Refashion: Long and Blah to Short and Flirty

On Sunday it was 50 degrees and sunny. It was the first spring-like day we've had. There was cause for celebration. And some wardrobe-tinkering inspiration.

So I pulled out this skirt, which I bought some 10 years ago for like $7.99 at TJ Maxx. I feel like, at some point, long flowery bias-cut skirts were fashionable. But this skirt has mostly just hung in my closet for awhile. I pull it out occasionally to try on, lifting the hem and thinking "This might actually be cute if it were shorter." And then I put it back to hang for another eight months.

Not this time, though. I measured my skirt. It was 37 inches long. And I determined that I wanted the finished skirt to be about 21.5 inches.

I cut 18 inches off the bottom, leaving 19 inches on the main skirt.

Then I chopped three inches off the bottom piece, including the hem. This was my ruffle. I could have made it more ruffly by cutting up more of the skirt to add width. But I was in a hurry, so I left it as is.

I gathered the ruffle and pinned it to my main skirt, then sewed it on. I also cut the faux-drawstring tie off the skirt's waistband (seriously, what is the point that? Since I am not in the habit of tucking shirts into elastic-waist skirts, it just pokes out under the shirt and looks dumb.)

Ta-da!

Bonus, I now have 15 inches of fabric left, which will be plenty to make Natasha a matching sundress. Look for that in the future.