Me Made May 2014

If you search back through this blog, you will find that my second ever post was about Me Made June 2011. It feels like a lifetime ago that I started this little blog and even weirder to think that once upon a time the sewing blog world was just something I read about. To quote myself

“One of the reasons I decided to start my own blog was seeing the Me Made June challenge on So Zo… What Do you know? The challenge is to wear handmade items every day in June. I sorted my wardrobe and counted (at the time) about 20 different items and thought it would be something I could just about manage. “

I loved the challenge of the Me-Made or Self-Stitched months and they really helped focus my sewing hobby into a way of creating an actual wardrobe, turning it from a pastime into a way of life. Last year my challenge was to wear all me-made garments (excluding bras, socks, tights and sports wear) each day , and after a few emergency knicker and trouser sewing sessions it was easily managed. At the end of May I actually filled a huge IKEA bag with all the RTW clothes I hadn’t missed over the month, and unpacked a couple of dresses and cardigans I still loved.

Most of the clothes I wear are me-made (or a few years old) and in previous years I have found myself frantically sewing up a me-made version of something I already own. This goes against my normal approach of tweaking and refashioning, as it seems silly to sew up a new pair of work trousers (that will be covered in paint or dirt (seriously, on Monday I was covered in mess before lunchtime)) when there is a perfectly good pair in the wardrobe. Now I know I can be totally me-made, it doesn’t mean I have to for the sake of it.

A challenge wouldn’t be a challenge if it were something you had already done or something you knew you could do pretty easily. We tell the kids at school that if something is easy you aren’t learning so this year…

 ‘I, Alison of anotherlittlecraftycreation, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’14. I endeavour to wear at least one ENTIRELY Me-Made Outfit (with the exception of shoes and socks) a week for the duration of May 2014’

What this means is that a) I will have to have a (me-made) pyjama day once a week or b) I will have to finally make a bra that I am willing to wear inside or outside of the house. I think I may have forgotten to tell you, but in February I did a bra making course! The bra I made was finished well but was not the sort of garment I wear to give me the most support. The next week I traced a pattern from an existing bra and made another, but there were some weird fitting issues. I have copied a different bra to make another pattern, this time marking on the sewing lines not seam lines and so far it is looking good…fingers -crossed it looks okay when I try it on. If not, then it’ll be pyjamas for me!