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Hello friends! I am currently participating in the “Me-Made-May” challenge. The idea is to wear your self-stitched garments everyday during May – some people dress head to tow in their hand-makes others rotate the 3 or 4 items which make up their handmade wardrobe throughout the month.
I set myself the goal to wear something that I have made myself every day during May. Somedays it might just be an accessory, like a scarf, a scrunchie, a pair of knitted socks or these days, a mask. Hopefully though, on most days I can sport a dress, a top, a pair of trousers or a skirt I made myself. Then I snap a picture of myself, or get Edd to do it, and post it on my Instagram.
Why, you ask?
Well, one because it is fun. It feels empowering to wear something I made with my own hands. And it is so fun to celebrate all my beautiful handmade clothes.
And second, it helps me to get an overview of my me-made wardrobe. What garments have I got lots of, what do I need more? Are there any garments I really love and could make again in a different fabric? What mistakes do I seem to commonly make? And so on.
Week 1 of Me-Made-May
(I just taught myself how to do these photo-grids in photoshop – you can expect to see many more in posts to come ha!)
So far, I have LOVED Me-Made-May. It’s so fun to wear items I made myself. Last week the weather was a bit of a mixed bag and it was not very warm which made me realise that I have quite a few garments in my me-made wardrobe that are for summer. I was very grateful for the two knitted jumpers I got however!
I don’t think I will dive into making lots of winter clothes right now, as summer is knocking on the door but I will keep my eyes open for some patterns for long sleeve tops and maybe even attempt to make a hoodie or cardigan in the autumn.
What I learned so far
Wearing all my handmade clothing also just made me want to sew all day every day! Last weekend I whipped up an Odgen Cami by True Bias and also finished my Landerpants (also by True Bias). They didn’t turn out quite right, I think I cut them out too big. I am seeing my mum soon and am hoping she can help me fit them properly.
This is something I noticed on the whole – I tend to err on the side of making things a bit too big. It’s difficult to make a garment bigger, once you have cut it out a certain size but it is also frustrating to have to tuck in so much and do a lot of fitting at the end because being overly cautious at the beginning. I need to learn to be a bit braver! It is certainly worth measuring myself each time before cutting out a new pattern and aligning those numbers with the pattern instructions.
Wearing me-made clothes makes me feel more confident
Another interesting experience has been to take photos of myself everyday. Normally I would be much more critical of the way I look. Because the focus of the picture is not on how nicely I did my hair or the fact that I have a spot but to show off my super sewing powers, I somehow feel fine with posting imperfect pictures. That is definitely a win!
On the whole, wearing my handmade clothes puts me instantly in a good mood and makes me feel confident. I don’t want to over-exaggerate this, because clothes are just clothes and they don’t fix any real issues. However, wearing something I made with my hands reminds me of my creative side all day, which is something I love.
It’s not too late to join in if you want to! The challenge is really open and you can make it whatever you want. I would highly recommend giving it a go!
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