Me Made May Wrap Up

 Well, after a rocky start, my Me Made May for 2022 finishes with these two items. 

Both skirts that I made last year. The purple one was on it's maiden voyage, since it's a little short to wear without stockings. The green has been out for a spin or two. Looking at these two photos, and previous Me Made May photos (which were so hard to remember to take), I think I've also learned that I love this jacket to bits. 

It was a hand me down from my sister initially. I didn't wear it for years because the sleeves were a bit baggy and I never really like long sleeves anyway. Then I rolled up the sleeves and found I loved it so much more. The pockets are fabulous and even though it's lost a button, I'm still rocking it. Maybe this is the jacket to replicate for next year, so I've got more than one. I've had this one for at least 12 years now. 

Anyway, I came to the conclusion at the end of Me Made May that I do love wearing clothes that I've made and that next year, I need a very specific goal, rather than fumble around at the start and not know what I'm doing. 

I also listened to a podcast from the creator of Me Made May, Zoe, who blogs at So-Zo, What do You Know?. Maybe this was something I should have done at the start of Me Made May, but it really helped clarify something about the challenge. 

It's a wardrobe challenge. 

In it's essence it's about improving your relationship with your wardrobe. Specifically the self-made section of your wardrobe, but in general, the clothes you wear. I've never been one to really care about what I'm wearing; my sisters will be the first to attest to how blasé I am about fashion and shopping. But recently, I've really started enjoying my own style and what I'm wearing. And I'm loving making my own things. 

I think part of what makes me not care about clothes is the years of trying things on in shops to find they don't actually fit properly, but being totally unable to find something that does fit perfectly leads to having to buy the sub-par outfit anyway. It's exhausting and depressing for someone with no shopping stamina or drive to continue looking so they come out of the fashion battle with a win. 

Something I came across as I stumbled around in the sewing corner of the internet, was the idea that size is just a number, and that our bodies are all different and weird. It is actually ludicrous to think that I could pull something off the rack at a store and think it will fit me perfectly. That item has been made for a particular set of measurements, which may or may not match any one or all of mine. So empowering is sewing your own clothes, because it is no longer your body that needs to change to fit the clothes, but rather, the clothes need to change to fit your body. 

I don't think I've ever had a wardrobe that I have put so much choice into than I do at the present time. I don't like shopping, so I never go looking for new clothes, and I am pretty frugal, so I don't like spending money either. I've been (very thankfully!) outfitted by hand me downs from both of my sisters for a large portion of my life, and also from my mum, supplementing my wardrobe when she found something for a bargain that she thought I'd wear. 

Now, my wardrobe (as demonstrated by this latest round of Me Made May), actually consists of items of clothes that I've chosen. Clothes that I've made, or adjusted to fit. That I'm comfortable in and excited to wear. It is amazing to me that I realise this, and I have Me Made May to thank for it. 2022 really did improve my relationship with my wardrobe, even if I did stumble and fall at the start there. 

I don't know if I want to achieve a completely self made wardrobe. Sewing jeans is not high on my list by any means, but having clothes that I have made, that fit and that make me happy to wear, that is something I do want to continue with. I also kind of wonder if Me Made March might be better for me, because it's not as cold, so it would be way easier to wear my self-made clothes. But then again, maybe it's time to make a jacket or two?

Me Made May Update Three

Despite my fears at the bumpy start I had, I'm glad I'm updating each week this year, because I'm certainly wearing a lot more me-made this year than last! Photos remain the hardest thing ever.

Started the week with this green dress that I made last year. I thought I'd be cold, but after all the rain, Brisbane came through with some quality humidity and we had a hot day. 

Monday was much the same - nearly 30 degrees in the 90% humid air. I took the opportunity to wear this skirt that I made last year, which is comfy and easy to teach in most of the time. I discovered, however, that it is not the right outfit for sitting on a stool to demonstrate bucket drumming with a bunch of grade 6's. Good think it was only one class that day. Lesson learned. 

Tuesday  I wore this dress, which I didn't make, but did add pockets too and took in at the shoulders so it would fit. Again, I'm counting it me-made because of that. Sorry you can't see the actual dress. I only remembered to take the photo after a long long long day of work and I was tired. 

Another photo of me tired after a long day of work. 

At least you've seen this full dress before, in this post! Thursdays at my work school the teachers try to dress in animal print, so while the majority of teachers are rolling around in leopard print whatever, I'm cruzin in my glorious peacock dress. Winning! 

That's all the me-made I had time for last week. Friday & Saturday I was running around in jeans doing last minuet baking for the Election Day stall and then squelching in the mud selling the baked goods at said Election Day stall. Turns out I don't sew things that you can wear and be warm in when it rains and you need to be in the mud all day. 

Still Not Great

 Me Made May Update. 

