A Refashion from Down Under

Today's project comes from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Australia circa 1951. The pants were found in, of all places, a thrift store in the American Midwest. How the pants landed dead center in the middle of the U.S. and what they saw along the way is anyone's guess. What is certain is that they were in no way, shape, or form flattering for my figure. I'm on the shorter end (way shorter) of average for women, and these pants were made for a much taller man. I decided it was time these fellas embraced their feminine side.

I'm swimming in 60 year old wool!

I saw the pants from across the aisle, and they drew me in. Maybe it was the tag. Maybe it was the wide waist. Maybe it was because I knew they'd fit very, very badly, which is always a fun place to start. All I know is that it wasn't the superfluous buttons.

Who the heck needs 16 extra buttons?

After removing over a dozen unnecessary buttons, I started ripping out the seams. Then I decided to iron out the old creases. It was at this point that I realized that Australians are pretty serious about their pleats and creases. (It took at least an hour to iron them out!) Then, I pinned the pant legs together to flatten out the front and back, and marked 20 inches from the waist for the new hem. These trousers were about to become a skirt!

Rip, press, and pin.

Next, I cut along the pins that marked the bottom of the skirt, carefully turned the skirt inside out, and sewed the front and back seams to form the body of the skirt. (The white marks on the back seam are leftovers from the line of tape I used to make a straight line.) Then, I trimmed away the excess and pressed the seams open.  I also shortened the pockets by several inches, because who needs 10 inch pockets in a pencil skirt?

Sew and trim.

All that was left was to finish the hem and add some details to the back.  The waist of the skirt was a bit too big, so I moved the side cinches to the back of the waistband.

Hand stitch hem. Attach cinches.

I paired the finished skirt with a sleeveless white blouse and a pair of wedges.  Perfect for a warm Aussie day!

Taa-daa!

Too bad I'm in Kansas. Guess I'll have to add a scarf and a cardigan, and switch out the wedges for boots while I wait for our 10+ inches of snow to decide to make an exit. Until then, I'll be thinking warm thoughts. 

- Elizabeth

   aka The Hungry Octopus