Me Made May 2016 Week 5 & Wrap Up!

This is my third year of Me Made May (MMM) and this year I have pledged to wear three Me Made items per day for the duration of May (if you want to know more, my pledge post has more info on my pledge and MMM). I have come a long way from my first project four years ago. Sewing got me hooked on making things myself and personalizing everything! Which means I am including sewing projects, refashions, heat transfer transformations and all sorts of DIY accessories, bags and adornments. I am posting my outfits daily to facebook, instagram and of course the official flickr group.  So please, follow along and let me clog your feed with my OOTD! If you would prefer a more concise version, I will be posting a wrap up like this each week. See week one here and week two here.

For those of you who are DIY or sewing oriented, I have links to the projects (where possible). And for those of you who are terrified to put needle to fabric or get out the glue, I hope you find inspiration! As I say, I have only been sewing for four years and I am aspiring to a 100% me made wardrobe one day. But I am proof that you can definitely start making now and be ready to participate next year. I really love how MMM makes me mindful about what I’ve made – coming up with new combos and ways to make items more usable. I also love how it makes me mindful about what I have, what I need and how to prioritize my making. I always save the photos I share through MMM to folder on my phone. It makes a great reference when I can’t think of what to wear! So let’s see what I threw on this week…

My Me Made’s Are:

No slip headscarf – blogged

Ask Sarah ‘Mr Pj’s’ tee – blogged & for sale

Sewing Allstars Cardi – blogged 

Cat skull sneakers – Tutorial in Indie Love Magazine issue 3

1. I actually really love my wardrobe! It’s quite cohesive and easy to mix and match.
2. My me mades have grown in number! I still think it’s not a fully rounded out wardrobe but it is far greater than a capsule wardrobe.
3. Cold weather has meant no dresses this time. In fact quite a few things didn’t make an appearance because of weather.
4. This year I found that I was far better prepared for the cold weather, so my sewing planning is working!
5. I feel it’s been such a good thing that I’ve expanded my super casual/lounge wardrobe. Warm, comfy things that are okay for a quick supermarket trip.
6. Never before has there been so many outfits based on jeans! I attribute this to having made cute sneakers and my current rockabilly vibe.
7. I’ve been so excited to branch out into DIY – sneakers and whipped cream cherry ballet flats and my atomic handbag and brooches. It makes personalizing an outfit even more personal. And I feel oddly accomplished because I’ve made things that I didn’t think possible to make.
8. Seeing all those pics made me realize how important the accessories and details are, like belts and brooches. Ask anyone, I always add them but I rarely record those outfits with a pic and ruminate on what works.
9. Bandanas are the bomb! Bad hair days are banished, they keep your head warm and they are cute! I am so glad I found a way to wear them and have them stay on.
10. You really don’t know what you can make from what you have, until you do an outfit of the day photo every day for a month! If you want to tighten up your outfit game, this is the way to do it. You don’t have share, just use it as your own reference.

I will forever be grateful to Zoe for creating this challenge. It’s a lovely focus for the year and I always finish May with a better sense of myself, my wardrobe and what needs to be in my sewing queue. And then there is the lovely, social aspect of it. Of course it is flattering to see the likes, faves and shares click over on social media – I mean, I’m being constantly, low key complimented. The real ego stroke is when someone wants to know how you made that and then makes their own. But nice as it is to be so loved up, the real enjoyment is sitting down with a glass of wine at the end of the day and viewing everyone else outfits and me made creations. Creators of amazing wearables from around the world coming together to share. And we creators NEED that! It’s not like we do much shopping with girlfriends who will tell that your bum looks fat in that. If they knock your me made, they are knocking your judgement, skill and choices. Zoe has created a safe, sharing community where that shopping kinship becomes a creator kinship.

On that note, I am going to leave you to ponder your relationship with what you wear and what you make, while I comb through the Me Made May photos others have posted. I need to stalk some blogs, read some tutorials, buy some sewing patterns and make some lists! You better believe that I will be doing this again next May and from where I sit and type – I have a lot to sew!

Find more about MMM here. I have linked to each week of this year below, you’ll find links to blog posts and tutorials for each outfit worn this year in them.

• Week 1 2016
• Week 2 2016
• Week 3 2016
• Week 4 2016
• 2015
• 2014