Week two and I've definitely not done as well this week. Only two me-made items to report as worn. I'm going to blame the rain and cold, which have made all things quite bleak. 

Apparently the bathroom at my work is the easiest place to take photos. 

Doing This Wrong

Not sure where to begin with this one. This morning was a rough trot with lots of general grumpiness on my part. Lots of this is because I've been staying up late and not getting enough sleep, which always makes everything else seem just that little bit worse. 

I decided I'd do Me Made May again this year, because, well why not? I've actually had a huge increase in my self- made wardrobe over the last twelve months, (3 dresses, a jumpsuit, shorts, and 3 skirts) so I think I thought it would just be easier than last year. The problem was that I didn't actually think through what my goal would be. Am I trying to just wear self-made clothes for all of May, no matter how hard that is? Or am I trying to reach for them first, like I did last year? 

I think I toyed around with the idea of having my Me Made May goal be something that actually made me adjust clothes so I could wear them, like the jumpsuit I started with last year, or my pink yukata. But we are a week in, and I have no intention of adjusting either of those items. So I'm grumpy because I don't really know what I'm doing, and on top of that, it remains inexplicably difficult to get a photograph of myself in any self-made item, let alone every day.

I feel very distinctly that I am doing this wrong. 

So this morning, when I woke up from a lovely sleep, and realised it was cold and I wasn't sure what I would wear, let alone find time to take a photo, I was not the best of company. Still, I put on a self-made dress which was a little bit perfect for Mother's Day, if also a little too cool for the sudden drop in temperature over night. 

And I got Sophie to take a photo of me after church with my Mother's Day flowers. I notice that the neckline facing doesn't sit right and that I need to tack it down. Bah, more adjusting. 

It's really not all bad, even though the photos are. This week, I've worn two dresses I wore last year, this dress and an unblogged one. Both of these were worn around the house, because now (as I suspected last year) they really are getting to the point where they are so soft and faded they can't pass as anything else. The sushi dress has not made an appearance this year because it was torn last year in an irreparable way. Devastation right there. Maybe what I'm learning is that it's time to retire some things? 

I've also worn this dress, which I did not make, but I did add pockets too. What is Me Made May about if not recognising how to be sustainable in your wardrobe and what is a sustainable wardrobe without pockets? 

I wore my Jocelyn Proust Dress last Sunday for day one. And I've also worn my yellow yukata to work last Thursday which coincidently coincided with Children's Day in Japan. Decided it was time to learn to tie a new obi style with it, as I was running late for work at 6:30 in the morning. Not the best choice, I'll be honest. New obi picture thanks to Rachel. 

I guess that's four dresses, a yukata and a pocket adjustment for the start of Me Made May, which, out of seven days, isn't really a bad start. Still, not sure what I'll do next, because the winter weather feels like it has arrived in force as I sit here with socks and a jumper and all the doors and windows closed. 

Hopefully I sort my goal out soon, because I'd hate to be grumpy for the rest of May, feeling like I'm doing something wrong. Also, if you've any tips on taking photos of yourself, let me know. That remains the worst part about the whole affair. 

Me Made May

As suspected, the hardest thing about Me Made May was actually taking photos of myself in each outfit. That said, I do feel I managed to wear my self-made things more this month, and being intentional about it really did get me thinking about what I actually wear, and what I would like to make more of. It has made the Make Nine challenge look much more appealing if I think of strategically planning the making of what fabric or patterns I have on hand so that I actually wear the outcome.

Not that my self-made wardrobe is lacking, or that the reason I couldn't wear self-made every day in May was only because of that, but it's been eye opening none the less. Part of the trouble with May in Brisbane is that it's getting a lot cooler here, rather than the flip experienced in the Northern Hemisphere, and as I have no experience sewing jeans or outwear, my self-made options were limited. 

Still, I'm glad I did it. There are absolutely things in my wardrobe that I didn't even consider wearing, even with the weather. Like this dragonfly dress. I'm just never going to reach for it. Sigh. Time to give it new life with someone else. 

One thing I did reach for was this top that I'd made three years ago now. I really love it. It's got different style, lots of colour and I can wear it to work (which I did a lot of in the first few weeks of May!) I would love to have a couple more of these in my cupboard. What I noticed about this one though was that it's actually starting to fall apart. Mostly the tie, because I didn't know what I was doing when I blindly stitched a silk tie to a cotton shirt. The shirt itself is still good, so I think the best option is to replace the tie, and make another. Then I'll have two! 

The other thing I found were my dresses are absolutely my go to for most days, even the ones that are so faded I can't really wear them out of the house any more. This Sushi Dress, which I didn't even get a photo of me wearing, from four years ago is still my favourite. I suppose the contribution of four years of hard wear means it's so soft to wear now, so it's super comfy, even if it's faded. 

