craftgrrl | sweatshirt skirt, aka "sweatskirt" minus the sweaty sweat

I wanted to make myself a t-shirt skirt, but all my big, un-wanted tees are thin and white. Freezing my butt off in the cold Wisconsin weather while showing everyone the color of my underwear (if I'm wearing any o.O) is not my idea of fun.

Micheal's had a sale on their plain-colored sweatshirts, so I bought a black one for US$4. Good shit. I made myself a skirt with some hot pink fleece for racing stripes (not that I rush anywhere) from the remnants bin from Joann's for about $2. It took me about two hours, on and off to make this, try it on, tweak it, try it on again, and tweak it some more until I was happy. I'm pretty satisfied with it. The bottom band acts as a good waistband. And I can wear the front as back and back as front because there is NO DESIGNATED front or back.

I didn't include a front photo 'cause it looks like a regular skirt. It is kind of form-fitting (you can see it curves around me butt) but not tight, and it flares out a bit at the bottom. But it keeps thighs warm, it's a good winter skirt, and more importantly, I can wear it in public without people telling me that they love red undies too.

I think these are really fitting for any size person, teeny to plus, as long as you find an appropriately sized sweatshirt and plenty of fleece! I'm somewhere between a medium/large so the instructions are posted for that. But again, they are pretty modifiable, if there were such a word. :)

For this project I used a machine and used the second to biggest stitches. That way I could try on stuff and rip out stitches with ease if I needed to. Trial and error were definitely a big part of this process; it didn't take too long and I was always assured that my final turnout would not be some hideous surprise.

Stuff you'll need:
- A sweatshirt
- Fleece
- Needle and thread OR sewing machine
- Some time and patience

1. Find a PREWASHED sweatshirt that looks like it would be baggy on you if you wore it as is. I had an adult large. For my graphics today, I am using a lovely bright orange. Lie it flat UPSIDE DOWN and INSIDE OUT on a even surface, like a ping pong table. The bottom of the sweatshirt is now the top, with the waist band now being on top.

2. Cut away the sleeves closely. Cut the shoulder seams open and remove the stretchy collar. You should still have that half circle shape as a reminder of where the front is
3. Measure around your body of where you want the skirt to hang. Mine is a few inches below my navel. It was around 34" for me. Divide that number by 2. Take that number and mark it out on the sweatshirt band. Take a ruler and from one point on the top, trace a line to the edges of the bottom of your sweatshirt (where the sleeves used to be). Do the same to the other side. Then cut along those lines. You won't need an allowance for seams since it's stretchy and you don't want this skirt to fall down your ankles.

4. You should have two pieces now that resemble a skirt.

5. Now take a piece of fleece of any color/design. Take one that would contrast nicely with the color of the sweatshirt. We are using neon green here to complement the bright orange.

6. Now, depending on what style you want the skirt to take on determines the amount of fleece you cut out. I had basted my skirt and tried it on without fleece. A little too form-fitting. I wanted a looser fit with a shape somewhere between an a-line and a skirt with some flow. MAKE SURE THE FLEECE WILL NOT STRETCH SIDE TO SIDE. Otherwise, your skirt won't hold nicely. I cut out two isosceles triangles - you know, a symmetrical triangle? - that were as tall as my skirt was long (about 24" from the end of the band) with a six" base. Measure out a bigger base if you want a more flared skirt, and less if you want more of a pencil skirt. Again, don't take into account the waist band unless you do need more width. Cut out the triangles

7. Pin one triangle to one side of the skirt. Pin it so that it connect the two separate pieces on both slanted sides of the triangle. Sew it up either by hand or by machine. I used synthetic rayon thread since that is what I heard somewhere when you work with fleece.

8. Do the same to the other side, pinning together both sides of the skirt onto each side of the triangle.

9. Sew the waist band together.

10. Try it on. Is it too tight at the hips? Too loose? Is it more flared than you want it? Less flared than you want it? Adjust accordingly but cutting more of the waist band, or adding more fleece, etc. Keep adjusting until you are satisfied or tired and willing to accept your skirt as is (which IS beautiful, dammit).
11. Almost done. Trim the skirt to a desired length. I just cut away enough so that neck hole wasn't there. To make an interesting bottom, you can cut a gentle curve out on both sides of the bottom of the skirt so the sides are longer than the center.

You can also just cut out a curve on one side of the skirt so it rises higher and also lets you know what side is front and what side is back. But it really doesn't matter, and doesn't it really make getting dressed easier and more forgiving than wearing your jeans backwards? You won't need to hem anything here since both fleece and this sweatshirt stuff don't fray.