Strawberry Shortcake Circle Skirt

Have you ever bought a cute set of sheets because you liked the design, even if they didn't fit your bed?

That is basically the story of my life a couple years ago.

I'm normally skittish about sewing anything, because I'm worried I'll just ruin and waste the fabric. If I use thrifted sheets, though, I could probably make at least three projects for less than $5 for the fabric.

At least, that's the theory. I'm still anxious about it.

However, after hemming some curtains and creating a new neckline for my fiance's sweater, I started on a sewing spree. I felt pretty confident about using the machine (especially since I'd oiled it for the first time ever), and I remembered some of the mistakes I made with my last project, so I figured I should be able to avoid them.

So, probably two years after I bought these Strawberry Shortcake sheets, I finally made something with them: a circle skirt with an elastic waistband!

It's a little lopsided, as you can see on the hanger - probably from my sloppy cutting. Because the skirt is so voluptuous, though (as am I), I figure it's tough for anybody to notice when I'm actually wearing it.

The waistband is a little too big, but I might fold a little area of the waistband, sew it down, and cover it with a big lolita-type bow. I mean, I could probably cut open the waistband and just cut out some of the elastic and re-sew it, but the waistband was hard enough the first time around because I didn't cut enough fabric to start with. Live and learn! (Sewing projects are probably some of the very few times you will see me not being super strict with myself, ahah. It's probably good therapy for me.)

The original sheet had a really fat green stripe at the bottom - at least twice as tall as mine. I didn't want it to be so tall, but I liked the idea of keeping it there - and I really love how adding an extra seam there, rather than leaving the sheet and green in one continuous piece, makes it look. I even had some leftover lace from my first circle skirt and used it to trim this one. :) Actually, I was about 4" short, but I had some lace that looked close enough (especially from a distance), so I slapped that on, because slightly different lace looks less awkward than a lace gap. x)

It took me two days to finish the skirt, and I was SO HAPPY and pleased with it (and myself!) when I finished it. I immediately threw together a coordinating outfit (sorry for the messy room in the photo! ;p) and went to a Goodwill Outlet store for some more thrift shopping. ^^ I nearly shut the skirt in my car door more than once because it's so large, but fortunately, I managed to avoid damage!

Best of all about this skirt: it's long enough to actually cover my booty! I always wear shorts under my dresses and skirts because I like something sturdy to hook my insulin pump onto, but it's nice to have the option to not wear shorts - plus, then I feel less self-conscious, less worried that people are going to perv on me or something.

What do you think of using cute sheets for sewing clothing? Is there a certain type of clothing that you find yourself gravitating towards creating? Mine definitely seems to be circle skirts.

Decorative font in featured image is Love and Laughter.