Happy February!

Not sure what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but in Northern California, we FINALLY got some rain! We’ve been in the middle of a terrible drought. Winter is typically our rainy season, but we went over 50 days without any precipitation. But today was glorious! Not only was it Super Bowl Sunday, which always feels like a relaxing, cozy day, but we had gray skies and rain – my favorite!

The weather made it seem like the perfect day to start on a bunch of projects I’ve been planning. I’ve thrifted some sweatshirts in great shape lately, and I’ve had some ideas about how to improve on them. (But really, sometimes sweatshirts are great just as they are, in all their warm and cozy glory.)

So we’ll call this little series of projects Sweatshirt 2.0 – improving on a pretty good original.

Green is my favorite color, especially this shade of Kelly green. When I found this one, I already had the idea of turning a sweatshirt into a skirt, but I was looking for something in mustard yellow. (Still haven’t found one – I’m not giving up yet.) I decided to make this one my practice run for the someday mustard yellow one.

The first thing I did was cut off the arms.

Then I cut the shirt apart across the shoulders so I could use the existing waistband as the waistband for the skirt – just upside down.

I tried it on inside out and pinned the waist and hips to fit.

I marked where the seams should go, drawing a straight line from the widest part (hips) to the bottom (what used to be the shoulders) of the shirt. I pinned and sewed along this line.

I tried the skirt back on and marked the hem. I wanted to leave the edge raw so I didn’t add any seam allowance – where I cut is where it will fall. I used a ruler and rotary blade to cut the edge.

I used scissors and trimmed the fabric 1/2 inch from the seams.

With the skirt still wrong-side out, I used a zigzag stitch to sew the seam open and flat against the skirt.

Here’s how it looks right-side out.

At this point, it was right before Super Bowl kick-off, and husband wanted to go out for a run. (I’m not a runner, but apparently running in the rain is the best. Go figure.) BG was napping, so I recruited BB to come help me take photos outside. I said, “Wait, I want to check the skirt in the mirror one last time before we head out. ” BB said, “Or you could just look down.” So true. Love his practicality.

Part of our backyard conversation:

BB: It’s really cold out here.

Me: I know. You’re probably extra cold because you’re wearing a short sleeved t-shirt. I have on two shirts, so I’m pretty warm.

BB: But I bet your scars are cold. (I tore both ACLs when I was in high school, so I’ve got some decent scars on both knees as a result.)

Me: Why? Do they look purple?

BB: No. It’s the only part of your legs that aren’t covered.

Of course. So literal and straight-forward. I love that boy.

I wore this skirt the rest of the day, it is so comfortable. However, it doesn’t appear to be lucky as it was a sad day for the Broncos. Must remember to only wear it on winter days with no important football games being played. Thank goodness it doesn’t really work well Tennessee orange. We need as much luck as we can get!