A "new" skirt: the easiest upcycle ever!

I have seriously been trying to clean out my unfinished projects pile before we go on vacation for a few days and this was a long overdue upcycle. Actually, I'm not even sure you can call it an upcycle. It's just an effort to have my daughter wear one of her favorite skirts (and mine too) for a while longer.

I bought this skirt a couple of years ago and it's a size 3T, so obviously too short for my almost 5-year old to wear now. 

But since she just grows in height and is thin as a stick, the waist still fits. The skirt is in perfect condition and looks great on her, except for the length, and in the back of my mind I have been debating for a while on alternatives to solve the problem. I hate to toss a great piece of clothing because of such a minor detail. 

Ever since I posted my tutorial on how to lengthen girl's skirts to make them last longer, back in January, I've been wanting to do something similar to this skirt. 

I guess I was just waiting for the right bout of inspiration. Last Saturday morning, while my daughter was in the bathtub, I went through an old metal box which holds several pieces of vintage lace, an inheritance from my grandmother. And I found this:

Perfect. I just had to sew the lace all around the edge of the skirt. I decided to hand sew it for no particular reason, other than the fact that I didn't want to re-thread my sewing machine.

 

And instead of sewing the lace right on the edge, I pulled it a bit up so that once sewn, it looks like a petticoat peeking under the skirt. 

I loved the end result and so did my daughter. And this was one of the easiest upcycles ever. I actually finished it while she was having a bath, ironed the skirt and had it ready to wear by the time she was getting dressed, so she wore it immediately, and has worn it twice again ever since. 

It was fast, easy, and I got a "new" skirt at zero cost. Win-win all the way. 

Which just shows that good ideas don't have to be complicated, and that sometimes you just need to look closely at what you already have at home and search for ways to re-use it instead of heading out to buy new stuff.

Have a great weekend!

Joining in on #CreativeCraftChallenge over at 2crochethooks.com