4th of July Bandanna Skirt and Shirt (TUTORIAL)

I started out with (something like) this...

$3 shirt on clearance at Walmart.

$5 skirt on clearance at Walmart.

 Added some of these...

$1/each bandannas

 ...and came up with this!

4th of July outfit for GROWNUPS for under $20!

Hahaha, okay, it was a *little* more complicated than that...especially without a sewing machine.  But it was still an easy project, and if you have a sewing machine it'd take you like 2 hours, and I *LOVE* how it turned out.  Can't wait to wear it on Monday!  Here how you do it! (Disclaimer: I'm not a seamstress, so none of this is technical.)

YOU NEED: 1 skirt, 1 red-white-or-blue shirt, 8 red-white-or-blue bandanas for skirt (I did 2 blue, 3 red, 3 white), and 2 bandanas to rip up for shirt flowers--I used red and blue for my white shirt, but you could do blue and white for a red shirt, etc..  Also: scissors and measuring tape and chalk and pins.  And stuff to sew it up with.  And maybe some pin backings and a hot glue gun.


FOR SKIRT:
1. Using chalk and a measuring tape, measure out the circumference of the bottom of the skirt and divide it into 8ths (I used the seams as 4ths and just measured halfway between each of those).  Draw a vertical line up at that measurement.  (See picture below)
2. Measure halfway in between your vertical lines, and mark a notch at the hem with the chalk or safety pins (this is where my pins are).  Now measure half your bandana's width, and draw a diagonal line from the notch to your vertical line that is that length...when finished, you should have 8 "triangles" or wedges, like shown below.  NOTE: this skirt is very long on me...pretty much brushes the ground as I walk...so make sure however long your skirt and bandanas are together is only down to your ankles, and make adjustments as necessary!

 3. Cut out your wedges.

4. Starting at center wedge, pin right sides of bandana and wedge together, first one side...

 ...then the other.  (A little awkward to pin, but it should look like this:)

5. Do another one, alternating colors.

6. Pin the right sides of the other half/flowing parts of the bandanas together (you don't HAVE to if your original skirt was long enough, but the skirt was too short for me as it was, which was why I decided to do this in the first place!).

 7. Continue around, alternating colors as you go.

 8. Sew everywhere you pinned!  Be extra careful about not leaving holes between the denim and your bandana up at the corners.  (This is what took me two full days, because I sewed BY HAND...a sewing machine would have been really nice here!)  Your skirt is finished!

FOR THE SHIRT:

I wanted to keep my white shirt plain so I could keep using it as an undershirt, so I made my ripped-bandana-rag-flowers/rosettes into pins so I could rearrange them and take them off when I'm all done!  If you want something more permanent, you can just sew them on.

1. SO, take your extra bandanas and rip them into long strips about 1/2" to 1 1/2" wide (I did varying widths for a little visual appeal).  Make those strips into fabric flowers of your choosing (there are a million tutorials of how to do this online, but basically make a basting stitch along one side and pull the fabric together tightly into a raggedy flower).  Make as many flowers as you want to decorate your shirt.  (I only used about half of a red and blue bandana, and I made 5 of each color.)

2. Hot glue a pin backing on to the back of each flower.

3. Pin them in whatever shape/form you desire.  I would have LOVED to make a ton of red ones and turn these flowers into a flag shape...maybe next year!

That's it!  Now your 4th of July attire is all set and you will look FABULOUS!

If you do your own take on this, share the link so I can see it!  Linking up HERE and HERE!