This asymmetrical skirt from Next is one of the unsold items from our garage sale last month at school.  It’s a size bigger for me but I thought I could try in giving it a nice makeover.  Next to recycling, upcycling is another big word I’m investing my time on.

One look at this photo above would probably make you think someone raided her mom’s closet and played dress up.  The skirt’s hemline is definitely wrong for me and the style doesn’t look flattering either.  I don’t mind the size though. I like my clothes to hug my hips better than my waist. Makes it easier to breathe post meals. 🙂

The asymmetrical dresses and skirts that I love are the ones that are short in front and long in the back.  They make me feel so feminine plus I look taller in them.  So I turned this skirt into something that would make me feel or look exactly like that.

Step 1:  Cut the extra fabric that made the skirt asymmetrical on the side.

Step 2:  Measure the length you want for your skirt. Don’t forget to add at least a centimeter extra for the hem.  From that desired length, draw down a curve as shown in the photo below.

Step 3:  Cut the skirt following the lines drawn.

Step 4:   Draw a straight line on the front fabric and cut.

Step 5:  With the skirt right sides touching, pin the see-through fabric (for the life of me I don’t know how it’s called) on the hem with about 1 1/2 cm seam allowance.  Sew a straight stitch around.  Serge or do a zig-zag stitch on the seam to prevent it from fraying.

I would have been done at this stage if I didn’t nip (again!) a bit of the hem with the tip of my very sharp scissors.  Beats me how I did it but I did it again.  The sixth step is the prize of that mistake.

Step 6: I had no choice but to fold the see-through fabric and sew around the skirt again.  This is how the hem looks like.  Not the one I originally had in mind but it’s better than walking around with a slightly ripped skirt.

It took me less than two hours to complete this project.  Even with the nipping thing I’m still pretty satisfied with the result.  Here it is:

And yet more “after” photos:

Happy upcycling!