How To Turn Old Jeans Into A Skirt

Don’t throw worn jeans out but turn your old jeans into a skirt instead! Follow my detailed step by step tutorial and learn how to upcycle old jeans into a skirt!

Learning how to turn old jeans into a skirt is a wonderful way of upcycling. In one of my previous posts, I also wrote about the brilliant idea of turning an old jeans skirt into a tote bag. Both projects are super easy to sew and you are giving your favorite old pair of jeans a second life.

So, get these old jeans out, that you have been hoarding for some time, and turn them into a cute ruffle skirt. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)!

 

 

Materials you need to turn old jeans into a skirt

 

I used embroidered apparel white cotton fabric, that I found in my stash. In my opinion, that kind of fabric goes well with jeans and white color always pairs nicely with denim. Always wash and dry fabric ahead of time to pre-shrink it.

Let’s follow my step-by-step tutorial on how to turn old jeans into a skirt.

First, I will teach you how to make a ruffled mini skirt and then how to sew more layers together to make a maxi skirt.

Step 1. Layout your jeans on a flat surface. Align them evenly making sure, that the front of jeans is always a little lower than the back. Cut them about one inch below the back pockets and proceed to cut to the front. You can cut both front and back at this same time.

 

Step 2. The inseam below the zipper would sticking out making a bulge. You can fix that, stitching sides of the bulge together. Overlock the raw edge to prevent fraying.

 

Now, the part below the zipper is nice and flat.

 

Step 3. Measure the edge of the raw jeans around and double it. That’s how much fabric you would need to make the ruffle for your mini skirt. You need to also decide how long the skirt you want to be. I needed two 14″ wide pieces out of 43″ wide fabric for my skirt. Fold fabric in half lengthwise and cut two 14″ wide (for my project) pieces. Cut wider pieces if you want a longer skirt and more pieces if you want a more ruffled skirt or you are a bigger size.

 

 

Step 4. Pin the short edges, right side together, and stitch. Then overlock to prevent fraying.

 

Step 5. Ham the bottom edge of the ruffle fabric. Since my fabric has a lot of different funky textures I just overlock the bottom of my fabric piece.

 

Step 6. Gather the opposite raw edge, so it will be the same size as the edge of the raw jeans.

 

TIP: How I gather is: pull the thread from the bobbin and the spool (a little longer than the length of the edge you want to gather). Then zig-zag along the edge, making sure both threads are in the middle of the zig-zag. Now, gather pulling the threads. It is very important to gather as evenly as possible. After you gather to the length you want, secure the threads rolling them over a pin and pin to the side of the fabric.

 

 

Step 7. Align the jeans raw edge with the gathered ruffle edge WRONG sides together, pin, and then stitch around. The reason you sew the pieces wrong sides together is that the seam would have a rugged finish.

 

And, you are all done if you just want to turn old jeans into a mini skirt.

 

In order to upcycle old jeans into a maxi skirt you need to sew together more layers of fabric. As the picture below shows, the first layer of fabric needs to be 1.5 times longer than the jeans piece around. But, it’s just easier to measure the width of the cut jeans and do the math based on that measurement.

So, the second layer of fabric needs to be 2 times longer than the cut edge of the jeans piece. Then, the third layer 2.5 times longer and you increase the length by 0.5 times for the next layer.

Also, you can cut different widths of each layer, but the second layer must be wider than the first. If you want the tiered skirt a little longer and you don’t have matching fabric, you can use wide fabric trim. But before you sew it on you need to cut off the binding on the top edge of the trim.

Actually, you may have noticed, that I didn’t have enough of the trim to match the measurements for a tiered skirt. So, I sewed on the fabric trim, as long as the second layer and I think it still looks good.

 

I hope you enjoyed upcycling old jeans into a skirt and also learning how to sew a tiered maxi skirt.  You are welcome to share a picture of your skirt on my Facebook page. If you are looking for more ideas for repurposing old jeans, then please check my post on DIY Easy Denim Christmas Ornaments.

Happy sewing!

Agnes

 

Want To Remember This? Save The Old Jeans Skirt Project To Your Favorite Pinterest Board?