How to Make a Skirt in 30 Seconds!

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

We arrived at Campus-Party in Valencia, Spain to show Hug Shirts in a performance/demo in the afternoon but we soon learned that we were also scheduled for a big press conference starting almost immediately! The mannequins were already in place and quickly we put the Hug Shirts on them. With only a few minutes to go until the press arrived, we realized that mannequins wearing only shirts look a little… well, naked! We needed to find a way to clothe them and of course no one had extra clothes on hand.

However, in a moment of inspiration Francesca asks our hosts, “Do you have some extra CampusParty t-shirts?” Naively I wondered, “What are we going to do with shirts?” But, Francesca had a plan Literally within seconds she transformed the cool black t-shirts into really stylish looking skirts for the mannequins. During the press conference they complimented us on the design of the Hug Shirts and also on the skirts that went with them!

So, since really cool and affordable t-shirts are popping up every where these days (and really cool, affordable skirts are not), we thought you’d also be interested in how to make this kind of instant skirt! So, you ask, how can I make a snazzy skirt from a t-shirt? (in less than a minute?) Here’s how:

1. Get a large shirt you think will make a good skirt and that you are willing to sacrifice to the gods of fashion. Suggestion: Steal your boyfriend’s death-metal shirt! You’ll be doing him a favor.
2. With a fine pair of scissors or a seam ripper, cut the collar in 2 places where the shoulders are and open the top shoulder seam a little. This opening is the waist, so don’t open it too much at first. Try it on and see how much you need to open it.
3. Turn the sleeves inside to make pockets! If you want to get really fancy and make pockets that you can actually put something in you can turn the whole skirt inside-out so that you can stitch across the sleeve opening to close the pocket.
4. Finally, if you want extra refinement you can add a snap or tie-string at the waist to keep that skirt clinging to the hips. And voilá: A new skirt with a fancy 40s style tulip shape!

(click image for slightly larger version)

Thanks to all the folks at CampusParty for hosting a very unique and enjoyable event!