IMPORTANT NOTICE! This is a text file. It may not print out properly in a web browser. If you are having problems printing this document, save it to your hard drive (select "save" in the "file" menu) And open it with any text editor, such as notepad, wordpad, or word. Copyright 2004 SavvySeams. Some rights reserved. Visit http://www.savvyseams.com/ or email info@savvyseams.com for more information. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA. How to Recycle Jeans Into a Skirt - The Four-Panel Method You've surely seen tons of these around. They seem to go in and out of the popular style, but they always have a bohemian charm For this project, you need one pair of old jeans or pants, and thread that matches the topstitching on those pants. Getting Started The Back The Front The Sides Finishing The Two-Panel Method Click here for text-only printable instructions. Getting Started to the top Step 1: Decide how long you want your skirt to be, and cut off the legs at the right point. If you want to hem your skirt, be sure to leave extra fabric. But you also have to be use the left over leg pieces are long enough to be the panels in your skirt. Step 1: Measuring up from the hem of the pants will help you get a more even cut. Step 2: Cut out the inner leg seam. Turn the pants inside out and just cut along the seam line. (Since there is too much fabric here anyways, don't waste time and effort ripping this seam) Step 3: Now use your seam ripper to rip out the side seams as far as you want your side panel to go. I ripped the side seams on this skirt to half way up the pockets. On jeans these are usually flat-felled seams or seams with many stitching, so the easier way is just to start to pull the fabric apart and rip any threads that get in your way. The Back to the top Step 4: Now bring the sides of the skirt together and lay on a good working surface (can be a clean floor). Step 5: Cut off the excess fabric on a line a few inches below the yoke (see the next picture) to the raw edge. This line is shown in red. Step 6: Now lay the skirt down with the back to the front. The cut should come just an inch or two below the yoke. Step 7: Rip the seam from the cut to the yoke. Step 8: Press the raw edges under from the hem up to the yoke.. Pressing the seam allowance under at the yoke. Repeat for the other side. When the seams get to the yoke, they will overlap by one seam allowance worth (about 1/2"). Turn the skirt as shown and press at the yoke. Step 9: Cut the legs apart at the seams. Again, you don't need the seam allowances so there is no need to use the seam ripper -- just cut them apart. Step 10: Lay the skirt out on a good working surface and lay one leg panel over the back. Tuck the leg panel under and pin the pressed seam allowance to the panel. Make sure the panel is even and that you're not introducing any waves or puckers. To prevent pinning other layers of fabric, it may help to place a piece of cardboard in the middle of the skirt. Step 11: Topstitch the panel in place along the pinning. Do one row of edgestitching and then topstitch 1/4" away from that so the stitching blends with the style of the jeans. Be careful when you're stitching not to catch the edges of the leg panel. It can help if you pin the corner of the leg panel in place as well. Be sure to backstitch at the yoke point. Step 12: Turn the skirt inside out. Trim away the extra fabric 1/8" to 1/4" from the last row of stitching. The Front to the top Step 13: Lay the skirt with the sides together. Cut the excess fabric out by cutting on a line from 2" below the zipper to the hem. Step 14: Make a 1/2" cut along the seam on the bottom layer of fabric (if the pants don't have a flat-felled seam, rip the seam up 1/2") Step 15: Press the seam allowance in for both sides. (note: at this point I spilled distilled water filling up my iron, so you will notice a wet splotch in all the subsequent pictures) Step 16: Lay the skirt down on the working surface as shown. Give the seam a slight twist and tug so the two edges overlap by 1/2". This will give the seam a slight curve to it. Step 17: Lay another leg panel underneath and pin in place. Step 18: Sew up the "underlap" side first, so those stitching ends are hidden under the seam allowance of the other edge. Step 19: Sew up the other edge. When you get to the seam, pivot with the needle and then stitch over the existing seam. See the next picture for details. Detail of the front stitching. The Side to the top Step 20: Lay the skirt down with sides together and lay a leg panel underneath one side. One side should have the seam allowance tucked under (the back), and the other side will have the seam allowance straight out. If this isn't hte case, take your iron and make it so. Step 21: Take a washable fabric marker or pencil and trace the edge of the front seam allowance. The piece is pulled out here to show you the markings. Now, this line is the final seam. So cut 1/2" away from this line to you have a seam allowance (the red line shows the approx. cut line). Step 22: Line up the panel with the seam allowance of the skirt and stitch along the stitching line up to as far as you ripped out the stitching. Step 23: Press the panel back over the stitching line and the seam allowances and edgestitch and topstitch so it matches the other seams. Trim off the excess panel at the top. Step 24: Place the other side over the panel and pin in place. Step 25: Edgestitch and topstitch in place. Be sure to anchor the stitches at the top where the two seams overlap. Step 16: Turn inside out and trim off the excess panel fabric. Repeat steps 20-26 for the other side of the skirt. Finishing to the top Step 27: Hem your skirt, or leave it frayed. If you do leave the skirt frayed, do a simple bar tack across the ends of the seams to they don't start to unravel, too. Pictures of the finished skirt. The Two-Panel Method to the top This skirt can easily be made with only the front and back panels. Just omit step 3 and proceed with the rest of the front and back directions. I prefer the four-panel method because it gives the skirt more of an A-line, particular if your jeans have a very shaped thigh or seat. However if the pants have a loose thigh, or you want less of an A-line, the 2-panel method works fine.