Easy A-line streetwear skirt from old jeans

This is a tutorial to make a streetwear-style knee length skirt with an A-line silhouette—made up of pieces salvaged from old jeans. Upcycled jeans is very popular right now because denim is strong, durable, and sustainable; and available. Who doesn’t have a pair of jeans or two to spare? Plus, denim has a great aesthetic, making it perfect for streetwear..

The best thing about anything made of old jeans is that most of the heavy work is already done for you. It is the same case with this skirt, too. The waistband is usually the most difficult thing to sew on a skirt—here, it is already made for you. You just need to take care of sewing up the patchwork pieces aesthetically—and that too, no pressure. Anything goes with patchwork style—it is your style sensibility that matters. And the cool and casual vibe of worn denim suits the streetwear aesthetics very well.

What do you need to sew the skirt?

Measurements :

Measure around the lower waist (or where you want to wear the skirt – it is better worn a little low waist).

Decide on the skirt length. This is a knee-length skirt. So measure from where you will wear your skirt (waist or lower waist) to the knee. (Minus 1 inch for the waistband and plus 1 inch for the hem which effectively nullifies both, doesn’t it?)

Measure around your hip (widest part of the lower body).

Lots of jeans and some elastic.

Choose jeans with natural fades, soft spots, frayed edges or even textured worn areas. If you have ses-through holes, you may wish to patch it up first before sewing a skirt with it, unless you are using a lining or you want that look particularly. Consider adding extra patches, chains, metal rivets, metal zipper or decorative stitching to make your streetwear skirt more special.

The different shades of blue, gray, beige or black jeans can be used together in your jeans to add depth and visual interest.

For the hem, use the top portion, because that is usually the widest part of normal jeans.

For sewing this skirt, you need a jeans waistband that fits around your hip.

So, yes, you cannot use your old jeans for this skirt, unless you lost a lot of weight that you waist measurement is now your hip measurement. You need a bigger size one. So if you have a 40-inch hip circumference, look for jeans that fit a 40-inch waist. It will be better to use stretch jeans if the waistband is tight along your hips.

Cut out the waistband with 3/4 to 1 inch extra at the bottom—you need this extra as seam allowance to sew this to your skirt.

Make a pattern for an A-line skirt. If you have a skirt block already made, you can use it.

Make a pattern so that the waistline is marked 1/2 of hip plus 1.5 inches seam allowance. If you are making the skirt in 4 parts (2 for front and 2 for back) add allowance for the center seam too.

From this waistline mark down to the hem line, diagonally making an line shape. For this skirt, the hem width of each piece (front and back) is marked 24 inches. So the total hem width will be 45 inches after you have sewn the seam allowance.

For midi skirts of knee length, the hem circumference is usually marked at about 1.5 to 2 times the waist circumference. You can increase this width to 2.5 to 3 times the waist measurement if you want to. Mark this on paper, as it can be used for both the front and back of the skirt.

Now arrange the fabric pieces cut out from old jeans on this pattern. The stitching will be a little complicated, but you should stitch these pieces to match your arrangements. You can arrange them, then take a photo and then use this as reference as you sew. This arrangement is very important for the skirt to look the way you want it.

You need to make the front and back pieces the same way.

Join the front and back pattern pieces at the side seams. If you do not like the patchwork feel on the back (I mean the scratch of the fabric edges) use an underlining. An underlining is cut the same as the top pattern pieces and used together and sewn as one as the top.

Now this has to be sewn to the waistband.

After this, you need to cut the inside of the waistband a little bit (to insert 1/2 inch elastic) on either side of the front of the waistband. This is to get a quick casing for elastic.

If you have a clothing label sewn to the waistband, this stitching may come between your elastic casing. This stitching has to be taken apart with a seam ripper. Thread elastic through the casing with a safety pin or bodkin.

Stitch the elastic ends at either end of the waistband—you will need to use a hand-sewing needle and thread for this.

Hem your skirt and wear it. I think it makes a great addition to a wardrobe if you like the streetwear style.

One caveat: You’ll need a really sturdy sewing machine to handle thick denim seams. If you’re sewing over original jeans seams or layers folded more than once, a flimsy home machine may not be up to the task. Even on an industrial machine, I sometimes break needles sewing over thick jeans seams. So, get a good machine, or go slow and use heavy-duty needles, and consider avoiding bulky seams when possible. You can hand sew when you reach these thick seams or you come across metal rivets or hard metal zipper teeth.