Making stuff 6: upcycling a skirt

I’m ok with a sewing machine. I can manage if I need to and mine was a birthday present at some point in my early 20s. I’m not that confident and I ought to do more. I have a shirt dress and a dungaree dress that both need about 4 inches taking off them at the moment as I’m such a short arse.

I bought the dungaree dress yesterday, tried it on today and went “meh, too long as usual”. I can’t be bothered to fix it now before a day of swimming and a birthday party. But thinking about taking it up reminded me of this skirt that I love.

This was a full on 70s below-the-knee drop-waisted corduroy skirt that was my mum’s. Before I was born. Its older than I am. Before I had kids my body was a different shape of course – before the c sections, the pouch and the diastasis rectii. But since I started running my abs are doing something sensible for the first time in ages so I tried it on.

So it definitely need ironing but it fits! That photo doesn’t do it justice, its shorter than in looks.

When I rescued it from my mum’s charity shop pile ten years ago I chopped 8 inches off and re-hemmed it. Probably only took me an hour.

Now I love the panel waist as it hides the saggy tummy well and its not jeans which makes a change!