Make It Sew Simple

As it turns out I cannot wear my favorite jeans anymore due to a hole that formed in an unlikely spot. I was enjoying a mommy break aka. hiding in the bathroom and surfing www.pinterest.com when I saw that someone made a skirt out of some fabric and the top part of jeans. I had to try it!Personally I don't wear skirts when a pair of jeans are handy but I live in Texas now so I have to dress for the heat. After I made this skirt I want to do this to all the other jeans I hate wearing.

This project would take any normal person about an hour tops! In this case I had to 'Bull in a China Shop' sew because my kids and life in general kept getting into the way. I really should just sew at night but I'm soooo tired by the end of the day. Ok, lets do this! Grab a pair of jeans that have the perfect waist, shorts would work too. Then grab some fabric that fits around your hips plus a little more for seams and some give. I lucked out and found fabric I didn't have to hem. I didn't show the part where I sewed the skirt fabric together leaving a high slit. Just sew the edges so that it looks nice and finished.

I just started to cut the jeans.

 Pull the pockets out so that you do not cut them. Make sure you keep the back pocket intact too.
 Pin up high so that you can sew without hitting the pins. Trim the fabric later. Follow along the edge with a basting stitch, try it on, then do a final straight stitch if the skirt is perfect.


 The finished product! I bunched a good bit of fabric toward the front and put a slit in it so that it opened in the front. I hope you like it. Please post if you have any questions. Good luck!

Welcome to make it sew simple. It's a blog about sewing and adding in some life lessons as we stitch it all together. Sometimes we get so bogged down in life that we never step back and just breath. Sometimes I don't take my own advice and sew like a bull in a china shop, pushing my machine to the limits and turning something that's supposed to be fun and calming into a project from.. well you know.

My machine is a Brother. It's my second since I had a moment and pushed my first machine to the limits without caring... I'm getting better I swear! It didn't break the bank to buy it and it's so user friendly that I'm now teaching my 4 year old daughter how to use it. It helps to have a machine with a speed adjuster. It's a good thing to have if you haven't gotten a machine yet. The option of not having to use a pedal does come in handy. Letting the machine stop with the needle down is also a life saver. It allows for easy turning of your fabric and is easier when you try slippery materials like silks and satins. Oh, and get one with a drop in bobbin! It's amazing how easy it is to quickly change and reload.

A Zen like sewing location? Huh? No such thing! I have tried a sewing room... I didn't like being all alone while working, its boring, and being a mom of 2 I couldn't just disappear. I still can't go to the bathroom without interruption. So I kept moving my machine all around the house to no avail and finally ended up in the kitchen! Yep, the kitchen. Think about it! It's the one place where everyone goes anyway! Now I can happily sew, cook (well not happily as I have not found a love for cooking), watch the kids in the backyard playing, get my daughter milk for the 5th time, watch my son play his computer etc. I guess I should describe my house a little better. Imagine a big rectangle, on the left is the eat in kitchen (my sewing area), the middle is the kitchen, the right is what would be a formal dining room which I have turned into a sitting/computer/tv room. I'm sorry to say, quite proudly in fact, we are not a family that eats at the table. I've tried to make us one but inevitably we just all hang out and eat wherever we land. It works for us. When I do want my table I just pack it all up in a completely unorganized way and put it all in a cabinet. I did find that the 4 cube unit sold at Ikea will hold a sewing machine if you don't have a cabinet!

I hope you like this blog and follow me as we have fun sewing together. Maybe I have you thinking about starting a really fun hobby.

OK, time to order another coffee. YES, I find coffee shops mixed with a little pinterest very inspiring!