Recycle your t-shirt.....into a toddler skirt!

There is nothing better than a vintage t-shirt that has been washed to its ideal softness. I love taking these old t-shirts and turning them into clothes for my daughter.

Here is a skirt I made with an old Pepsi-Cola shirt. It has cute little fringed hearts on the front and back that I made with the leftovers. The best part is that it is the softest skirt ever and so comfortable. I only wish I could have made it in my size.

Here is the entire outfit. I took a white tank top and added a large fringed heart to the front with the extra t-shirt scraps. I love the little fringed edges of the heart and how they curl.

Here is the t-shirt before I started. It is a little fitted and curves a little at the bottom which gave me the "vision" of the skirt to begin with!

Sienna is between the sizes 2T and 3T right now so hopefully that will give you an idea of the skirt sizing. I measured 11 inches up each side of the t-shirt and cut it across to each of those points. The bottom portion will be the main piece of the skirt.

I used the remaining upper portion of the t-shirt as fabric for my heart patches. I made a small paper heart template and used my disappearing ink pen to draw a bunch of them over the logo. I ended up cutting out four of these and setting them aside.

To help stabilize the fabric before I sewed the heart patches on I cut a rectangular piece of lightweight fusible interfacing (Pellon brand) and I ironed it onto the inside of the skirt. This interfacing is much larger than needed and as the skirt is washed it will slowly start to come off....then I'll just trim it off around the hearts. I personally think this is much easier than trying to cut a bunch of pieces of the interfacing to fit the patches on the opposite side.

Here is the skirt turned right side out again and I laid out the hearts where I wanted them and pinned them to the skirt.

Next I sewed each heart to the skirt leaving a 1/2 inch border.

After sewing on the heart patches, I used my detail scissors to cut small slits into the 1/2 inch border of the hearts creating fringe.

Next I started working on the waist band of the skirt. I turned the skirt wrong-side out and folded the waist band down 1 1/4 inch all the way around. Tip: t-shirt fabric starts to curl when it is cut so I use spray starch to stiffen the fabric edges. The starch also makes it a little easier to sew.

I sewed 1/4 inch seam all the way around the top of the skirt leaving about an inch gap to thread the elastic through. Before threading the elastic through I stitched another 1/4 seam all the way around the top of the band leaving a 3/4 inch casing.

Next, I threaded an 18.5" long elastic band through the casing......

.....and sewed the elastic together with a few rows of stitches.

To keep the elastic from shifting inside the casing I like to sew a line of stitches at various points around the waistband. Optional: I also like to stretch the waistband out so there is no gathering and stitch down the center all the way around....keeping the elastic in place all the way around.

The finished skirt!

Here is Sienna wearing her new outfit! So cute!

Let me know if you have any questions! Send me photos of your t-shirt skirts!