The Shirt off his back

 Well actually - about 50 of his shirts. Which I collected over 10 years. All blue, which was very considerate of him as  a) It's my favourite colour, and b) They all went together very nicely, thank you.

I cut up those shirts into little pieces.... then sewed them all back together again (!)
A patchwork of nearly 200 squares. Some with the shirt pockets still attached.

The shirt buttons were used to 'quilt' the whole thing. A button at every corner of every square. That was a LOT of buttons to sew on.

And with the leftovers - I made cushion covers.

Button closure for your cushion cover? Check. Decoration around the outside - a row of 'button-down' collar points. Neat. Cute.

And when there is hand sewing to be done, this is where I sit. A cosy corner of the sewing room, next to the stove.

Then quite recently I heard about a Shirt Challenge - refashion a man's shirt into whatever you like.
There just happened to be a too-large (blue) shirt lurking in our pile of clothes destined for the charity shop.....
A Pinterest board of amazing refashions led me to the blog Jane Makes (I know - brilliant name?) And there I discovered, and was totally inspired by, a delightful little refashioned-shirt pencil skirt (shkirt?).

I neeeded a new skirt. A new blue skirt.
New Look 6843 skirt pattern was already in my stash. I had a free Sunday -  and very soon I had a new skirt.

 
The shirt pocket was  perfectly placed to become the skirt pocket.

I couldn't be bothered to change the sewing machine foot to add an extra buttonhole for the waist, so I sewed on one of the button-down points from the collar instead.  I think my 'laziness' worked out quite nicely - it creates a nice little detail.

As the shirt was quite a heavy chambray fabric, it was perfectly good enough for a skirt. A lining was added to finish the waist without adding a waistband, but it has also added a little extra body to the skirt - makes it look quite smart.

I'm very pleased with it, very pleased indeed. It has been worn and enjoyed several times already.