Me-Made-May '15: Week 5 and Summary

The end of May means the end of Me-Made-May. This was my second time participating, and I would definitely call it a success! I had pledged to wear at least one me-made garment every day, and to sew something with rayon, and I accomplished both. In fact, on several days I wore more than one handmade garment, and one day I managed to fit in four!

Over the course of the month, I wore twenty-one unique handmade garments, which I made from ten different patterns. Three of those items were made this month: my first Clémence Skirt, my third Aberdeen Tunic and my fourth Staple Dress. One of the garments, the Twinkle Twinkle Wiksten tank I made in 2013, was ruined due to a laundry mishap. The most frequently worn item was my Basic Black Aberdeen Tunic, and it’s no surprise that the pattern I wore the most was the Aberdeen Tunic, which showed up a total of ten times. The Julia Cardigan was a close second, at nine times. The only handmade garment in my closet that I didn’t wear was my Oslo Cardigan, so it may be time to donate it.

For the daily photographs, this year I set up my tripod inside our house, next to a window. While it was an improvement over last year’s smartphone photos in front of our door, it still left something to be desired. Most days, it was a little darker than I would have liked, and the limited space meant I cropped my feet out of every picture. Oh well, I have a year to figure out how to improve on this year’s photography.

I love participating in Me-Made-May and following along with other people on Instagram. What I enjoy most about the event, though, is recording my daily outfits and using that data to reflect on what direction I want to take my garment sewing next. Right now, I am conflicted on a couple of points. With the help of the Wardrobe Architect challenge, I have been moving towards a more cohesive capsule wardrobe. However, during this month, I got so bored with my clothes, that I impulsively whipped up the Crimson Poppies Aberdeen Tunic, which I love, and also brought out my two cat themed shirts that had been previously banished because they were the “wrong” colors. Going forward, I need to balance boring but useful staples with quirky and fun pieces that bring me joy. The other point I’m waffling on is the tension between my tendency to remake the same pattern over and over again and the need to try new patterns. I really enjoy making the same thing over and over again, but when I put thirty-one pictures of what I wore this month side-by-side, it looks a little boring, especially when I wear the same pattern two days in a row. There are times when I want to make seven of the same shirt and wear it every day of the week, and times when I want to dress more creatively. I’m not going to stop sewing repeats of the same pattern, but I am going to try to be more thoughtful about it, and intentionally try new patterns. I will admit that one of the reasons I make the same thing repeatedly is that I dislike both assembling PDFs and tracing patterns, so I tend to just reach for my already prepared patterns. I need to get over that.

Here are the details for Week 5:

Monday, May 25, 2015: Cattitude Wiksten Tank, Basic Black Julia Cardigan
Tuesday, May 26, 2015: Crimson Poppies Aberdeen Tunic, Navy Julia Cardigan
Wednesday, May 27, 2015: Basic Black Plantain Tee
Thursday, May 28, 2015: Pearl Bracelet Wiksten Tank, Cotton + Steel XOXO Clémence Skirt
Friday, May 29, 2015: Domino Staple Dress
Saturday, May 30, 2015: Basic Black Aberdeen Tunic
Sunday, May 31, 2015: Cotton + Steel Gemstone Staple Dress (not yet blogged)

I’m actually kind of sad that Me-Made-May is over and can’t wait until next May!

Me-Made-May ’15: Week 4

The fourth week of Me-Made-May is over and now we’re headed into the home stretch! At this point of the month, I’m somewhat sick of selfies and wearing variations of the same things over and over again. Previously, I had been trying to stick to the garments that fit within my Wardrobe Architect color scheme, but my capsule wardrobe was a little too cohesive and I got bored. Craving a little variety, I returned my two Catnap fabric shirts to my closet. They’re not in “my colors,” but they sure are fun!

