Congratulations on making it to the end of Me-Made May!
We have really enjoyed celebrating Me-Made May here on the Sewcialists. It’s been so neat to see over 1000 photos tagged with #SewcialistsLoveMMMay – go check out the hashtag if you haven’t already!
Me-Made May is the longest running community challenge in the sewing world, at nine years and counting! We love Zoe’s message that Me-Made May is about challenging yourself in whatever way is right for you – it’s not a photo challenge or a competition, but a chance to reflect on your wardrobe and stretch yourself!
So, what have you learned this Me-Made May, either from our posts or from participating yourself! Please let us know below!
On myself: I found some awesome clothes that needed a few tweaks, some less awesome to let go of and some gaping wardrobe holes! Just by taking pictures of my outfits I found myself reflecting on what I do and don’t like in my clothes. What things I gravitate towards.
Watching others: the vast majority of people struggle to do 100% and many of us resort to RTW at some point. This makes me feel better than I’m not at some mystical perfection. Posts on not feeling like we’re good enough made want to huggle those people and say, “of course you are!” We’re all not perfect and that’s what’s so freaking awesome.
I’m continuously amazed by how incredibly open and supportive the sewing community is and MMMay might be the best reminder!
Amen! :o)
I so agree with everything you said! We put some silly pressures on our selves, and I think it’s actually good that Me-Made May brings some of those to the forefront… so that we can see other people struggle with the same thing, and come to the realisation that it’s all silly self-imposed pressure! I threw my pledge out the window mid-month, and just focused on wearing clothes I love everyday!
While filling a bag for donation, I realized I’ve become patently intolerant of poor fitting clothes and this means all my at times! intense work to get my makes to fit well have been worth it. I also realized I really need some cropped woven tops in my life to wear with skirts and shorts!
YES! I finally gave away a bunch of clothes that I’ve been ignoring because they don’t fit well. So much nicer to see other people take them and be excited for a flattering outfit!
It was the first time I’ve joined Me Made May and I’ve identified a lot of “gaps” in my me-made wardrobe. Because I know now what I actually -need-, I can plan my makes better. So not a million summer dresses I won’t even wear with this climate, but cardigans and pants!
I”m so happy to hear that your first MMMay was a successful learning experience! I hope you enjoy sewing up some lovely cardigan and pants! There are lots of great options for both now – can you believe that when I started sewing 6 years ago, there were only 1 or two indie cardigan patterns??
This is hilariously specific, but I learned that I really need some transitional weather pajamas–lightweight fabrics, but long pants for those nights when it feels both too hot & too cold.
I also finally overcame some longstanding resistance to sewing a “boring” garment & made the basic black skirt I have been needing for YEARS. That one piece suddenly made my entire closet infinitely more wearable.
I also bid adieu to A LOT of self-sewns that don’t get worn because they just don’t fit properly. Mostly dresses on which I should have done FBAs, because the waists ride up without that extra boob room I need & I HATE having to constantly yank the waistline back down to my waist from where it wants to be, right under my boobs. It’s sad to see those garments go, because I remember how excited I was for them, & some of them are especially well-sewn or in particularly lovely fabrics. But they don’t get worn, & every time I open my closet, I see them & think about how uncomfortable they are & it starts to trigger weird body stuff (“They would fit better if I just lost weight!”) & I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life. Hopefully I can re-fashion some of them into skirts or cut them up to use the fabric for other applications. Some will go to the thrift store as-is & hopefully someone else will appreciate them.
I made those hard cuts from my wardrobe too – and it felt great! It’s so easy to be attached to clothes and hang on for far too long, when, as you say, they aren’t bringing joy anymore! Good for you!
I’m probably going to expand on it more on my own blog, but the basic summary is: I have a better idea of my sewing wishlist and what clothes need repairs or refashioning, I’m happiest with my me-mades when they’re in the colors that I feel are most me (usually brighter things), solids with texture are less boring, and I really need some more casual clothes for days where I’m just at home with the kids/light layering pieces/jeans. I’d really love to do a colder weather version of this challenge sometime so I can get similar insight into my winter wardrobe!
I feel like you really found a groove this MMMay! You had a lot of cute outfits!
I need to make more bottoms. Skirts and trousers that will go with both plain and patterned tops. I also wear my sorbetto tops a lot. I need to make cardigans too. Oh and activewear.
