Denim Petticoat Skirt

Have a pair of jeans you don't wear, but are still in decent enough condition that you don't want to throw them away? Make a skirt!  Made from skinny jeans, this skirt has flounce and vintage appeal matched with a modern edge.  I was only able to document half of the process in photos, so the rest are my drawings in as much detail as possible.

My skirt is was made by hand-stitching only (backstitch), but it might be faster to do the pleats and hem by machine. Also this is my first real instructable, so bear with me.

You Need:

1 pair Jeans
Scissors
Needle and thread---I used Singer yellow jean thread for visible stitches and black nylon for the rest.
about 1 yard tulle (tu-tu fabric)
About yard decorative fabric for hem

Step 1:

Cut off the legs at the knee, then again at the top, making sure you don't cut the pockets . You should now have what look like some serious short-shorts and four tubes. Set the shorts aside for later

Step 2:

Use small scissors or a seam ripper to undo the inseam (the inside of the leg) of all four of the tubes. Lay the pieces flat. You should have two wide flared rectangle pieces and two thinner rectangles. Arrange the pieces as shown, wide, thin, wide, thin and sew together.
Your skirt should at this point be about 3x your size. If the bottoms of the pieces are uneven, you can trim them to be the same length, just make sure you don't cut through your stitches.

Step 3: Pleats

Leave the front panel flat. Fold following the picture, about "1 1/2 inches apart all around the skirt. Pin and sew. 

Step 4:

Bring out the jean top again. Cut 2 inches under the pockets (macro mini skirt!) . Now trace arched  line from from the sides to the middle, then another from the middle to the other side. Do the back in the same way.  Now line up the skirt with the jeans top. Pin and sew, leaving a half inch seam allowance. Fold under exposed edge and sew flat with jeans thread. 

Step 5:

Take your fabric, lay it flat and trace out four strips about "4 1/2 thick and a yard long. Cut strips and sew ends together to make hoop as shown. Sew a running stitch and gather the fabric, securing with a backstitch every "6 until it is the same size as the hem of your skirt.  Do the same with the tulle. 

Step 6:

Match up the tulle and fabric ruffles and pin them "2 under the hem of the skirt so about an inch and a half of the ruffles peek out. Sew on with the black thread. Sew with jeans thread slightly below the first seam for extra security. You're Done! Now go show off your mad sewing skills to the world (or lie and say you bought your skirt from some uber high-priced boutique!).