I'm a little sad to be ending this great challenge of wearing one handmade article of clothing each day. It's been so inspiring to see what others have made and to recap the (larger than I thought) collection of items that I've made. The experience of wearing my own clothes has helped me figure out ways to grow and become a better seamstress. It's made me realize some of my pitfalls, helped me figure out what styles and fabrics I like best, and where the gaps in my me-made wardrobe are.Also that I like to wear blue. Like, a lot. Maaaybe I should branch out more? But, then again, I know I'll wear it if it's blue...Here's a quick photo recap of the last week and a half's outfits:[BestWordpressGallery id="4" gal_title="MMMay Week 4"]I have a ton of dresses and a few solid skirt options, but my trousers and shirt options are very limited. I also don't have any me-made sweaters (except for that one in the back of my closet that's never seen the light of day because I ran out of yarn and had to get more and you can clearly see where the new yarn starts and it drives me crazy...)I guess my challenge for the next 2 months is not to buy any more fabric and to repair my makes that need some help. I've already fixed two dresses and a shirt, so it's a start!Oh, and one other awesome thing about wearing/making your own clothes is that it helps you limit RTW clothing purchases. Kind of hard to justify buying something if you could make it cheaper and better. Although, I did just buy a pair of jean shorts. They were only $10, ok?? And I've already worn them three times! And jorts are haaard. Although, I can't make my own shoes (yet) so I still can't help but buy those. I'm working on it.
me-made may
Me-Made May 2016 - Week 3
Week 3 of Me-Made May had me looking quite blue! I know there's a lot of blue, white and gray in my closet, but this week really showed me how much I reach for those colors. I'll blame it on the rainy May we've had so far, although it looks like the weather may be finally turning around!And I have a ton of blue-hued fabrics in the stash...oh well, I guess I should stick with what works! At least I know I'll wear it.Here's the past week's MMMay recap:[BestWordpressGallery id="1" gal_title="MMMay Week 3"] This past weekend I unearthed a box of UFOs...unfinished objects. An ominous phrase in sewing. I have several piece that need just a few touches before they're wearable again. Hopefully this week I can find some time to dedicate to these unloved pieces.A lovely package (the details of which will be shared later) came from L.A. Finch Fabrics. Their selection is so lovely, and from what I can tell, their fabrics are very high-quality. Can't wait to dig into my new fabrics!Unfortunately, I had to do some practical sewing this past weekend...new cushions for a super cool mid-century modern chair frame. It still had the original cushions on it and I've been saying for literally two years that I'm going to redo the cushions. Brad, in typical Brad fashion, found some foam (he still won't tell me where) and batting, so this weekend's project was to finally make new cushions. It took several hours of intense sewing (and a few choice words if I'm being honest) but we got it done! Now I can do some fun stuff. I'll share before and after photos later this week, as well as our process.
Me-Made May 2016 - Week 2
The second week of Me-Made May 2016 is over and I've managed to not repeat any of my me-made items yet. Honestly, I had no idea there were so many wearable me-made pieces in my wardrobe! Although, I suppose that's why this sewing challenge exists. To rediscover past makes, get inspiration for new projects and motivation to fix issues with pieces that aren't working for one reason or another.Here's a recap of my second week wardrobe:[BestWordpressGallery id="2" gal_title="MMMay Week 2"] I still haven't managed to complete a project other than the black knit shirt I made at the very beginning. There's a pencil skirt in the works, though. Too many things to sew and not nearly enough time to sew them!
Me-Made May 2016 - Intro
This is the first year I will be participating in Me-Made May, a challenge started 6 years ago by Zoe over at So Zo, What Do You Know? Over the past few years I have seen other bloggers joining the challenge and finally, this year, I was on top of things enough to be aware that it was coming up and plan accordingly. Yay for thinking ahead!I've challenged myself to wear one "me-made" item a day throughout the month of May. To keep myself accountable, I will take daily photos (if you follow me on Instagram, be warned - lots of selfies are coming) and I will post my progress weekly on this blog.It's only day 9 and I've already been so inspired by what everyone else is showing off! My sewing mind is on overdrive and I can't wait till I get the chance to sit down at my machine again.To avoid becoming overwhelmed by all the projects I have in mind, I've decided to make a plan. I want to try to create a new piece each week and here's my plan:
I made a prototype of the woven tee although I've been lurking HARD on Grainline's Scout Tee but just can't justify the cost of a pattern for what should be so simple to draft. My initial shot at the self-drafted tee has some issues that need to be worked out (sleeve cap too high, neckline too big, overall front width too big...) but it might be salvageable. You can see it in the first photo below:[BestWordpressGallery id="3" gal_title="MMMay16 Week 1"]After my first full week of wearing one me-made item a day I can pick up on a few trends:
- I am drawn to floral printed fabrics. This is a little surprising to me as most of my RTW wardrobe is very basic and limited to stripes or polka dots in terms of pattern. I guess sewing is where I make more feminine pattern choices!
- The majority of the pieces I've worn so far are self-drafted. Maybe this is because I'm not comfortable sewing patterns yet? Or maybe because these tend to fit better? Not sure...
- Speaking of fitting better, almost every piece I've worn has some sort of fitting issue I notice. The main issues are low armholes and forward-thrusting, sloping shoulders (I think). This was especially apparent on the yellow blouse.
- Make any fitting adjustments to the garment before I wear it. I could have easily adjusted the sleeve width on the kimono top, but instead I let it drive me crazy all day.
- Don't worry about not completing some of the other parts of my pledge (finishing a garment every week, posting a photo every day) because sometimes it's just not feasible.
- Always use a nice camera for the photos! The iPhone ones are so crappy looking but my fancy camera wasn't cooperating for a couple of the days.
- Plan an extra 10 minutes to take a photo before heading to work. My mornings have been a little frantic and that doesn't translate to a good vibe for the day.