Refashion a Maxi Skirt into a Dress DIY

Blessed Love!

This is a simple beginner tutorial that is fast and allows you to get creative with your wardrobe. It is a dress refashion. You can make almost any type of dress with a plain ole maxi skirt.
I need some more house dresses that fit a pregnant belly and saw the perfect opportunity with this skirt that I rarely wear.
Hope you like this DIY project!

     

Senbet Selam!
Ila Addis

How to Sew a Tube Dress - the ILA Roots Dawta Dress

Blessed Love every I!

I finally made something that you can wear out  for a date night with your KingMan or to a special occasion, the first dress I ever made for myself was in this style, especially because I hate sleeves - in the tropics you need to be cool! But because I personally don't really wear tubes anymore without a jacket or scarf as I matured in the livity, I stopped making them, so this is the first Roots Dawta Dress Ive made in a lonnngg time. Im pretty pleased with how it came out. I styled it without a shoulder covering so you could see it properly, but do check the tutorials on how to make the Ises wrap and the Shrug so that you can be appropriately covered if going to a formal Rastafari gathering.

This dress can also double as a skirt, but because of the inside zigzag stitching, doing that is up to you since it will show through - your thread would have to be an exact match and the top part probably in black for you to pull it off properly.  or I can recommend making two side seams for the jersey top instead of one seam at the back, and then sewing the elastic into the seams one time at the halfway mark. that way you wont have any zigzag stitches to hide.

Happy sewing Sistren!

Sis Ila

DIY Frill Tube Top & Maxi Skirt Set

Blessed Love Sistren

This tutorial is another skirt set but with a frill tube top and a maxi skirt. The maxi method I use is the same as the one with the pockets which is here, but in this tutorial there is a video on how to make it without pockets.

Now I don't usually wear tube tops out in public without a jacket, wrap or shrug anymore, so you can pair this skirt set with either the shrug tutorial or the Ises wrap tutorial if you care to cover up your shoulders.

Materials

2 yards of fabric 58 " or wider

yard rule

chalk

thread

scissors

pins

measuring tape

sewing machine
how to sew the tube top:

1.The tube shirt is cut on the fold so it has one seam at the back.

It is the same width as the maxi skirt so it is the hip measurement divided by 2 plus 1". So i marked 18" on the fold.

The length of the tube top is from under the arms down to the middle of the buttocks, plus 1.25". The 1/4" is for the seam at the top  and the 1" is for the hem of the top. Mine is 19.25"

so the rectangle for the tube is almost a circle. 19.25x18".

Next cut the frill which is the same width on the fold as the tube top 18". It is 8" tall - this includes the same 1.25" seam allowance for top seam and hemline of frill.

**Of course if you use jersey this hemming of both tube top and frill won't be a problem, just add 1/4" seam allowance to both lengths if not making hems.

2. Zig Zag all rough edges together except the part of the rectangle that would be the hem.

3. Put right sides together on both frill and tube top, and pin in place.

 Make a straight stitch 1/2" from the open edge side of the frill and tube, to make the one back seamline.

4. Iron out seam lines. Make two 1/4" folds at the bottom of the frill and at the bottom of the tube top, to make the hem. Pin in place and sew using a straight stitch.

5. Keep the tube top right side in, and the frill right side in, but insert the tube into the frill, matching up the zigzag edges at the top. Pin.

Sew a 1/4" seam all around the top to join the frill and tube together.

this is what the seam looks like under the frill

6. Flip the tube inside out on the right side and iron the seam down. 

Mark downwards a little over 3/4" and use a rule to mark a striaght line all around the tube.  sew an elastic casing all around the top of the tube. Leave an opening under the frill to insert the elastic.

7. Cut elastic at right size and insertwith a safety pin. Close the casing.

Finished!

The complete Set

Learn to make the skirt by watching this video:

Wear it with a belt and give it a slight buff.

 Cover up with an Ises Wrap

How to Turn a Jean Pant into a Skirt

Blessings,

I've had this one for a while, so I'm just posting it now. For this tutorial I am using one pair of jean pants to make a knee length skirt. This skirt wasn’t for me so I don’t have any pictures of the finished product right now. I think this would work really well for a girl's skirt, because you can get a lot of those cheap.


1. Take the pant and cut it at the length you want it.

Open up the inner leg seam line of the pants and also the extra leg pieces.I also cut off the bulky old seam. But that is optional.

2.Cut up the back seam of the pant on the right, right next to the old seam line, cut until the curve straightens out.

Pin in place.

3.Cut up the front on the left a little ways also. Pin in place.

4. Take one extra open leg seam and insert it into the skirt. Pin the panel in place on this right side.

5. Do the same thing for the back panel.

6. Turn inside out and cut away a bit of the excess fabric carefully, it doesn’t have to be perfect yet, giving at least 1-2 inches seam allowance. It should be triangular at best. You can choose to unpin and zig zag the denim at this point. So it won’t fray over time.

7. I sew the front first, starting at the top. Follow the seam going down to the end, back stitch a bit and then stop, take up the presser foot with the needle in, and turn it to the left and go down the right side of the front of the skirt.

Start at the bottom of the skirt and go up to meet the top of the triangle on the other side.

8. Start at the top of the middle seam in the back, and go down to the right corner, then rotate the skirt to follow the left side of the back triangle.

