A Better Stripe: How to Upcycle a Miniskirt into a Pinny Apron

What might a modest woman do when she's given a miniskirt?

She might upcycle it. Here's the miniskirt I was given...

It looked worn and dirty, stapled together at the front, saggy and stained at the back. But the label said linen/cotton, so I thanked the giver with delight and gave the brief little skirt and its self-fabric tie belt several rounds of attentive laundering.

Many of the stains remained, but for what I had in mind for it, they would be in good company. With a crisper fabric in hand, I deconstructed the skirt, removing the side zipper and back pockets and unpicking the side seams.

Here's how I reconstructed it, turning a miniskirt into a pinafore apron.

1. Shape sides of pinny bib. Keeping the skirt front in same position for pinny, use the skirt back for the pinny bib. Flip the skirt back topside-down so that the waist band stays at the waist and the skirt hem is now under the chin. Fold under the extra width until it's a good fit at the shoulders, and stitch these flaps down the sides at the seam edge (but not across the top).

2. Reattach pockets. Cut and stitch linings for the two pockets, then sew them to the bib.

3. Shape upper edge of pinny bib. Pin about 5 inches of 1 inch cotton tape at centre front on the reverse side to stabilize the fabric (the linen had stretched and warped where the skirt got sat on). Sew a gathering stitch down each side of the tape, securing the stitches at the bottom end. Pull up the gathering threads, arrange the gathers, and handstitch the threads to secure the gathers.

4. Prepare skirt front. Stitch any seams or hems that were opened during the deconstruction phase. (Do this also with the waist edges of the bib.)

5. Join bib to skirt. Lay the bib waist on top of the skirt waist, making sure they are centred. Pin and stitch together.

6. Prepare straps. Cut tie belt at the halfway point. At upper edge of bib, insert raw ends of belt into the outside corners of the facing created when folding in the bib sides. Pin. Stitch across upper edge of facing.

7. Add hanger loop. Using a strip of cotton tape or bias binding, attach a bar behind one strap so you can easily hang your apron on a hook.

8. Sew button holes. Use an interfacing on the underside to give the buttonhole stability. Mark location for buttons and stitch on buttons.

I like that this apron style is cool and light, no bands around my waist, no dragging at my neck. I tried fastening the straps with just the button in the centre, but the apron shifted around too much as I worked. Adding the side buttons improved stability. If the apron needs to accommodate more bulk under it (likely in winter, when I wear more layers), I could place buttons at the hips and not use the upper and centre buttons.

The flower was glued to a button, which was glued to a felt dot, which was glued to an earring clip.

Now you know how to upcycle a miniskirt into an apron. I hope you've been inspired today to look at old garments as new possibilities.

Look out for more Boutique Narelle posts detailing liberating modest fashion techniques.

Fiat lux!

Narelle

Hummingbird Blue: Assembling an Elegant Outfit from Awkward Pieces

 

Tragically, my city no longer has a fabric store. Here's how I get over that hurdle when I need coordinating material to make an outfit. Instead of buying new fabric yardage, when I shop for an outfit at a secondhand store, I source fabric from other garments on the rack.

I look for one main piece in a fabric or colour I like. Any adult size will do, usually the larger the better. Next I look for other garments in fabric that will coordinate with my first piece. I then rearrange the fabric from these garments to create one outfit or dress.

Hummingbird Blue

When I spotted this hummingbird fabric, I immediately loved it and longed to wear it. Given that it was assembled as a spliced and skimpy jumpsuit, it would take some creativity to make it modest and wearable. But I was willing to try, because I loved the fabric so much.

Now I knew I was looking for blue. I hunted around the racks and to my delight found a floor-length taffeta skirt in a shade that matched the hummingbird beautifully. The skirt was far to big for me, but this made me even happier - I had more fabric to work with.

Then I found a chiffon tunic with a knit camisole attached to it. The tunic was too big and too revealing to wear as it was, but I really liked the drape of it and it was in a shade that toned with the other items.

Concerned about cool evenings in a sleeveless dress, I was happy to find an elegant cardigan, although this too had a fit issue.

Now I had my ensemble, but they needed assembling!

Deconstruct the Skirt

Step 1. Unpick the skirt waistband and zipper. Sew up the seam where the zipper was.

Reconstruct the Skirt

Step 2. Detach the camisole from the tunic. Sew the skirt waist to the camisole, creating a tank dress. (Before stitching them together, I added a short skirt lining using a remnant from my stash - lined skirts feel so comfortable to wear!)

Reconstruct the Jumpsuit

Step 3. Unpick the leg/crotch seam of the hummingbird jumper suit and cut away the scoop of the crotch extension, leaving a straight edge down the back and front. Unpick the hem a little on each side of the raw edges to give you room to work. Sew the fronts together and the backs together, then rehem the bottom edge. Now the jumpsuit is a tunic.

Fix Fit Issues

Step 4. The hummingbird tunic still had some gaping areas with keyholes front and back, and low armholes. These were easily fixed with some pinch and stitch action.

