I found this really cute denim skirt while thrifting recently, and paid $2 for it, knowing that when the inspiration struck, it could turn into something fun. Due to the challenge of not having my Grandmother’s fabulous Bernina working, I have not been sewing much for a while. This machine is over 30 years old, and it is AMAZING. In the meantime, I am limping along on a little machine I picked up on sale. It’s ok, but I miss my girl. She along with a set of china was my inheritance from my Swedish-born Grandma. Ok, back on topic…the $2 skirt.
This little lady was already super-cute. Upcycling clothes into something new can be pretty easy. It helps to choose a good piece that you don’t have to alter very much in order to use it.
I turned the skirt inside-out, and cut off the top few inches, and bottom few inches so I would have the right size to work with. For something like this, I don’t measure or use pins. The fabric is stable and does not slide, and if my lines are straight while I am sewing any error in cutting disappears when the skirt is turned right-side-out.
See? Uneven edges. That’s just the way I roll. If I waste time making everything perfect, when no one is going to see that jagged fabric anyways, I have less time spray-painting crap in my garage. And that is where I love to be. I digress…
After I stitched across the top, and stitched in about 1/3 of the way on each side across the bottom, I left an opening about 6 inches long, back-stitching as I stopped for strong seams. I turned the fabric right-side-out and made sure the corners were nice and square. I usually use a needle or pin to lightly pull the fabric out that is puckered in the corner to make it nice and even.
I had a pillow that I found at another thrift store for $1 that I had already washed, bleached, and dried so I used that stuffing for our little denim lady. I stuff the corners first, then edges, then firmly fill the center, checking to make sure there are no lumps. Once the pillow was full, I just used needle and thread and did a quick whip-stitch across the bottom to close the pillow.
After that I picked a few places on the sides and down the center to pinch and gather the fabric and again use the needle and thread to sew that pinch together so the pillow has a ruched effect. I love ruching, and it doesn’t get much easier than this.
Here is my little upcycled denim lovely, using some materials I already had on hand, and a very inexpensive skirt, whose new life as a pillow is one of my favorite “new” accessories for my home.
Have a wonderful, blessed weekend, and happy creating from my home to yours 🙂
xoxo, Tanya
Linking Up On Thursday’s To:
A Little Knick Knack
Tidy Mom
Delightful Order
My Repurposed Life
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Yesterday On Tuesday
Between Naps On The Porch
Somewhat Simple
Embracing Change
Fireflies & Jellybeans
House Of Hepworths
A Glimpse Inside
52 Mantels
The Bramble Berry Cottage
Thrifty Decorating
Not Just A Housewife
The Crafty Blogstalker
The Artsy Girl Connection
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond The Picket Fence
AKA Design
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Christina’s Adventures
The 36th Avenue
No Minimalist Here
On Friday’s linking up to:
Living Life Intentionally
Hating Martha
The Not So Functional Housewife
Rooted In Thyme
Craftionary
Freckled Laundry
You are very resourceful!! Love your little pillow. Way to go!!!!!
What a cute idea to turn it into a pillow!
It an adorable pillow.
Dee
Love the pillow! Love that the fabric was free too! And thank you for your sweet comment on my screen porch …
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
🙂
Linda
Fun idea! Thanks for inviting me to your space:)
Love your little denim pillow, too cute! 🙂
Such a fun upcyle!! I'm totally pinning!
Love the pillow, love the skirt! It's great! I'm glad you linked up this week!
Cute idea – love this. Working on something like it right now! Thanks for linking!
Stacey of Embracing Change
Very creative idea. Thanks for sharing your new pillow on Simple & Sweet Fridays. Very Cute!
Jody
Thanks for linking up to my party, I will be featuring this project on my round up this week! 🙂
Great reuse idea, Tanya. I like the uniqueness of the ruched denim, as opposed to a sheer ruched fabric.
Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday. Hope to see you at the party each week.
Blessings,
Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage
Very pretty, Tanya! I buy more "fabric" from the thrift shop than I do the fabric store. Like you said, sometimes the pretty details save you a sewing step or two. Thanks for sharing with air your laundry friday! xo Jami
Such a pretty pillow. You can;t beat $2. I made a pillow too from a skirt. It was my daughter's old skirt and I had a hard time giving it away so I made a pillow out of it.
aK8fDq Of course, what a splendid blog and educative posts, I will bookmark your website.All the Best!