Green Options

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This past weekend, I went to Virgin Fest. A two day, two stage, music festival deal. It was a blast to see so many bands rock out to a very enthusiastic crowd.

The neat thing about Virgin Fest, is that they are committed to being as green as possible. They had a whole exhibit based on their efforts, called the Green Spot. At the exhibit you learned that all of the paper products, t-shirts and other “merch” were sourced from organic cotton, recycled content and corn based plastics. Generators used biofuels and composting bins were placed next to recycle bins.

It was wonderful to know that even though music festivals are large events, small changes can make a big difference. But what really got me going was an awesome bandanna skirt that I spotted in the crowd.

This is a fabulous fun mini skirt project that will leave you some left over scraps for a DIY ‘bring your own bag’ project after. Don’t fret, it’s quite easy to make those jeans into a denim mini!

Supplies Needed

:

• Funky jeans past their prime (beyond patching or your style threshold)
• Scissors
• Sewing machine or mad hand sewing skills
• Thread of any color you enjoy

Step one: Choosing

Use either old jeans, or thrift jeans that you really love the color of but you just don’t wear that MC Hammer style anymore. Just make sure the jeans fit your hip or waist where you plan to wear the skirt.

Step two: Length

I like mine short, and I measure it against a skirt I already own that is the length I like by laying them flat on top one another. It’s a good idea to start with a longer length, since you can always go back and cut it shorter. Decide whether you want it to hit your knee, mid thigh, or super high.

Step three: Cutting

Once you know the length, cutting will be easy. Cut straight across both the legs at the length measured and wa-la, now you have some jean shorts! But you want a sexy mini, so take the scissors and begin cutting the inner seam line and cut open the crotch of the jeans. Then cut along the front seam up to the zipper. (If you made your skirt longer you may want to cut along the back seam 2-3 inches, so it doesn’t pucker in the back when you sew it back together.)

Looking to add some spice to your Spring wardrobe? Need a new creative project to work on? We introduced you to Burda Style during the early days of our blog. Now its time to share the details for their first mini-challenge for all the sewers out there.

How do you enter? All you have to do is create your own version of Burda’s Sidonie skirt pattern. “This simple A-line mini skirt is a quick project ideal for your perfect little basic skirt that has been missing in your closet. Even better, you can use it as a base for your own designs and develop it further,” says the Burda Style website.

How long does the contest last? What do you win? Keep reading for the rest of the details, straight from Burda Style’s news blog.

Looking for some extra inspiration? Check out Burda’s own variation to get your own creative juices flowing.