Step 5. The fitted chiffon tunic sat too low on my bosom, making puckers in odd places and allowing for more movement than felt safe for my modesty. The armholes were also too large. Because the fabric was so light, I was able to pinch the shoulder seam up without creating too much bulk. This improved the fit at the bust and front neckline, and reduced the armholes. I arranged the sleeve gathers to please me, then handstitched them in place at the shoulder.

Step 6. The knit viscose cardigan was designed for a lady with longer arm scye and more bosom than I have (this is also why the chiffon tunic didn't fit me). I gathered the extra fabric into a series of pleats and stitched them by hand, turning them into a style feature that encourages me to wear my hair up so they can be seen.

Styling Choices

An alternative might have been to make a long dress by sewing the hummingbird tunic to the taffeta skirt, but this way the soft drape of the delicate tunic is retained, and the outfit is more flexible. I can change the look by changing the style of tunic. I can also wear a tunic over a different dress or with wide-leg trousers.

I hope you've seen something beautiful and inspiring here today.

Look out for more Boutique Narelle posts detailing liberating modest fashion techniques.

Fiat lux!

Narelle

EASY MODESTY FIXER: how to make a lace wrap

Got a problem sleeveless dress with gaping armholes? Or a top with a low back? Try this quick and pretty project for a modesty fixer.

The info-graphic below demonstrates how to make this lace wrap which was featured in my music video "The Steadfast Love of the Lord: comfort through your grief".

For more details on the making of the music video, go to Music Video Wraps in Lace: meeting the modesty challenge at short notice.

Fiat lux!
Narelle

How to Resize a Hat that Doesn't Fit

Got Hat Horrors? Here's how to turn your headgear into something heavenly. If you struggle to find a hat that fits your head, this article may have the solution you need.


Hat too small?

My sister Sarah, on the outset of another exploration of the Australian continent, asked if there was anything I would like her to bring back for me. "An Akubra, please!" I said, meaning the iconic Australian stockman's hat. She'd acquired such a hat on a previous trip, my father had one, and well, certain members of my family are hat fanatics. = )

Sarah measured my crown -- 56cm -- and off she went. Unfortunately, the hat shop she went to didn't have a full range of Akubra sizes in stock. Feeling she couldn't come home without spending my $60, she decided to get the next smallest size they had available (54cm), hoping that it would stretch or my brains would shrink.

I wasn't keen to endure a headache whilst waiting for a sturdy leather band to age, so was thankful for the outdoorsy knowledge of my shepherding brother. "Soak the thing in water," he said, "and then wear it while it dries. It will adjust to the shape of your head." Uh huh. Another charmingly comfortable concept. I stowed the hat in a cupboard, thinking that was $60 wasted.

Soon afterward, I was gifted a 50 year old metal milliner's form which I initially thought wouldn't help me at all because I wanted to be able to stick pins in it as I fiddled with fabric. However, the equipment has a lever allowing the form to be made larger or smaller, and a measuring stick showing exactly what size it's resting at.

I soaked the Akubra, set it on the form at 54cm, then wound the handle until the pointer reached 56cm. The leather didn't complain, and by the following day it was dry and ready to wear, perfect for my head. I like to wear it on wet or windy days.

Hat too big?

Ladies with very small heads should look for child-sized hats. I've been keeping an eye on the Warehouse's Back to School collection, which featured a summer range in January/February, and now has a winter range of cute cosies coming in. The sizes tend to be ranged by age, i.e. 8-14 means the hat should fit children aged 8-14. I'm the smallest in a family of big heads, and it was a wee bit too small for me, so it would fit a small women's head quite comfortably.

Granted, you won't always find what you want in the children's section, so here are three options for fixing the hat that's too big.

1. Make a pleat or two. While the above example may seem too obviously 'fixed', with the current trend for pleats and tucks all over the place, many designer garments look like a mistake that's been fixed. If you have to make a pleat somewhere, don't tell anyone and the odds are they'll never know it wasn't meant to be there.

2. Make a lining and stitch it to the inside band. You can also do this to make a hat warmer. In this example, I've used polar fleece, which is cosy, bulky, and doesn't need edge stitching (it doesn't unravel).

The cap crown has 6 segments, so I made the same in polarfleece.

The black lining can be inserted into any of my Gatsby caps, meaning I can have cool cotton for summer and then bulk it up for winter, making my hat wardrobe very adaptable.

Sew your lining to the inner band to make the band smaller. If you're just adding warmth and your hat has a hanging hat band inside the crown, tuck the edges behind the band to keep the lining from slipping about as you take the hat on and off.

3. Add an internal band.

Watch an experienced milliner demonstrate the process of making a silk Ascot-style hat**. Of particular interest is the silk tube she adds to the base of the crown after the lining (2.51min through video), through which a fine cord or elastic is threaded, allowing the hat to fit multiple sizes.

I have a cotton sun hat that has such a band. Bias binding has been attached to the seam just inside the crown, and a cord threaded through. As in the HatHeads illustration above, this fills up some of the extra space inside the crown, and allows you to make the band firmer if needed. Apart from giving you the perfect fit, it's also an alternative to a chin strap for those in breezy climates.

To cap off this Chanson de Chapeau, I hope your hat days will now be much happier!

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**Note: We are very sorry about the missing images in this post. They were tragically and irreversibly gobbled by Google+.