Wednesday 10 December 2014

Before & After - Chopped Leather Skirt

People seem to have this misconception that leather is difficult to work with - could not be further from the truth! I found this Michael Kors pencil skirt at a thrift store recently, loved the details and the hardware, but not the length. Pencil skirts for me are one of those pieces that I think look great on a lot of people, I love the concept and repeatedly try to get into the business.. But somehow the ones I've bought have usually ended up sitting alone and abandoned on my closet while all other skirt lengths get to come out to play.

Here's how you very quickly chop a leather skirt into mini-form. [Note - as a veteran vintage store scourer I can say that leather pencil skirts are one of the things that are available in abundance right now.. So if you're looking for a good-quality leather mini, this is a great way to get one that's already proven it can stand the test of time.]

TOOLS:
Leather pencil skirt  |  Matching thread & sewing machine  |  Scissors  |  Pins if you're meticulous

I. Start by putting the skirt on and measuring where you'd like it to end. Mark that spot with a piece of tape or a small pen mark. Then detach the lining from the leather. Pull the lining inside the skirt, from the way of cutting the leather.
II. Cut the leather in a straight line, leaving about 1 cm extra to your mark.
III. Pull the lining back in its place and cut a couple cm lower than the leather like this:
IV. Fold the leather at 1cm and sew a straight stitch at a distance from the edge that matches the other seams on the skirt. Test your stitch on the scrap piece first to make sure your stitch length is the same as elsewhere on the piece, otherwise the end-result will end up looking exactly like you don't want it to - altered.
V. The final step is to finish the lining: Make an approx. 1.5 cm fold, iron, and fold again. At this point you could pin the fold down put ironing makes it pretty easy to just go ahead and sew a straight stitch securing the fold in place.
And you're ready with a new leather mini!
xo,

Julia

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