If you aren’t involved in the garment making community (yet, ::wink::), you may be wondering what Me Made May is all about. The movement originally started with one sewing blogger challenging herself to wear handmade clothes for one month and now it has grown into one of the most well known events in the sewing community. Over the past few years as I began sewing clothes for myself and following more and more makers via social media, I mostly watched in awe when each May rolled around. People would post photos day after day of themselves in their handmade wardrobe, and it was simultaneously inspiring and incredibly intimidating. Following a pattern and making a garment is one thing, but making a garment that fits well, is comfortable, and that you love enough to wear out and about in the world is another thing entirely. To do it for an entire month? Forget about it.
Earlier on in my sewing journey, as happens to many sewists, I would whip through a pattern just aching to get to the final product for the joy of making! Over time I have learned very well the importance of slowing down and getting the fit and finish exactly right so that I will end up with a piece I truly love to wear. (I’ll be talking more about this progression and what I’ve learned in future posts.)
The great thing about a challenge like Me Made May is that there is no obligation. No one even needs to know you are participating, so you can determine the level of involvement you want to commit to. A very accomplished sewist might decide to wear handmade head to toe every day, while a beginner might opt for simply carving out time for the making of a garment every day of the month.
I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself because I knew that if I did, it would make me super anxious and suck all the joy out of the experience. I also knew that I wanted to finally participate in one way or another. This year, for the first time, I felt that I had enough handmade garments that I love that I could actually make it through the month while wearing one handmade piece every day AND I included the caveat that if I missed a day, I would at least do some sewing on a current garment project for myself.
Now that I’m on the other side of this challenge I have SO many thoughts, feelings, and reflections on what I learned from it all. Scroll down to find the photo gallery of my (almost) daily documentation of the challenge as well as to find my many takeaways from the experience. I missed a few days unintentionally and now I don’t know exactly why – most likely preoccupation with other life things/being in workout clothes on weekends. I did sew on all the days I didn’t wear me made, so I would call this a definite success.
