We made it !! At the beginning of May I pledged to take part in me made may by wearing handmade at least 5 days a week. I also wanted to use the month to assess my wardrobe and work out what I like wearing and what I need more of in my wardrobe! The final thing I said I wanted to do was to tackle my work in progress pile … now I’ll say this straight away, I didn’t do well on this pledge so lets just leave that here!!
So let’s focus on the outfits!
I gave myself a bit of leeway by pledging to wear handmade for 5 days of the week … I wasn’t sure that I would be able to take photos everyday and even whether I would be able to wear handmade everyday. But I did it, I managed to wear something handmade every single day of May !! There was one day when the only handmade piece was a scrunchie but otherwise I wore at least 1 handmade garment as part of my outfit and I’m so proud of that!
Here are all my photos of each outfit … this May featured a lot of hot days which are not my favourite! But it did mean that I had to try out some new outfit combinations, be brave and wear some dresses in different ways! I also wore trousers quite a bit when it was cooler, I’m not a big trouser wearer (what a weird phrase!) but I really love a lot of the outfits where I’m wearing jeans!
I thought I would highlight the new garments that I made during May (or just before). The pieces that I made were mainly basics that I knew I would get a lot of wear out of. There were a lot of All Well Studio box tops in various styles … It’s probably one of my most worn patterns … it’s so versatile and works in so many different fabrics ! I love how cool they are in the hot weather but also I think they will make great layering pieces for autumn/winter. I’d like to try out some other hacks … maybe little ruffles on the sleeves and hem, button up front, more cropped versions and some more cotton ones too!
I made a few other pieces … particularly Tilly and The Buttons patterns (plus a Tessuti Fabrics Mandy Boat Tee in orange stripe jersey!). First up is the Bobbi skirt which I really love … it took some fitting to get just right but I’m so pleased with it! I did have a bit of a war with the poppers but hopefully they are staying put now !
I also made the Safiya trousers from the Make it Simple book , but I cropped them to make shorts. I kind of used them as a trial run to see how the fit was and if I liked them … the result was great and I’m going to definitely make many more ! One of the things that I am really in need of are shorts so it’s great to find a lovely, easy pattern to use. I’d love to make some plain pairs to go with all my patterned tops.
Finally I made an Indigo dress but extended it to a midi length with a ruffle. I’m slightly undecided on this piece for a few reasons … the sleeves aren’t quite right, for one the shoulders are too wide but also they are just a bit too long. I’m considering taking the sleeves off so that it is a similar style to my tartan indigo dress. I think I may get more use out of it this way. I’m also considering taking off the bottom ruffle ! I’m just not sure whether it looks a bit too much like a Victorian nightdress !! But I think I’ll take off the sleeves and see what happens.
As I mentioned earlier I’ve really enjoyed wearing trousers …. I think some of my favourite outfits have been a simple Mandy Boat Tee with jeans, or with a cute tshirt .
I also really enjoyed wearing skirts … I’d like to make another plain version of the Ness or Bobbi skirt as I love my denim one! It’s so versatile and great all year round !
Something else I found interesting was wearing dresses in different ways. For example a few of my dresses such as the Tartan Indigo dress and the In the Folds peplum top hack I always wear over tshirts or long sleeved tops. But then I was running out of warm weather clothes so I wore them without and was actually really surprised by how much I liked it!
So that’s the round up of my outfits … but I just wanted to say a bit about how much it has helped me work out what needs to been added to my wardrobe. The main thing I need are plains ! Plain tops, plain trousers, skirts and shorts … I’m always drawn to patterns and prints in beautiful colours but realistically I need to buy some plain fabrics that will match with the wonderful prints. So I’m going to try and be strict with myself and do some research into buying some heavier weight plain fabrics for bottoms like trousers and skirts, and also some lighter weight ones and jerseys for tops . I’m also going to have a look at what patterns I can try and add in , particularly basic tops .
Overall I really enjoyed this months challenge … it was a welcome distraction from the monotony of lockdown and was fun to try something new. I’m definitely going to try and document outfits more often, rather than just when I make something new. If I like an outfit I’ll post it, just because ! It was also really lovely seeing other peoples everyday outfits… I discovered lots of new people to follow and have loved engaging with them on their photos. It’s such an amazing community and I think me made May has really highlighted that for me.
I hope that I can keep increasing the proportion of handmade garments in my wardrobe, and introduce more handmade workwear pieces so that when Me Made May comes back round again I’ll be able to take part properly again !
To find out more about each garment, pattern and fabric just head over to my Instagram page here.
sewcraftmegan.wordpress.com 