Those are all great goals!!!! I tend to sew all the prints too, and then need plain things to mix and match. To be honest, I wear quite a lot of RTW stretch jeans because I just can’t find fabric as good as what is in RTW!
Nearly all of my me-made oitfits involved: bold prints, the colour sage or dusky pink (or both) and some kind of 60s/70s vibe. I’ve decided that I need to make better fabric choices ( for example I didn’t enjoy wearing my polyester trousers because the fabric felt cheap and scratchy). Finishing details matter too. If I haven’t put much effort into the finer details then I don’t feel so good in the garment so I need to be a bit more of a perfectionist to enjoy my clothes. I also stopped sewing for the whole month so I have a big long to-sew list and a lot of creative enjoy to release now.
Sage and dusty pink vintage inspired clothing sounds like an amazing direction for your wardrobe! And knowing you like fine finishings sounds like a worthwhile lesson – you should write a note reminding yourself to take your time and put it by the sewing machine! 😉
I too found I had to part with beautiful tops I loved making, but did not spend the time adjusting them to my body properly. :o( This month I picked them apart for other projects.
I also found from pairing my MMs (for an outfit) that they don’t go well together! The tops- floral, the bottoms- floral! I look like mismatched draperies!
I also finally found my (current) style this May. I thought it was 1 piece dresses! Nope its skirts! Thank goodness I only made 1 dress. But I had 0 skirts!
I am now committed to making wearable fitted to me items! My first skirt fits fantastic! And when my knits get here I’ll be drafting the perfect fitted tops!
I learned so much from everybody. Sewists are the best !
I discovered cuffs on jackets annoy me! I need to make more tops that I can wear under my work jumper. Controversially do I need to wear so many different bottoms (skirts/pants) in a week or is ok to repeat bottoms in the same week if they are still clean
Perhaps 2019 I may participated. The thing is remembering to tune in. I’m not at WordPress very often. Hopefully there is an active Sewcialist presence on IG.
I don’t remember who it was but someone within the past few years wrote a blog post about sewing really exciting garments that are brightly colored or have really cool fabric, bold prints, or interesting style lines but not having enough basic “everyday” things to actually wear with those exciting items to round out a full wardrobe. I want to say there was an extended icing vs cake metaphor. This was the first year I did MMM without RTW outers (which is how I’ve begun to dress over the last year on an everyday basis), but documenting it made me realize that I really do have a whole lot of icing (fun dresses, bright skirts, kitschy tops) and not a whole lot of cake (solid basics with which to pair the icing and help it shine). I also am WOEFULLY lacking in everyday loungewear/relaxed comfy clothes for weekends or even just hitting the couch after I get home from work. If I had managed to fit in more than two days (EEP!!!) of exercise the entire month, I would probably also be wondering about my lack of me-made workout clothes, especially with the recent pattern collection release from Cashmerette, but we’ll save that concern for next May when I do solemnly swear that I shall be more active on a regular basis…
Like most people, I did learn some important things about myself! Fit is crucial! So is style. I am not 30 anymore, I need to dress for my body and age. That is NOT to say I can’t enjoy awesome fabric choices!!!! In May, I participated in a clothing swap. I included many of my Me-Made items I no longer wear and was thrilled to see other women rushing to see what I had brought in! I came with 12 bags! I left with only 4! And those were donated. My closet in now manageable and I feel I have a better understanding of where my personal gaps are. I LOVE to sew vintage, but HONESTLY, they no longer look great on me. So I made a very decisive commitment to change the way I view my style! If I can add elements of vintage to my wardrobe…a collection of pins my mom left me…so be it! But simple lines and comfortable clothes are what I am aiming for in this coming year! I enjoyed reading stories form many of the participants! Thank you for having this event and I will be back next year with some NEW ideas to share! <3
This MMM I focused on spereates and making sure I had several different ‘looks’ for each item. I have recently sewn some wide legged pants, a different silhouette for me, and I was able to work out what I liked to pair them with, which was awesome. I still haven’t found the ‘right’ outfit for my Roscoe Blouse, and that was the first and only day I didn’t wear 2 or more me makes – but thinking about it now, I may shorten the sleeves/make it sleeveless… 🤔 hmmm – I also had a great discussions with my husband and daughter about dressing for myself (looser) and dressing for husband (tighter), lol! I adore seeing everyone in their daily lives and me makes!