Monday, May 18, 2015: Triangle Tokens Belcarra Blouse, Basic Black Julia Cardigan
Tuesday, May 19, 2015: Pearl Bracelet Wiksten Tank
Wednesday, May 20, 2015: Crimson Poppies Aberdeen Tunic (not yet blogged)
Thursday, May 21, 2015: Gridlocked Wiksten Tank
Friday, May 22, 2015: Polka Dot Aberdeen Tunic, Navy Julia Cardigan
Saturday, May 23, 2015: Cotton + Steel XOXO Clémence Skirt, Basic Black Manila Leggings
Sunday, May 24, 2015: Catnap Bess Top

Me-Made-May ’15: Week 3

Can you believe that May is already halfway over? At this rate, it will be June before we know it. As far as Me-Made-May goes, this week was a good one. In spite of the fact that one of my Wiksten tanks bit the dust due to a laundry accident, the week improved from there. I was able to revive my black Plantain tee, which had been tossed in the “doesn’t fit” pile. With jeans, it’s not long enough, but it’s perfect with my new Clémence Skirt. Add a Julia Cardigan and some Manila Leggings, and you’ve got a Me-Made-Day with four different handmade items! I was pretty stoked about that one. Also, I was getting bored with all the black and dark blue in my wardrobe, so I whipped up a new Aberdeen Tunic in brighter colors. That’s what I call a good week.

Monday, May 11, 2015: Pearl Bracelet Wiksten Tank, Basic Black Julia Cardigan
Tuesday, May 12, 2015: Button-Up Belcarra Blouse
Wednesday, May 13, 2015: Dotted Boulevard Myrtle Dress, Basic Black Manila Leggings
Thursday, May 14, 2015: Gridlocked Wiksten Tank
Friday, May 15, 2015: Basic Black Aberdeen Tunic, En Route Julia Cardigan
Saturday, May 16, 2015: Basic Black Plantain Tee, Navy Julia Cardigan, Cotton + Steel Clémence Skirt (not yet blogged), Basic Black Manila Leggings
Sunday, May 17, 2015: Crimson Poppies Aberdeen Tunic (not yet blogged)

Me-Made-May ’15: Week 2

Well, the second week of Me-Made-May has come and gone. It’s fascinating to record what you wear every day and uncover your unconscious fashion quirks. For example, twice this past week, I wore a Wiksten Tank/Julia Cardigan combo without realizing it. Oops. I also wore the same Aberdeen Tunic twice this week. That was on purpose because I really wanted to wear it with the Clémence Skirt that I finished just in time to wear on Mother’s Day. More on that later.

Monday, May 4, 2015: Gridlocked Wiksten Tank, Basic Black Julia Cardigan

Tuesday, May 5, 2015: Polka Dot Aberdeen Tunic

Wednesday, May 6, 2015: Twinkle Twinkle Wiksten Tank, Navy Julia Cardigan

Thursday, May 7, 2015: Triangle Tokens Belcarra Blouse

Friday, May 8, 2015: Basic Black Aberdeen Tunic

Saturday, May 9, 2015: Spark Double Gauze Belcarra Blouse

Sunday, May 10, 2015: Basic Black Aberdeen Tunic, Cotton + Steel Clémence Skirt (not yet blogged)

Me-Made-May ’15: Week 1

Three days of Me-Made-May down, twenty-eight to go! So far, it has been fun to compare my progress with last year’s Me-Made-May. Day 1 and Day 2 were new outfits that figured knit items, but Day 3 was unintentionally a close repeat of last year’s Day 26. I guess I’m pretty predictable.

This year, I’m trying a new location for my photos, since my wardrobe full of dark colors doesn’t lend itself to being photographed in front of a black door. I’m also using a tripod (thanks, Dad!) instead of asking my long-suffering and under-appreciated husband to take the pictures. The tripod has proven irresistible to my four-year-old, so I let her “help” me take photos this weekend. Thus, the “creatively” framed Day 2 picture. Here’s to encouraging creativity in our children early!

Friday, May 1, 2015: Basic Black Aberdeen Tunic
Saturday, May 2, 2015: Dotted Boulevard Myrtle Dress, Basic Black Manila Leggings
Sunday, May 3, 2015: Simply Style Belcarra Blouse