This dress, which is made from a table cloth my parents brought back from their travels, is faring better, but I wear it nearly as much. I love the colour and fit. I feel I can wear it with my connies, as well as with heals. Sophie took this photo for me as we were leaving jiu-jitsu one afternoon early in May. Photo skills coming along nicely! 

I also wore this dress, which I never blogged about after I made it. But less so. I think because it has no sleeves, but possibly also because the colours are much more muted. I also think I never blogged about it because this is the best photo that I have of it, which is the first time I wore it in Bundaberg two years ago. The wind was doing crazy things with my hair that day. 

The last me-made things I wore in May, which again, I didn't get a photo of, was actually very unexpected. I had two days of teaching Japanese at the girls school, so I wore yukata both days. The first day, I wore this yukata, pictured here being worn by my friend Amy when we went to a koto concert last year. 

I actually made this yukata in 2004, the year I lived in Japan, so it's nearly 20 years old. I hand sewed every stitch and it's still holding up! 

And that's a wrap for Me Made May for me. I hope what I've learnt about my wardrobe is somewhat applicable for the future, and helps me to consider what I'm making before I make it. What I loved about it, was the fun and fantastic feeling that it is to wear clothes I've made myself, so even though it's often more expensive and quite tricky to make your own clothes, I'm glad I take the time to do it. 

Me Made May

I'm interrupting regular posting to talk about Me Made May. I guess to the world it might not feel like an interruption, but as I have three posts mostly written and ready to go that follow along from the pillow case sewing that is turning out to be quite a saga, it feels like an interruption to me. Anyway; Me Made May. 

So Me Made May is a thing in sewing circles that happens each year (around May as it were), where people make pledges to wear self made clothing, or a variation on that theme. I don't know where it started, but it's about actively trying to wear self made clothes, thinking about what you wear and why, challenging yourself to try different combinations. 

It's the kind of thing that can help you think about your wardrobe; are there gaps? Are there different ways you could wear the same old same old? Are there small alterations you could make to bring something back? Are there things you don't wear at all and why is that? I guess at it's core is helping people to celebrate wearing things that we have made, and to be thinking sustainably about the clothes we wear. 

I love this. So though I've never participated in Me Made May before, I felt like giving it a go this year. Not a 100% sure exactly why, or what my Me Made May Challenge will be exactly, but I'm just jumping in. I figure that if I just start somewhere, I'll figure out my goal along the way. Maybe.  

This week, I'm mostly just trying to reach for clothes I've made first, before I put on something easy (jeans and t-shirt again *face palm*). I am going to try to do one post a week to summarize what I've worn that has been self made, and what I'm thinking about it. To be honest, the hardest part of this (and we are only two days in so far!) has been actually taking photos of myself. Scary. 

Anyway, lest this be a post with no photo, I thought I'd share the first self made thing I wore for Me Made May, which is something I made last year and never blogged about. 

I love this floral jumpsuit. I got the pattern free from another Brisbane based sewer person who was de-stashing during the Covid lock down last year. Though I don't really like sewing from pre-made patterns I really wanted to try to make it. So I made a draft, fixed all the fit issues and then made the final out of this gloriously bright print. 

I've lost a bit of weight since I first made it, so it's a little looser now, but I still get so many comments when I wear it, which might give me the motivation I need to take it in a few places so it can have that really "tailored for me" fit feeling again. 

This seems like a great place to start for Me Made May. Something I love that I'm committed to adjusting so I can keep wearing it for a long time. Let's hope the rest of the journey has some similar discoveries. 

Made Another Dress

I had been wanting to make another dress for a while, and there was really no excuse, because I had the material, but life gets in the way. Finally, probably in an effort to procrastinate doing any paperwork for actual work, I got out the material one night and cut the dress.

This material came from one of my parents travels, like the three previous dresses (one unblogged, the other two here and here). It's a Batik. I still don't know what that means. Same pattern as my original sushi dress, but I just pleated the skirt, rather than have to measure and cut an A-line. I wasn't sure I loved the two big box pleats that I ended up with, but they are growing on me.

I literally cut and sewed this dress in less than a week, and finished it the night before we left for a Bundaberg weekend in May (so I could wear it there). The neck and arm holes are bound with some self made bias tape. I used some fabric mum had given me that was left over from one of her own projects.

It's taken me a while to post, because though Steve too photos of me in it in Bundaberg that first time I wore it, I was pretty unhappy with the photos. The wind was manic that day, so my hair was crazier than usual, and I'd not bothered to put on any make up (which is standard for me), but I looked so washed out. Blah.

I did wear it again at our Extension Warming Party and made the effort of putting make up on, but promptly forgot to take close up photos in it. Gah! So you still get to see the washed out, crazy hair photo of me in this new dress, because six weeks on, I still don't have a good photo.