Pants to Pencil Skirt Refashion

This is one of the coolest refashions I've ever done. I was inspired by the shorts-to-skirt refashion I posted yesterday. In my ramblings I mentioned that it could be done with other fabrics that weren't so loose... and then I thought of all the dress pants I have at home that would be really great pencil skirts! I love when one idea turns into another, even greater idea. I gave it a go and it was really easy. I worked exactly how I thought it would in my head. The steps are pretty simple, even beginners can do it! In the end you'll have an adorable pencil skirt. Pencil skirts are wonderful because throughout the decades they've maintained their status as a stylish wardrobe staple. The hem has changed over the years, but that is easily controlled by leaving lots of seam allowance when you create the hem. That way you can change it as the style shifts!

(1) Seam rip it. Flip the pants inside out and begin removing the seam, starting at the crotch and working your way down one leg and then the other. Resist the urge to actually RIP the seam. I made a huge tear in my pants. 

(2) Cut it. Trim down the length of the pant so that you have less fabric to work with. Don't forget to save the legs for something else! Remember to leave plenty of room for seam allowance. Also, you'll need to make it look like a skirt, that means cutting down the crotch and booty. I tried to show before and after pictures. Basically, you're cutting of the excess and blending it into the other lines of the pant. The pants are show inside out and folded sideways, so the same down the middle is actually the side of the pants, not the front or back.

(3) Pin it. Pin the legs together down the front and back seam. You'll notice that toward the bottom on the back seam, I created a vent so there would be room to move. I just made a little V by folding the fabric back on top of itself on each side.

(4) Hem it. Hem down each of the sides and then try it on. See how long you want it to be and cut/pin accordingly. I needed mine about 4 inches shorter. I folded the edge over twice to make it really nice and then hemmed it. 

(5) Adjust it. Try it on one last time and make sure you love everything. I ended up tapering the sides of mine a little bit more because it was too loose. Done!

It was a relatively quick project. Less than one hour from start to finish! I honestly thought it would take a lot longer. I love it. I paired it for the pictures with my diy RUFFLED SHIRT. I love how they go together and it's especially cool that the entire outfit is refashioned. Hopefully John can snap some new pictures of me wearing it soon. These were taken in my full length mirror! I wish there was some fantastic interview in the near future so this outfit could make a debut in real life.