Bagpipes in the air

 I am one of these people that find old clothing very charming so I often visit second hand shops or vintage websites. I love clothing with a history but I am extremely picky with the items I buy. 

I accidentally found a treasure

I needed some lining for one of my projects but I didn’t have time nor energy to cross the city and get to my favorite fabrics store.

Instead, I decided to just take a look to the second-hand store downstairs. It’s very easy to find there some cheap old piece of cloth with enough lining to use, so I gave it a shot.

It only took me 5 minutes to fall in love with a vintage Burberry’s custom made wool kilt. Beautiful fabric, great work and only 85 SEK (12 Dollars). At that point I had completely forgotten about my lining. I bought the kilt and went back home.

I would lie if I said that the skirt was perfect. It was too long (almost to my ankle) but where others would see an obstacle I saw an opportunity:
I decided to cut it and make a scarf with the extra fabric
At the end I would get 2 unique pieces for only 12 dollars.

Cutting the skirt wasn’t difficult. I followed 3 easy steps:

1 .The Length

I decided that the length would be 80 cm (31″) and then I cut the fabric a little bit longer for the hem.

To be sure that the whole skirt had the same length, I subtracted the desired length to the total length of the skirt:

80 cm – 53cm = 27 cm

(31″ – 20″ = 11″)

Then measure 27 cm  from the low, marking the distance in different points and I cut it.

2. Cutting the lining

I repeated the same steps I did for the skirt but cutting the lining a little bit shorter than the fabric (we don’t want it to show under the skirt once it’s finished)

3. The hem (both lining and wool fabric)

To make the hem, I folded it over twice, so that the raw edge of the fabric would get encased in the fold.

I decided 1,5 cm (0.6 inches ) would be okay for the hem.

I sewed the fabric by hand following the blind stitch technique since I don’t like visible stiching in hems. I used the sewing machine for sewing the lining.

Second part: A nice scarf

Making the scarf was even more simple. I just made a hem folding it twice and sewing it after with the sewing machine. It was done!

The result is a very warm look, perfect for autumn and winter, what do you think?

Some tips if you want to make it yourself:

– Remember to always use tailor scissors for cutting fabric otherwise your risk ruining the fabric

– Make sure you don’t cut it too short, verify the length; once you pass the scissors there is no way back

– If you are unsure about the final result you can always baste the hem and try the skirt before definitely sewing it.

It only took me 5 minutes to fall in love with a vintage Burberry’s custom made wool kilt.
Beautiful fabric, great work and only 85 SEK (12 Dollars).  At that point I had completely forgotten about my lining. I bought the kilt and went back home.

I would lie if I said that the skirt was perfect. It was too long (almost to my ankle) but where others would see an obstacle I saw an opportunity:

At the end I would get 2 unique pieces for only 12 dollars!

Cutting the skirt wasn’t difficult. I followed 3 easy steps:

1 .How Long?

I decided that the length would be 80 cm (31″)and then I cut the fabric a little bit longer than that in order to sew a hem later.

To be sure that the whole skirt had the same length, I subtracted the desired length to the total length of the skirt:

80 cm – 53cm = 27 cm

(31″ – 20″ = 11″)

Then measure 27 cm  from the low, marking the distance in different points and I cut it.

2. Cutting the lining 

I repeated the same steps I did for the skirt but cutting the lining a little bit shorter than the fabric (we don’t want it to show under the skirt once it’s finished)

3. The hem (both lining and wool fabric)

To make the hem, I folded it over twice, so that the raw edge of the fabric would get encased in the fold.

I decided  1,5 cm (0.6 inches ) would be okay for the  size of the fold.

I sewed the  fabric by hand following  the blind stitch technique since I don’t like visible seams. I used the sewing machine for the lining.

 Second part: A nice scarf

Making  the scarf was even more simple. I just made a hem folding it twice and sewing it after with the sewing machine. It was done!

Have you seen the first picture? I think the result is a very seasonal warm look, what do you think?

Some tips if you want to make it yourself:

–  Remember to always use tailor scissors for cutting fabric otherwise your risk ruining it.

– Make sure you don’t cut it too short, verify the length; once you pass the scissors there is no way back

– If you are unsure about the final result you can always baste the hem and try the skirt before definitely sewing it.