I love that my daughter has gotten into stuffed animals. She’s never been a big doll fan and I thought I’d never get to make doll clothes. We love making outfits for her stuffed animals. Since denim is a staple in our own closets, it just made sense that the critters need some denim of their own.
Here’s what you need to make a denim skirt for your stuffed animals:
1 pair of old blue jeans (I used child’s size 10)
Ruler
Pencil or pen
Scissors
Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
1/2 inch wide elastic
Safety pin
First, measure the animal from its “waist” to determine the finished length you want the skirt. We determined this pet’s skirt needed to be 4 inches. Add 3/4 of an inch for elastic casing and seam allowance (4 3/4 inch total in our case).
Flatten out a leg of the jeans. Make sure the hem is even. Use the ruler to measure from the pants leg hem up 4 3/4 inches (or whatever your determined finished size should be). Mark the measurement with your pencil/pen.
Cut through the pants leg at the mark.
Mark the cut edge of the pants leg to show where your elastic casing will be made. From the cut end, measure down 3/4 inch. Turn the fabric in on this mark, stitching near the cut edge. This hemmed top will be your elastic casing.
Determining the length of elastic is easy. Just wrap a piece of elastic around the “waist” of the animal. Pull it so that it is snug and the skirt won’t fall off. Cut the elastic at the determined length.
Turn the skirt inside out. Cut a small slit into the casing area so you can insert the elastic. Since this cut is inside the skirt, it won’t be visible.
Insert the safety pin into one edge of the elastic piece. While holding the loose end, guide the elastic through the casing using the safety pin to help maneuver it. When the pin comes back out of the casing, stitch the two loose ends of elastic together. You can stitch over the opening then for additional stabilizing if desired.
Viola! Your super easy skirt is finished! Add some bling by ironing on rhinestones. You can also embroider designs on it, create patches…you name it!