DIY Ruffled Denim Skirt

A few days ago, my sister asked me when I was going to get some clothes that fit and didn’t look like they were about to fall off. {blush} I figured it was time to come up with a new denim skirt for summer.  I’m super excited with how it turned out! When Ridley saw it for the first time he said, “Oh wow, pity {pretty}!” 🙂

Ruffled Denim Skirt

For those of you who will ask, yes I have a ginormous scar on my right leg. I sliced my leg open on our wood heater when I was twelve. I was trying out my non-existent acrobatic skills.  {1st mistake: running inside – 2nd mistake: attempting to jump over toys – 3rd mistake: flipping a stool and falling into the heater}.  After twenty-two stitches and many hours in the ER on a Saturday night, I went home on crutches.  Lesson learned, but I’ll always have the scar.

Umkay, enough of the infomercial…back to the skirt. I’ve been so inspired by my friend Jen from Tatertots & Jello who is a refashioning queen. Seriously, the girl is brilliant!  If you have a sewing machine and can cut and sew a straight line, you can make this skirt {or a similar version}! 🙂

I found my skirt at Cato on sale for $14.99. I was looking for a  lighter wash and I loved the pockets!

What I didn’t love was the length. I’m tall and prefer either floor length skirts or knee length.  This above ankle length is uncomfortable to me and mid-calf lengths make me look awkward too. Ha!  I decided to cut off the skirt at my knee and then add fabric ruffles.

I picked up 3/8 of a yard of two fabrics from Hobby Lobby where I used a 40% off coupon {Did you know that they accept coupons off your phone? LOVE it!}, so the cost was minimal at less than $3.00.

I cut each fabric into 3″ strips. I didn’t use all the fabric, but I had 3 – 3″ strips of each. I may make some fabric accessories out of the scraps.

I sewed the fabric strips {right sides together} end to end for the bottom ruffle . Then I sewed a wide stitch seam on one side of the long strip.  It took a few minutes to pull the thread and gather the fabric evenly.  After that was done, I pinned it to the skirt and sewed it on, right over the gathering stitch.  To neatly finish the end of the ruffle {where the strip comes together}, I turned under one side and stitched it down.

For the second layer, I sewed the strips end to end with right sides together.  Then I turned one edge over about an inch to give the top layer a finished look. Then I stitched the edge with a wide stitch {through both layers of fabric} so I could gather the long strip.  Once I got the fabric gathered {you have to pull the thread gently when you’re gathering double layers}, I pinned it in place over the bottom ruffle.

I finished the end of the top ruffle the same way as the bottom layer by turning under the top edge and sewing it down.  This is SO easy y’all!

With just $3.00 and about an hour {my hour was broken into sections}, I took this skirt from drab {on me} to fab!

LOVE it!

The ruffles are so, so  fun! 🙂

Have you ever refashioned clothes?

I’m linking up to Made By You Monday, Get Your Craft On, Tip Me Tuesday, Tips & Tutorials, I’m Lovin’ It, and Weekend Wrap Up Party!

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51 Comments

    1. Thank you sweet friend! Can I just say that I’m beyond excited to see you in October?! 🙂

      Reply

  4. I love the fabric and the finished product!

    I am planning on learning how to update clothes, it is on my to do list, sadly (or happily?) I have so many hobbies getting round to learning them all takes me some time!

    I am tall also and prefer knee length…I have had to resort to just “above” the knee as all knee length skirts are too short on me. 🙁 I dislike it a lot! I am always looking out for calf length skirts as then they are just below the knee on me! Love it! Shopping is a chore but quite exciting really. Half the time I resort to jeans as even though I prefer skirts I am not a fan of “short” skirts!
    Sarah´s last blog post ..Eco-Friendly Stationary- Study Supplies and-or Office Equipment

    Reply

  7. I love it! Excellent fabric choices. I picked out the same multicolored one and made a car seat cover for my little girl. It was only second sewing project, but I love it!

