Me-Made-May 2017: Week 5 recap and Final Reflections

It’s over! I made it. I can’t even believe it. I repeated a lot of outfits (shamelessly) and cheated a little with quilting or bags rather than clothes, but I feel like I fulfilled my pledge:

I, Jordan Slice-Metcalfe, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’17. I endeavor to wear, use, or accessorize with at least one thing I’ve made with my own two hands each day for the duration of May 2017.

I’m including the final 3 days in this post but the bulk of what I’m sharing are my reflections – what I learned this month. So keep reading beyond the pictures 😉

Day 29: Tammy’s Tulip Shorts

A repeat from Week 2.

I had plans of making another pair from a Lilly Pulitzer dress I thrifted {you can see it if you swipe to photos 2 & 3 in this post} but tragically I cut the legs the same rather than mirrored. I barely had enough fabric to get those cut so unfortunately those shorts are a bust.

• Pattern: Ladies Tammy’s Tulip Shorts by Sew Caroline {affiliate link}
• Fabric: donated from someone’s attic with self-made bias tape trim.
• Blogged: not yet!

 

Day 30: a new Parkside Skirt

I made another Parkside Skirt from what was left of the crepe attic stash fabric (although I think I still have leftovers…this fabric haul was awesome. It’s lasted me so long!).

I wanted a “neutral” bottom for work. I don’t have a lot of tops but now I have more flexibility if I want to make some {because this skirt will go with anything!}

• Pattern: Parkside Skirt by Sew Caroline {affiliate link}
• Fabric: black crepe fabric donated to my stash
• Blogged: not this particular version since it’s hot-off-the-sewing-machine, but you can read my thoughts on the pattern in this post!

 

Day 31: my refashioned Housedress

Another repeat from Week 1 & Week 3.

• Pattern: no pattern – just an old house-dress taken in and hemmed.
• Fabric: cotton
• Blogged: here!

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Me-Made-May/Sewing-related resources I’m lovin’ this week:

1. Christine Haynes’ tips for Perfecting the Travel Wardrobe in the latest Seamwork Mag issue – These are really great tips! The Hubs & I have a roadtrip to Canada planned in a few weeks and I’ve been mentally browsing my patterns trying to prioritize what I need to make for the trip.

• Patterns at the top of my list: San Francisco Swing Dress by Sew Caroline, another pair of Tammy’s Tulip Shorts, Laurelhurst Cardigan by Straight Stitch Designs, and possibly another Date Night Dress
• What are your recommendations for a summer capsule/travel wardrobe?

2. From Becoming Minimalist – 3 Steps to End Closet Chaos – these are actually really great tips regardless of whether you have a handmade wardrobe or a ready-to-wear closet. I have clothes hidden all over my house that I know I should get rid of. I’m thinking of taking the plunge and dumping them all on my bed like the post recommends to force myself to purge.

 

#mmmay17 posts I’m lovin’ this week

• This Driftless Cardigan by @happylat. I love the pockets! It looks so cozy. I might need to treat myself to this pattern!
• This vintage-sheet-turned-dress is so pretty! I have a few vintage sheets I’ve been debating on whether to turn into dresses.
• I love this dress by Anya – and it looks like it’s a soon-to-be-released pattern {Forsythe Dress by French Navy}
• I like the print and shape of this dress.
• This Tea House dress is lovely!
• This bra is so pretty!

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Week 5 / FINAL Me-Made-May Reflections

This was my first year participating in Me-Made-May and it was quite a challenge! I started the month off worried that I’d run out of clothes to wear (which I quickly did). After a few moments of “oh no…what if I wear the same outfits again?” I realized 1) there was no way possible I wasn’t going to repeat outfits and 2) did it really matter? Clothes are meant to be worn more than once. That’s the point.

My major take-aways:

1. We should be proud to repeat outfits. 

I felt a bit insecure (particularly in the beginning) about the amount of times I repeated my handmade outfits this month. In a perfect world, I would have liked to have worn totally different outfits every.single.day. – but why?

I was worried that my “followers” would get bored if I didn’t share a variety of outfits. Why does that matter? It doesn’t…and shouldn’t. My life is not a TV show. In fact, it’s incredibly un-glamorous. I repeat outfits a lot.

At first I was ashamed, but then I started to reflect more and came around to the realization that repeating outfits is a good thing. It means that I really like the clothes I’ve spent hours making for myself – they make me feel good and I enjoy wearing them.

By the end of the month I felt like I was really being myself – being real. It felt like a badge to repeat my outfits and I was proud – proud that I have clothes I want to wear and proud that I actually wear what I make (vs. making impractical “unworns” or ill-fitting clothes).

2. I learned a lot about my style.

• Separates for weekends, dresses for weekdays – I tried to incorporate some “separates” into my rotation {see Week 2} but quickly realized that those aren’t my favorites. I like wearing separates on the weekends, but for work I really prefer dresses. Now I know to focus on casual pieces if I’m making separates and dresses if I’m in need of work outfits.
• I hate working with thin fabric – I had some really thin rayon spandex knit that I was working with at the end of Week 3 that reminded me of how much I hate thin fabric. That is also the reason I still have not finished my Darling Ranges dress – I was making it in voile and it was making me crazy. I’m not even sure I can tell you that I really enjoy wearing thin fabric (so perhaps it’s really not worth the headache).
• If I like it, I’ll wear it a thousand times – I already admitted this, but it really came to light. I was not successful in “forcing” myself to wear handmade garments that I didn’t truly enjoy wearing. Proof: My sister brought me a bag of clothes I’d made for her (which were mostly first-drafts of patterns I’d later make for myself after adjusting the pattern). Despite my asking her if I could borrow them for “variety,” they never made it out of the bag she sent them in. I knew they didn’t fit me like they should and I would not enjoy wearing them so I didn’t try. Some people care about the variety of clothing they wear. Others like me care only about comfort. I can’t help it 😉
• I really prefer uncomplicated patterns – There were tons of sewists sharing on the hashtag with some really impressive outfits. I realized that most of what I sew is very uncomplicated (which I already knew). I tend to steer clear of closures and patterns with lots of separate pieces requiring lots of additional seams to sew. I like the loose fit of garments without closures, but I also like that they do not take me any longer than they already do! I have limited time for sewing (and I’m very slow). Tackling a more complicated garment means I wouldn’t be able to create as much or as often and would likely become impatient and frustrated. Knowing this allows me to avoid purchasing patterns that may collect dust in my stash.

3. I am surrounded by really supportive people. 

Several people commented on my posts on Instagram, a friend sent me a text, and a few people told me in person how much they were enjoying seeing the posts each day.

Hearing this really made me feel so supported! Posting about myself every single day made me feel very self-absorbed. It was nice to hear at least a few people out there were enjoying them 😉

3. Me-Made-May is the perfect way to discover new patterns.

While browsing the hashtag this month, I found several patterns I’d not heard of. It was also neat to rediscover some I’d heard of, but had not seen “in action.”

4. I would participate again.

I really enjoyed being a part of Me-Made-May and now that I’ve taken the plunge and overcome my fears [mostly of outfit repeats], I’m willing to participate again! I’m excited to see how my handmade wardrobe will change from year-to-year.

This was truly a fun experience. It was very introspective and has given me confidence to love the clothes I’ve made {and not stress about how much I haven’t sewn yet}.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed following along on my Me-Made-May journey! In case you missed them, you can catch up on the previous week’s recaps here: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4.