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A cute high waisted mini skirt out of massive and hideous shorts
I rescued these high-waisted shorts from my sister's throw-out pile (I hope they were bought ironically...). They were about 2 sizes too big, and basically unwearable, so I decided to try and turn them into a skirt.

Have been looking for a skirt like this for ages, so really happy with it :)

Hope the instructions make sense. I'm not a very experienced seamstress... :s

You will need:
- A pair of too big, high waisted, baggy shorts
- A sewing machine
- Fabric scissors
- Sewing pins

Posted by Judith L. from Totnes, England, United Kingdom • Published 18th January 2010 • See Judith L.'s 7 projects »

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Step 1
Take a large pair of high waisted shorts (these were about 2 sizes too big for me)

Cut them open at the crotch, along the seam.
Step 2
Put them on, and pin the front parts together, with the excess crotch fabric folded in at the back.

Make sure the ends meet neatly.
Step 3
Do the same at the back.
Step 4
Turn inside out, and pin where you want your seams to go.

<- Pinned back seam

As the shorts have an A - line shape, I decided to take in quite a lot of fabric from the front and back, so that the final skirt would hang fairly straight.
Step 5
<- Pinned front seam

When you've pinned both front and back seams, turn the skirt back to the right way, and try it on to make sure you're happy with the seams and the fit.
Step 6
Tack both seams in a contrasting colour.

With a sewing machine,sew up both seams (I used a medium zig zag stitch).

The shorts I used had a turned up edge at the bottom (see earlier photos). I didn't want these sewn into the seam because it would look a little messy, so I only tacked and sewed down as far as the turned up section. More on this in the next step.

If you don't have a turn up, trim off any excess fabric at the seam after sewing, and you're done
Step 7
To finish the bottom of my skirt, I cut off the excess fabric at the seam, EXCEPT FOR the turned up sections.

<- The left over turn up bits, after trimming off the rest of the excess seam fabric.

You should now have 2 L - shaped sections at the bottom of each seam.
Step 8
Bring the two edges together, by overlapping the two L-shaped sections (so that one lies at the top, and the other underneath).

Pin, and sew them down at each end.

This makes the finishing at the bottom neater :)
Step 9
Done!