simplicity is a pillowcase

I am not much into wearing skirts and dresses.  I sometimes wish I was.  I enjoy looking feminine, but I also love my jeans.  So I thought I would start my summer of no pants a little early, and try this puppy out.  It was such a beautiful day, and warm and fun twirling was had in these pillowcases! This is how I did it:

 inspired by La Tour Eiffel at Shabby Apple, and Elle Apparel's Winter Shirt Dress

I took 2 kingsize vintage pillowcases ( thrifted for $1/each), and one long sleeve crewneck striped shirt from Old Navy Clearance ($1.97).  

I altered the crewneck to a boatneck and 3/4 sleeves instead of full length.  I cut 2"elastic to my waist measurement and then stitched the two short ends together to make a complete circle.

OK

So I cut the two pillowcases up the seam sides, turning them into two flat pieces of fabric.  Using the edge that was already hemmed as the bottom of the skirt, I cut it down to the length I wanted.  Then I serged the raw edges so they wouldn't fray.  I put both pieces together with right sides facing and seamed up the two shorter sides.  Then I used my longest straight stitch to baste the top edge for gathering.  make sure to back stitch on one end, and use the other end's bobbin thread to pull the stitches into ruffling fabric. Sorry I didn't get a picture of this.

After i had the gathering to the same circumference as my waist measurement, I sandwiched 2" elastic between the right side of the skirt and the cut down tee shirt.

After that seam, You are done.  Seriously. 

The instructions for the dress at Elle Apparel are probably better.  However, she used all stretch fabrics, and I used broadcloth pillowcases and that's where the elastic comes in.  I covered the elastic with my cool thrifted belt.