Thursday, April 9, 2009

Re-fashion #6: I sheet you not

This is too much fun. The puns. Good sheet. Hot sheet. Sheetfire!

As you might be able to guess, this skirt was made from a sheet. Pretty sheets are so hard to come by at Salvation Army, so when I spot them I snap them right up. They're the first thing in the cart. Finding such a pretty, 70s-retro-daisies sheet for $2 was exciting enough.

But on top of that... on top of that, (deep breath), this is the first thing I've ever sewn from a pattern. I know, I know. Small potatoes. But when your own mother sweated bullets over sewing the badges on your girl scout sash, you celebrate the baby steps.

Let me talk about this for a minute. My mom kept a sewing box. About 6 x 8", it held a paper of needles, a small box of pins, a few tangled spools of thread and neglected packages of bias tape and rick rack, and a bag of my great-grandmother's embroidery floss. I remember her sewing on the occasional button, girl scout badges, and once, a felt hat for my Halloween costume in second grade. Suffice to say, needle and thread were not her tools of choice.

But, anyway, yes, the pattern. Simplicity 4236, a straightforward skirt, a good place to start. Skirts are such beautiful things. They are by far my favorite type of clothing, especially the ones that flare out and swish as you walk or dance. What could be better than clothes that are fun to move in? This particular skirt I made is a full circle skirt. Yesterday (before hemming), I spent a full ten minutes testing it out, sashaying around our bedroom and twirling, twirling, twirling. It flies up, perfectly parallel to the floor when I spin. Why is that so much fun?

Sigh. I'll probably have four more sewn before the summer's over. Don't say I didn't warn ya.


13 comments:

ksbarra said...

HAHAHA- I have to say that before I even read this blog, the title had me hysterical!! What a lovely skirt! And by the way, I don't know your guys number but if your free Friday and not too put off by the drive all the way to Vestal, I'm having some people over to my parent-less home for some drinks and chat.... around 8 or so... would love to see you two!

Color Me Green said...

looks great! is the top elastic or have a zipper or button?

Kristina Strain said...

Karli-- I'm glad my pun worked on someone. And thanks for the FYI!

Julia-- It has a zipper and hook/eye. The stitching got a little wonky on one side, so no proud close-ups this time. :)

katherine mary said...

i love puns. i love you.

Melissa said...

I'm wearing my sheet pj pants right now. And I think if I make skirts out of them, I can wear my sheets from morning till night. Great idea.

I love thrifted sheets-- it's yards and yards and yards of material for pennies. I'm hoarding a great black and white ticking striped sheet I found-- I just can't stand to cut it!

Kristina Strain said...

Melissa-- 24-hour-a-day sheetwear sounds good to me! Sheets tend to be made out of the softest, smoothest, comfiest cottons, don't they? If only all clothes were made out of comfy materials. Revolution, right?

Sherrie said...

Oh, the puns! Fabulous.

Stephanie said...

That is so fun! Adorable sheet and such a cute skirt. When I finally made my first piece of knitted clothing, I couldn't stop looking at myself in the mirror. :)

Kristina Strain said...

I know, nothing like pride of craftswomanship to bring out our inner vanity, right?

Dave Schipper said...

cool sheet... ;-)

dave

Kami said...

A skirt??? Out of a sheet??? And this is the first time you have used a PATTERN??? Geez Kristina, you never cease to amaze me :) Hope to see you and your consistent husband SOON!!! We miss you. Have a hoppy Easter (pun just for you)

Kristina Strain said...

Thanks Kami! It was a really easy pattern, I swear.

Liz Harrell said...

This post title cracked me up! I love this idea, great job! Hope you have a great Easter weekend!
Hugs,
Liz

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