Any kind of gauzy, lacy clothing fills me with joy. Semi-sheer material gives any outfit an ethereal look and confers on its wearer a distinct air of mystery. This DIY will help you become a ghostly, elegant queen on the cheap by showing you how to turn a pair of long lace curtains into a transparent layering skirt.

What you’ll need:

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  • One lace “drape” or “window panel”–style curtain, at least three feet long and wide enough to fit around your waist, with a little extra room to spare. Brand-new lace curtains at home and furniture stores can be expensive, and you most definitely don’t want to pay big bucks for ones you intend to cut up, so if you don’t have anything lying around the house, look around in a thrift store or a discount store. I bought mine at Kmart for $11!
  • Ribbon or lace in a color of your choosing. Go to your nearest craft or gift store (or its website) and pick the prettiest one you can find! I went with white lace to match my skirt.
  • Measuring tape.
  • Sewing pins.
  • Scissors.
  • A sewing machine or sewing needle. I’m going to be using a machine for this DIY, but if you don’t have one, never fear! You can hand-sew your skirt just as well; it’ll just take longer. (I actually find hand-sewing to be kind of relaxing.)
  • White or light-colored thread, unless you want to use a darker, non-matchy color—it’s up to you!

How to do it:

Step One:

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Take a length measurement from your natural waist to your ankles. Add four inches extra to this number to account for the skirt’s waistband.
Step Two: Fold your curtain lengthwise three times, making a uniform rectangle.
Step Three: Using the number you came up with in Step One, measure a length of curtain, starting from the bottom, and mark that spot with a pin.
Step Four:

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Cut all the way across the width of your skirt, at the height where your pin is.
Step Five: Line up the curtain edges with the rough, scissored side outwards and the nice sides facing each other. Pin the scissored edge lengthwise.
Step Six:

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Sew the side of your skirt lengthwise.
Step Seven (optional): If you, like me, are always worried about seams coming undone and leaving you sad and skirtless, you can double back on the seam and sew along the edge one more time.
Step Eight:

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Fold about one inch of the top part of your skirt over. Pin the folded edge in place.
Step Nine:

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Sew along the edge of the fold to make the waistband, leaving a one-inch space in the middle to thread your lace ribbon through.
Step Ten:

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Flip your skirt right side out. Cut two small holes right next to each other in the waistband loop where you’d like the drawstring bow to go.
Step Eleven:

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Thread your lace/ribbon through one of the holes.
Step Twelve:

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Lace the lace (ha!) all the way through the waistband and out through the other hole, like a drawstring.
Step Thirteen:

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Try on your new skirt! I like to wear mine over a miniskirt, a pair of shorts, or a bodysuit. Put it on whenever you want to cast an air of mystery, then go forth and bewitch! ♦