DIY // A Simple Maxi Skirt

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! 

Be Proactive, Not Reactive

There has been a few complications getting our things moved up from Dunedin. I've mentioned a few times that I'm living out of a suitcase at the moment, despite being in my new home already. Everything should have arrived after New Year's but actually, they won't get here for another 2 weeks. This means we've been living in our home, without our things, for 3 months. It's been a bit frustrating to say the least.

I've been reading Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People; I'm only a few chapters in, but already I'm seeing a huge change in the way I think. The lesson that has stuck with me the most so far is be proactive, not reactive.

Reactive people are at the mercy of their conditions. If things are bad, they feel bad. If things are good, they feel good. 

Proactive people on the other hand recognise that their conditions don't control them - they can choose how to respond. 

I was getting very stressed trying to sort out what was happening with our moving company. I couldn't get hold of them and I had no idea what was going on. It would have been easy for me to completely lose it, but then I remembered what I'd been reading. Losing it wouldn't help me get our things back. Getting stressed wouldn't help me figure out what was happening.

So instead I focused on my Circle of Influence. Rather than becoming upset about all the unknowns, and the what ifs, and the I don't knows, I started thinking about what I could actually do to help this situation. I started thinking proactively.

Having that moment of calm and clarity helped me immensely. Because of it, I remembered that our original moving company had worked with another company on our job. 

I tracked down the other company, emailed them all our details, and they located our things. It turns out there had been a mix up with orders, and our things had been sitting in storage in Dunedin for the past few months. They then booked us a truck which should arrive in the next few weeks. That was a huge relief!

I can't imagine how much longer our things would have sat in storage if I hadn't tracked down the other company. If I had been reactive instead of proactive, it might have been ages before we got our things back.

Being proactive in that moment allowed me to think outside the box - and it made me realised that my Circle of Influence is much bigger than I give myself credit for!

I'm loving this book, and I have a feeling this won't be the last reflection I post about it.

Have you read Stephen Covey's Seven Habits? What did you think of it?

Love List #14

Follow me on Instagram

01  Practicing my Arabic handwriting  02 Comfy clothes for class  03 I finished painting our bedroom! That wall used to be bright yellow...  04 Chocolate ice cream with banana and frozen bluberries on a sunny afternoon  05 A new snake print maxi skirt that I'm exited to wear  06 Blueberry chocolate brownies that were eaten very quickly

LINKS

// A cute DIY for geometric flats

// I'm excited about doing this creative cleanse

// As an introvert, I can totally relate to this

// Feta & tomato sandwich on a baguette.... yummm

// Could you go completely without Facebook?

// Baked french toast sticks. Yum, again.

// I'm loving this reminder on the positive use of free time.

// Put a timer on, and get it done quicker!

// I loved this GSD interview with Hitha Palepu on getting things done.

// Beautiful experimentation with water droplets on paper. 

MY WEEK

// I'm in my second week of my course, which I still absolutely love! So far I've done seam, hem, zip and pocket samples, and on Monday I start pattern-making.

// I've noticed that studying full time again has made me way more productive, and I've actually decided to increase the blog posts that I'm doing a week. Weekends are a good time for me to get things done and I'm dedicating Saturdays now to photographing, writing, and scheduling my upcoming posts for the week. I hope you all like what I've got planned!

// It's also my sister's birthday today! She turned 22. I wish I could be there with her, but virtual love and hugs will have to do. Happy birthday Leni!

// As a treat to myself (for finally redesigning and relaunching this blog) I signed up for fashion illustration classes with Katie Rodgers from PaperFashion. I've been wanting to improve my illustrating skills for a while and her work is always so beautiful, so I'm really excited to start these classes.

Do you have any favourite links from other sites, or even your own blogs? Put them in the links below, I'd love to read! Let me know a highlight from your week as well :)

Thanks for reading!

Style // Striped Maxi Skirt

Scarf Thrifted // Sunglasses Thrifted // Necklace Diva // Blouse Second Hand // Maxi Skirt Handmade // Handbag Strangbags

I made this skirt last weekend, partly out of desperation and partly because there was a fabric sale. I've been living out of a suitcase for two months and counting now, and it's starting to get tricky. The skirt cost me less than $11 to make - I'll post a DIY soon! 

Stripes seem to be such a good neutral - you can make them work with anything. I was tempted to wear it with a floral top, but I though that might hurt my husband's eyes too much. His colour palette in the clothing department is grey with a side of dark blue, and maybe some black thrown in. So I make sure to wear enough colour for the both of us!

I had a half-day on Friday last week, so we went to see the latest Die Hard movie and then walked through town. I'm a huge fan of action movies, and even though it was around Valentine's Day I'd still rather watch John McClane kick some butt than watch something lovey-dovey. Sappy scenes make me squirm.

What about you guys? Do you prefer action or romance flicks?