Tutorial | Grandma’s Skirt to Blouse

Let me begin with my inspiration. While skimming vintage ads I ran across this:

Find more of the “wrapped clothing” series in the LIFE Archives

You Will Need:

1. Fabric (Mine measured 56×34 inches. However, you can judge this based on your size and the length you prefer. This was more than enough for the shirt and strap.)

2. Sewing Machine

3. Scissors

4. Fabric Marker or pencil

5. Something round for the neck-cutout

Here’s the skirt from my grandmother:



And here it is after I took it apart. You will notice the pocket holes. I eventually sewed them closed.



Fold your fabric in half. The open end will be the bottom of the shirt, while the closed end will be the neck area.



{Excuse my feet…hehe} This next part depends on how long you want your shirt AND how big you want your straps. I recommend each strap measuring at least 2.5 inches or more. I ended up cutting more after I sewed the first strap on. I wanted a thicker bow.

You will then hem all sides on the straps. My hem varied on each side. You basically want the straps to look nice and not frayed.

I have finished hemming at this point. Not perfect but I’m learning.



Now sew the ends of the straps together to make one long strap. You pick the ends, it doesn’t matter.



Sew strap along the base of the BACK flap. In other words, the strap should be attached to the flap that will cover your back, jack. (lol… I had to… ooooook moving on)



This is what you should have after you’ve sewn the strap on.



Go to the closed end of your fabric and at the center make a neck hole. I also wanted a deep ‘V’; you can do as much or as little as you like. You may not want you back out so only cut the top flap, etc. etc.



Cut out your design and hem the edges as so:

(Notice I added two small straps near the middle of the front flap. That is to keep the shirt in place when I put it on. You’ll see what I mean once you put yours on. You may or may not need this.



And that’s all folks!



Simple enough? Leave me some feedback!

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