Me Made May is over for another year. Did you take part? How did you find the challenge? Unlike last year, when the number of me made garments in my closet was about five, I successfully completed my challenge to wear at least one me made garment every day (save for one slip), and I made my very first button up shirt.
And because I really like shooting handmade look book videos, I’ve put together a little video round-up of my favourite looks and pieces from the last month. Enjoy!
But part of the fun of challenging yourself to do anything is what you learn from it, and what you will do differently in the future. So in the spirit of personal growth and development here are four things that I’ve learned about myself and my sewing during the past month.
1/3 of my wardrobe is me made, and I wear all of it
As soon as I got back from my travels I had a maaahooosive clear out and sent around 70% of my clothes to charity. What this means is that everything in my closet, whether RTW or me made gets worn a lot. Plus my wardrobe now has all the space. I have also become very considered in my sewing, and will only make something if I’m sure I’m going to wear it.
I definitely have a uniform
Tailored trousers, simple top, simple dress. This is me, this is what I love to wear, and these are the clothes I love to make. This month I discovered my perfect tee pattern, made five of them in the space of a weekend, and then wore them continuously on rotation for the next few weeks. Because there are only so many exciting ways to insta-snap a grey tee, I soon abandoned taking daily selfies!
I can make shirts! And I have higher ability than I think I do
I’m going to write a detailed post about my Grainline Archer experience for later this week, but I couldn’t do a me made May round up and ignore one of the major parts of my challenge! My shirt has a number of what could generously be described as quirks, but overall I am really happy with it. I was genuinely afraid of this pattern, convinced that my status as ‘advanced beginner’ was about to be put through it’s paces. Instead I was pleased to discover that making a shirt, while time consuming, is well within my abilities. Which is a big confidence boost and something I will take to my next project.
I need a monthly pattern challenge
As we’ve established, my style is very simple and straightforward. While I could challenge myself to make highly engineered dresses or tops I simply wouldn’t want to wear them, and for me half the pleasure of dressmaking is in the wearing. But I do need to be challenged, because otherwise I will continue to churn out comfort zone garments like sweatshirts, tees and knit dresses. That my friends sounds less like a high fashion uniform and more like a rut! Shirt-making was a great way to up my game this month, and for next month I want to tackle a jacket. I have already bought the Mai jacket pattern from Named, which would be a big challenge, and am toying with the idea of making a Grainline Morris blazer as a gentle intro to the world of outerwear.
So there you have it: learning, growing, caring and sharing. How did you get on with Me Made May, and have you set yourself any more challenges for the rest of the year?
I love the idea of a monthly challenge! I think I need to do something like that as well. It is so easy to get into a habit of sewing the same things all the time. Plus I always stay within my comfort zone. I’d love to make a jacket, jeans and swimmers but I am always too scared.
I’d love to make my own jeans because I can never find ones that I like in the shops, but the patterns look really terrifying! I’ve just added proper pair of tailored trousers to my sewing list, which I’m hoping will be a gentle ease into the world of sewing tricky trouser things like fly fastenings.
I love this, I am amazed at how much you can make!
Maria xxx
Thank you! xx