Quickly stitch up a gypsy skirt from two indian saris!


I adore the intricacies of things East Indian!! ❤
IndiaThe architecture is exquisite; the art and stitched fabric is magnificent; the traditional dress, elegant and gorgeous!

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Julia RobertsMy habit regarding things Indian? Spy-n-snatch!! Lol!
I recognize the beauty of design and color in garments made in India ❤ —or, at least, made by East Indian women who live in this country—and, usually,  grab them up—unless the price is more than I want to pay. Especially when these articles are found in the bin stores, where items are sold by weight (think: cheap!) 😀 luvvit !!!
I recently found two Indian saris, both in gold with black/gray/silver, of different designs, but, oh-so compatible!.

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Northern-Indian-Sari-A SARI – is an outer garment worn chiefly by women of India and Pakistan, consisting of a length of lightweight cloth with one end wrapped about the waist to form a skirt and the other draped over the shoulder or covering the head. It is also spelled as SAREE.

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I love Indian ❤ raiment, but don’t necessarily want to outfit myself in traditional Indian dress. So, I made a marvelous skirt from two saris by simply cutting them into four shorter lengths and sewing them together! 😀

This project is EASY!

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  1. Measure the length you want your skirt to be. I wanted mine to be as long as possible.
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When you cut each sari in two, be sure to figure in enough in the length to account for hemming the top and making a casing for your elastic in the waist. My one sari has bell-fringe on the ends of the fabric (which becomes the bottom of the skirt); the second has just fringe, but the fringe is longer than the bell-fringe on the one.
If your saris also have different-length fringes, take that into consideration—unless you want a shorter skirt. In that case, it wouldn’t matter that some fringe is longer. But, I didn’t want some of my fringe to drag the ground. Because of that difference, when I cut them each into two pieces, I made each half of sari #2 a little shorter than sari #1, halved, because its fringe was a little longer. So, the fabric is different lengths. But, I thought that just added to the uniqueness of my skirt. 🙂
2. Cut the saris.

500x500 Laiden
In the Apopka, FL, area: Cindy’s Critter Care

Each sari becomes two panels of fabric, per. You can’t necessarily cut them in half, because the halves might be too long, which was my case. But, when you measure and cut, you will, indeed, have four panels: two of sari #1, two of sari #2.
3. Pin the sides of panel one to panel two—right sides facing each other, allowing for the different lengths.
4. Sew the sides together all the way up to the (waist) top.
alternateI alternated, as above: one panel of the first sari, next to a panel of the second sari, next to a panel of the first sari, next to a panel of the second. Last, sew the sides of the first and last panels together.

DSC_0333 - edit sew saris tgethr
For the photo, I turned over one panel to show that these panels alternate, and, also, to show that the right sides are together.

5. Hem the cut edges: Turn the cut edge over twice toward the inside—or, “wrong” side, to enclose the raw edge in the second fold.
6. Make your casing for the elastic:

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Sweet Memories photo restoration

Turn over the top edge, folding it over on the inside of the skirt—all the way around the waist of the skirt—wide enough to be a little wider than the elastic you’re using. Pin all along, and sew it down—but, leave an opening where your elastic will go in and come back out.
7. Pin a safety pin to the end of your elastic and work it through the casing (tunnel), making sure not to let it twist. After it has gone all the way through the casing, secure the ends of the elastic together by stitching it.
8. Optional: Stitch the opening closed.
DSC_0363 - edit Indian sari skirtHave fun wearing your sari skirt!!
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