Changing a skirt to a tunic

  I had a couple of A-line skirts that just didn't fit right. The hips were too tight and the waists were too large. (Does anyone else find that most skirts at the store are shaped like that?)  Here they are:

  The first is a lovely super-fine wale corduroy and the embroidery on the second is just beautiful. I couldn't just throw them out, so I did a little cutting (can you tell I did the cutting on the corduroy one before taking a picture? =) ) and sewing to make myself some new tops. For the first, I cut below the belt loops, cut armholes, and a square neckline. I sewed the pieces right sides together at the shoulders, then finished the neck and sleeve holes with a tiny hem. If I'd had enough leftover fabric, I would have used a facing instead, because hems on square necklines aren't easy, not even with slightly stretchy fabric.                                     

   With some of the little scraps that were left I made a folded fabric flower, added a button to the center, and sewed it on.

 I did the second similarly, but cut carefully next to the waistband to preserve it. I picked the zipper out of the waistband and added a couple hook and eyes to it to turn it into a belt.  This one had enough embellishment that I didn't need to change anything on it.

  There are a lot of things I would change about these if I were to make them again. Instead of making them pullover-style, I would probably put in a side zipper and add darts to make them more fitted through the top. There is a little bit of weird bubbling going on next to the arm without the darts. As I mentioned, I would use self-fabric facings instead of trying to hem it, or I would use bias tape as a facing. These were made close to the beginning of my sewing journey, so I'm excusing the poor sewing this time. ;-)
Thanks for stopping by,