    Reply

  9. Awesome… thanks for sharing this great idea! I have a couple of jeans skirts that I am just plain tired of wearing so I think a re-do with ruffles is just the perfect ticket. Thanks!! AJ
    queenofmynest(at)gmail(dot)com
    AJ´s last blog post ..A Must Read Fresh Style Magazine

    Reply

  10. Ummm…is that you modeling the skirt?!?! YOU look fab, I am inspired by your determination to get healthy. The skirt is cute too! 😉

    Reply

    1. Thank you Stephanie! 🙂 I think the deal is our height….it makes those skirts look funky on us. 🙂

      Reply

  18. I love it! I have a denim skirt that is a tad too short (it was $3.99 and the perfect color, had to buy it) and I’ve been trying to decide if adding a little ruffle or something would look ok. Now that I’ve seen your, I am moving ahead at full speed 🙂

    Reply

    1. HAHA! Whitney, I totally know what you’re talking about! 🙂 Thank you for your sweet comment! 🙂

      Reply

  22. I have a post up currently–I took two jumpers and cut them shorter to wear with jeans in the fall/winter.

    Love your skirt.

    Melinda

    Reply

  24. No, this skirt wasn’t just drab on you, it was DRAB! Now it looks fabulous! Its too funny, I just posted a little girls denim ruffle skirt and I joked at the end of the post that I need to make one in my size. But your skirt is no joke, its awesome!
    Christine´s last blog post ..Girls Jeans Skirt

    Reply

  26. What a cute idea! I’m totally loving this. Linking up to you at createatoriumcrafts.blogspot.com

    Reply

  27. As SOON as I saw the picture of this I knew I wanted one, AND I knew what skirt I was going to do this to! thank you SO MUCH for the incredibly FUN IDEA! I’m so excited!!

    Reply

  30. What a way cool (old person term) ..I’m 61 yrs old but really love the remake idea. You are so cute and look great!
    Thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to add to my blog.
    Create,inspire,encourage. Bren

    Reply

    1. I typically shop at Hobby Lobby and Hancocks for fabric. Joann’s is 40 minutes away so I don’t get there often. Thanks so much! 🙂

      Reply

  33. I LOVE your shoes, I have been looking for nice wedge sandals forever. What brand are they, where did you get them?

    Reply

  34. I have just found your article and it is great!
    I have a ruffle tip for you.
    Set your needle tension to as high as you can, sew (and it will gather it for you). When you have finished, pull on your threads to leave a 12 inch+ tail. Then instead of pulling to get ruffles you spread them out to the length you need. Really you are making the ruffles the opposite way and it is much quicker. Using this technique, you may even get the ruffle perfect straight from your machine!

    Reply

  35. Myra, What a great idea! I have some too short skirts that need extra length. Love all your ideas and helpful hints! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  36. I bought these Eclipse thermapanel curtains at JCPenney a few months ago, in river blue, which looks the color of a darker denim. Actually, whenever any light comes through them, they turn sort of an ugly black. I decided not to use them where I had intended, but, since my husband hates to return things, and I’ve been sick, and our house is cold in the winter, I hung them between 2 rooms, thinking I could just push them aside for most of the year. The trouble with this is that they’re only 63″ long. But they do match the valance above them, so I still hate to part with them–not to mention that I spent $100 on them, at 75% off. So I got this idea that they would look a lot cuter if they had a 20″ frill at the bottom. I put in “frilly denim”, and your website came up. But no matter how easy you make it sound, I really don’t think I can do this right now. The most I’ve ever sewn is pot holders. I actually bought 4 of the curtains, so I would think I have enough material for the frills. Do you know of someone who could do this for me, and how much it would cost? You could post on my facebook page. I’m JCSandberg, born in1962.

    Reply

  37. The butterfly on this skirt looks very harmonious. It reminds me of the childhood years when my mother bought me patches for jeans, it looked very stylish. It’s great that they are back in fashion and services like this one https://www.gs-jj.com/patches/Custom-Patches make them unique, individually for you, or for a whole team to make your style unique.

    Reply

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