In Bloom

Knit maxi skirts are so easy to make and and so fun to wear! I love how versatile they are and I'm slowly growing my own collection. I made this maxi skirt a few weeks ago and wanted to share the tutorial with you all.

You will need:

Basic sewing skills
Access to a sewing machine
Knit fabric (any length from 1m to 1.5m will give you plenty to work with)
Matching thread
Elastic (enough to go around your hips comfortably)
A tape measure
A hand sewing needle, pins, and a safety pin (the larger the better)

Step 1

a) Measure and pin your waistband, folding it over to the wrong side of the fabric. I used a larger piece of elastic, so I went with a 5cm waistband to accommodate it.

b) Sew your waistband, reversing at both ends to secure the thread.

Step 2

a) Pin your safety pin through one end of the elastic.

b) Using the safety pin, pull the elastic through the waistband.

c) Keep elastic free at both ends of the waistband.

Step 3

Wrapping the fabric around your hips, decide how much excess fabric you want to remove - if you want a fuller skirt then keep most of the fabric, if you want it more slim-fitting then remove a bit more.

Play around with the fabric, adjusting it along the elastic and see what you like. I like my skirts a bit fuller, so I only cut off 18cm of fabric (I originally started with 150cm).

Step 4

a) Put both ends of the elastic together and sew, reversing for a few stitches at both ends to secure the thread.

b) With the right sides of the fabric together, sew the side seam.

Step 5

a) Turn the edges of the waistband under. Thread a hand sewing needle and slip stitch the waistband seam closed.

b) The waistband will look something like this when it's done.

Step 6

a) Fold a 5cm hem over to the wrong side of the fabric. Tuck 1cm of that fold under, to create a tidy edge. Sew along the top of the hem, following the folded edge.

b) The wrong side of the hem.

c) The right side of the hem.

And you're done! This is somewhat of a lazy DIY - I didn't do any overlocking and I kept it pretty simple. Buy hey, sometimes you don't need to go all out, sometimes simple just works!

Do you have any experience with sewing your own clothes? What do you think of this DIY? I'd love to hear!

Greeting Card by Katie Daisy // The Wheatfield

January is always such a reflective month. The new year is such a motivating time to make new plans and change what isn't working.

I've been thinking a lot over the past few months about the direction I'd like to take this blog.

You see, I've been blogging on and off since 2009. I've had blogs as a part of my art practice where I documented my process, and I've also blogged about my life and my own personal reflections.

But for some reason I never really stuck with one blog for more than a year. I used to think that I was over a topic, but looking back now I think I just wasn't seeing the big picture - I didn't have my why.

I can see now that I've always had a niche, I just didn't realise it. And each time I got bored with blogging it was because I was separating all the things I was interested in, because I thought they didn't belong here.

I am a spiritual and a creative person. Those two things are so important in my life and I can't separate them. Spirituality and creativity are intertwined for me, and that's what feels natural for me to blog about.

From art, craft, design, decor, cooking, & style, to reflection, meditation, love, faith & self-improvement - that is my niche. A fusion of creativity & spirituality.

It is my goal this year to be true to myself in this space - to be brave and honest and open about who I am.

I want to take this blog on a journey. I am just at the beginning of my creative and spiritual practice and I feel in my heart that it's going to be an interesting one.

I want to share here my joyful moments, my mistakes, lessons I've learned, reflections, as well as light hearted inspirations and lovely things.

I hope you'll stick around for the ride :)