Sometimes once loved clothing loses its appeal and needs to be updated a bit. It doesn’t have to be a big alteration. Sometimes small ones can make a big difference. Here I’ll show you how I altered this maxi skirt to a midi skirt and fell in Love with it all over again.

 

I purchased this maxi skirt about 10 years ago from a friend’s boutique. I loved it and have worn it many times since but it’s always kind of bugged me. The stripes are cooked and they don’t match on the seams, plus it didn’t have any pockets. I was willing to overlook these flaws at first, but the more I sewed my own clothes the more this bothered me. I eventually stopped wearing it altogether, but I couldn’t part with it. I finally decided to fix it. 

Here you can see how the stripes slant and don’t match up on the side seams. Just follow a stripe from one side to the other and you can totally tell.  I wanted to fix that. I also  wanted to add slash pockets using the excess fabric I cut off from the bottom. 

First I removed the waistband. I hate picking out seams so I just used my scissors and cut it off.  The waistband was really tall so I was fine making it a bit shorter. But in the end It wasn’t noticeable at all. 

Next I cut down the sides, separating the front from the back. This straightened out the sides so that it didn’t flare anymore. And now I had a front and a back to work with.

I worked on the two pieces separately. I folded the front in half, making sure to match the stripes. Then I straightened out the sides and cut the length off the bottom.

Once I was satisfied I placed the front on top of the back piece to use as a pattern. I matched the stripes up, straightened out the sides and then cut the length to match the front. I now had two pieces that matched!

I pieced together the fabric I cut off the bottom and made two pockets to add to my skirt. I was able to make the stripes match for the most part.  Here is a tutorial I did for adding pockets to a skirt like this. Once the pockets were installed I sewed the sides together, making sure to match the stripes.

After I sewed the sides together I made quarter markings in the skirt waist and the waistband and matched them up. Then I attached the waistband. Here you can see the waistband attached as well as how I pieced the fabric together to make the pockets.

I wanted the hem to look like it did on the dress before I cut it off. To achieve this I use a twin needle . Almost any regular sewing machine can use one. If you have never used a twin needle here is a good video to help you learn how. Since I learned about twin needles, it’s all I use for hems now.

And here it is all finished. This took approximately 30 minutes to complete. I like the length and fit so much more now.  I especially like that the stripes match and don’t slant to one side. 

Being able to make the pocket stripes match for the most part was pretty satisfying too.

Doing this quick alteration to this maxi skirt has given it a whole new life. I can tell I’m going to wear it for many more years. Have you ever given something in your closet a quick makeover?Tell me in the comments.

Happy sewing!

Koe