!

Trackbacks

  1. The Project Stash link party and Pick Your Plum give-away - It Happens in a Blink says:
    June 12, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    […] I’ve been working on a few re-purposing projects, like this Dress to Skirt refashion: […]

  2. Top 10 DIY Kids Fashion Sewing Projects says:
    November 1, 2014 at 10:18 am

    […] DIY […]

   
   
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