Pants Upcycled to Pencil Skirt and Slouch Purse

A few months ago, I went shopping and found a pair of Capri pants that were gorgeous (see below). I loved the brocade fabric in silver and black. Unfortunately the tag was 18 and would be much larger than I wore. I bought them anyway because they were on clearance for less than $5 and I figured I could try my hand at alterations and take them in. I brought them home and set them aside for a couple of months without touching them. Then a couple of weeks ago, I pull it out to get to work and noticed that my size 18 were actually size 8.

Thanks to this wonderful tutorial by La Vie DIY, I was able to quickly turn my fail purchase into something gorgeous that I can wear. The following are pictures showing my steps. 

Flipped the pants inside out and ripped out the seams along the inseam of the pants. 

Once the seams were ripped, I fold the pants with the sides together making a front and back seat curve easy to cut. 

Here is the cut.

I used a pencil skirt I already owned to determine my length. 

I was surprise to pull the skirt all the way up once I sewed up the sides. But the bottom was too tight to walk. 

I used pieces of a stretch leather fabric to add side panels to make it a bit easier to walk. 

Instead rectangular side panels, I cut a triangle out of the sides of the skirt. Sorry I forgot to take a picture. 

This is after I sewed in the panels.

Here's me trying it on. 

Another view. 

Here's the skirt hung up.  

With the left over fabric from the bottom of the pants, I made a slouch purse with magnetic snaps. 

Final view. 

Mumu or coverup upcycled into summer dress.

Sometimes you get something and just can't figure out where to wear it. I really liked the top of this dress and didn't want to turn it into another housecoat so I decided to breath some summer life into it. I received it from my mom, but other than using it for a coverup for my belly dance costumes, I've never worn it. This project took about an hour and half and I am really satisfied with the final look. I chopped off the sleeves and widened the armhole. I didn't want to hem so I just used the serger to get a rolled hem finish on the bottom and sleeves. I also shirred the midsection in the front and back about 4 inches and it really helped with providing some shape to the dress. I'm happy to add another dress to my summer wardrobe.

In the before I'm wearing the dress inside out.