9. start at the top again and go down the right side of the triangle.

10.Finish off trimming the inside triangle now the stitches are in.

Done!

 I really hope this comes in handy at some point!

Sis. Ila

Sew a Tube Skirt and Shrug Set

Greetings

Here's a tutorial to make a matching set - a skirt and shrug or bolero. Every empress needs a bolero and with this tutorial you can make your own in any colour, i plan to make the basic black and brown. If you make a set you can wear them together or separately. in this striped print I dont plan to wear mine together but I just took the photos to show the finished set.

Happy sewing Sistren!
Bless
Ila

How to Sew a Blouson Top

Selamta Royal Dawtas

One of my sewing favourites clothes wise is the oversized blouse or top which is like a kaftan shirt, tunic shirt or dashiki shirt. I have one pattern which I use to create five different tops using less than one yard of fabric, jersey or cotton. If you visit my kaftan dress tutorial you will see the method of creating the basic top - the length of the dress is just shortened to your hip area. But I am just going to outline everything here again.

So I discovered (a while back but I been too busy to post it up) the style of putting an elastic belt in the hem of the top to create a nice buff fall-over style (one of my personal favourites)- only to discover that  it's trending now at the Gap.  While browsing to see what's new on Old Navy and Gap (the only mainstream brands Iwould like outside of Forever 21) I saw that The Gap has one here and it's called the Blouson. So it's still kind of kool that I found the name and whatnot, the blouson style means any jacket, dress or top that has an elastic waist gather - I really need to buy that complete guide to sewing book I saw. it would have in all that information I need, and it would really help me expand my ability to actually learn fashion terminology instead! I've added it to my mental to-do list.

All in all with this top you will definitely be trending for fall season. I find it very comfortable and versatile because it can be casual or elegant based on the fabric - whether you go cotton or jersey, solid print or pattern. The Gap's blouson is very casual. I will post up another tutorial for a jersey skirt after Sabbath which will show how to more elegant style looks (the black and white top).
Also I am using pictures from two different shirts here.

Materials

1 yrd Jersey or knit fabric 58 inches wide

Pins

Scissors

Yard rule

Chalk

Sewing machine

Ball point needle 90/14 or 70/10

¾ inch elastic

correct thread

 Width – your hip measurement divided by two, plus 8 inches (mine is 36/2+8= 26 inches  wide which is a small-large size)

The length is the width of the fabric, the selvedge edges -58 inches. On the fold it is 29 inches. the length of all tops will be 29 inches if using 58 inch wide knit.
Whatever width your fabric is, is the length unless you turn it and cut the other way on the fabric.

Armhole - length is 9 inches.

Neckline -  is 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide (3 inches when cutting on fold) if you want to hem - when hemming it will end up 7 inches wide. Without a hem it can be a straight cut 6 inches deep into the middle of the shirt if you dont want to hem the neckline.

These measurements include a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

1. Fold over fabric so the fold is at the top, right sides together.
2. Cut your width out.

3. Pin together the sides of the shirt.

4. Fold the shirt in half sideways, and mark the middle with a small clip of the scissors, unfold now and cut down the middle line 6 inches down. Can be lower.You can also choose to mark across 3 inches from the fold and draw a curve to the 5 inch mark. Cut out this semicircle-ish shape - you don't have to hem this neckline either if you don't want to.


To the left top side is my little clip:

5. Sew down the sides of the shirt, starting from the 9 inch marker for the armpit. **note that in using the selvage edges without a hem, it is best to start at the bottom and sew Up to the 9 inch marker to ensure the edges are properly lined up.**
 However, jersey or knit fabrics tend to fold sometimes, so it may not even be noticeable if there is a tiny off balance of the selvage. Try the bottom to top method to avoid it altogether however.
(can't see the side seams here very well but look to the left and you will see a piece of thread, follow that.)

6. Make an elastic casing just big enough for the ¾ inch elastic to slide through. Leave space for elastic to go inside.

 7. Using your hip as a guide cut out the elastic band that it will fit snugly against your hips. Make it one less than your hip measurement in otherwords. Attach to a safety pin and insert the elastic. Close the opening.

8. Make a hemline for the armpit and neckline if not leaving the knit raw (for me it all depends on how it looks when it's finished or the type of fabric - if it will fray or isn't cut nicely it needs a hem.)

Finished!

As I said, the blouson top is really one style of many that can be made from one basic pattern - the basic pattern is the exact method, caluclations and measurements written here, BUT there is no elastic waist - so in finishing the regular basic top, you can either choose to hem the bottom of the shirt or leave the selvage edges, neatly matched up.
Again it all depends on the fabric and what you are using the top for - if it's for a more casual look - to wear to the spring,peach or pool, at home, then the hemming won't be necessary, if for going out, if the fabric doesn't look polished enough on raw edges, them do all the hemming.
 For a more dressy blouson:

 the great thing too is that the  waist band can be worn down on the hips like above or pulled up to under the bust to create a more crop top like below.

 

Here is the regular basic oversized top in a very light knit that I will use for home and going to the spring - but I have dressed it up here over a camisole and maxi, to show you that the top overall can be versatile.

Here's the pattern:

Fulljoy that "blouson" lol. It really is a fav of mine - I've made a brown, black, black n white so far!
Ila