Upcycle Skinny Jeans

Hey there, refashion-istas!

Always eyeing opportunities to refashion something? Me, too! 

Of course, that sends me thrifting!

The other day, I was visiting one of my favorite thrifts in one of my favorite little towns near home. This shop discounts, each week, items that don’t sell. So, eventually, these unsold clothing pieces land on the 25-cent rack!!

When I walk into the thrift store, my feet automatically beat a path to this part of the shop! On this day, I was delighted to find a pair of purple skinny jeans on this rack—in excellent condition…and they fit!

Later, while writing a post on remake ideas obtained by simply looking at photos, I included a really cute pair of bell-bottoms, on which, to me, the “bells” had once been a skirt! Fun idea! Of course, it certainly appears that this skirt was made in India.  <3  All the best stuff is from India!!

So, I looked in my dresser drawer of twisted and tied skirts, and found—voila!—the 

perfect skirt to embellish my newly-found treasure. 🙂 

This is the pair of jeans and the skirt I wish to use to make my upcycled pants.

The waist of the skirt should be twice the circumference of one

of your legs just above the knee. If it’s larger, you can cut off the excess—AFTER you sew the side seams. Be sure each little skirt will fit around your leg at the right place. Or, you can gather it as you sew it onto the pant leg.

Step One:

Divide your skirt into two: Cut along the side seams on each side of the skirt.

Then, sew a new side seam on each, creating two little skirts. 

Step Two:

Wearing your pants, step into each half skirt and bring it up around each leg, pinning it into place, modifying as needed. Look into a full-length mirror to get the proper length. This is a trial-and-error step and may take several times of adjustment. Be sure both are even and level all around.

Step 3:

Sew each little skirt onto each leg.

Trim off jean legs just below the sewn-on waistband of the skirt halves.

Voila!

This crocheted top used to be light pink. It is 100% cotton—perfect for dying.

Darker colors look best on me, so, I dyed it!

1. I banded the top part into a rope with a rubber band, protected the bottom portion with a plastic bag, attached with a rubber band.
2. Holding the garment and dipping the top portion into the dye bath, I allowed the dye to penetrate the top portion for a few minutes.
3. Using rubber gloves, I squeezed out the dye bath,
4. took off the plastic bag on the lower portion,
5. and briefly dipped the whole thing into the dye,
6. squeezed it out,
7. removed rubber bands,
8. sprayed the entire item with Rit Color Stay,and let it sit for 20 minutes or so,
9. then, rinsed thoroughly, until the water ran clear.

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