Well, another Me Made May is done. Other than not loving the term “me made” (but embracing the fact that it is out there and accepted terminology by most of the sewing blog community), I really enjoy the concept of it. This is the second time I have fully documented my outfits throughout the month. 2015 was the first time. In 2014, I didn’t have a huge amount of outfits to wear so I half participated. Last year, I was in Europe for our honeymoon and participated when I returned.
Sorry for the massive embedded video. I can’t seem to make it smaller.
That’s what I wore every day in May. Lots of Cashmerette, Muse, and Colette patterns, but there is also Style Arc, McCall’s, Simplicity, Cake patterns, and some simple “self-drafted” and rtw cloned garments. I always wore handmade undergarments as well.
This year, I didn’t make a formal pledge on the blog or with So Zo. I had some informal ideas worked out in my head. I didn’t want to declare that I needed to wear X number of garments since I wouldn’t really be able to plan that out. I wear pretty much 90% homemade clothes, but have some gaps in my wardrobe that RTW fills. I wanted to pay attention to that and not stress over grabbing RTW items. During the month, I wore RTW cardigans with a waterfall front style. I haven’t made anything like that yet so I’ve added that to my wardrobe plans. I wore RTW tops that are less casual than what I make. I’ve added a few dressier tops to my sewing plans now. I also wore a RTW blazer and that reminded me of my goals for the year to sew a damn blazer so that is in my sewing plans. I’ll get to all my plans later in the post.
For a sewing goal this month, I wanted to get my UFOs and repairs done. I had let 16 of them pile up. I got 9 done (Winslow Culottes, M6754, Belize Shorts, Embroidered Lenox Dress, rtw cardi repair, repair on Philippa top, repair on Three’s a Charm jacket, Jennifer City Shorts, Misty Jeans in capri length), and, out of the 9, 1 was a failure (Jennifer City Shorts, but I will try again with this pattern). I threw 1 into the scrap bin since I felt like it would be a failure anyway due to fabric that was not appropriate (what was I thinking?!). I have 4 more in progress (3 circle skirts and a pattern hack dress) and 2 left to revisit (2 piece swimsuit and my old floral misty jeans that need a strip of fabric added to the sides). The 4 in progress are pretty close to being done. For the circle skirts, I just need to attach the waistbands and then I let them hang for several days. For the pattern hack dress, I have to re-sew some things after a fit test revealed some issues. I feel confident that, after that is done, I can cut out new items now so I can work on my #2017makenine list (I only have one thing on the list done) as well as my wardrobe plans for the summer. I did not get my UFO swimsuit done or even touch it. It will happen soon (hopefully before the end of June), but I wanted the “easier” things out of the way. I should be able to get the bottoms done in no time and then putter away on the top, which uses the Maya bra pattern. The floral Misty Jeans will need the hem and the side seams ripped out first and then it should be really easy once the fabric is cut out for the strips. I can probably get the rest done by the end of June and be able to sew other things on my list.
Which brings me to my list. Me Made May provided me with the opportunity to really evaluate what I need in my wardrobe. Ongoing needs include: leggings, bras, and underwear. I’m not going to plan those things out individually, but say they are continually on my list. This list includes items that I discovered I wanted more of as well as patterns that I wanted to try out and have been in the works for a while. I haven’t added a dress to wear to a wedding that we are going to at the end of September, though, since I haven’t really pinned down what I want. Thanks to Michelle who gave me the idea of planning this out with my Curvy Sketchbook and thanks to the CSC for in inspiring Mini-Capsule Wardrobe month.
Top Row:
- Appleton Dress: Tropical Print Maxi Length 3/4 length sleeves
- M5050: View E White gauze with lace; Misty Jeans: Capri length (Made)
- M7094: View C Navy Blue crepe with orange squigly squares; Jennifer city shorts: twill (to buy)
- Lenox Dress: Cotton mint eyelet
- Oceanside Shorts: green linen rayon; Concord T: Hello Kitty Cotton Lycra
Middle Row:
- Barton Shorts: Tropical print linen rayon with lace; Concord T: Lightweight jersey (to buy)
- Three’s a Charm Jacket: Black Jersey; Springfield top: Red Rayon; Pavlova Skirt: (In progress)
- Simplicity 2350: White crepe with coral satin lining; M6555: White crepe and turquoise crepe
- Scarf Neck Cardigan: lightweight jersey (to buy); Dartmouth top: lightweight jersey (to buy); Misty Jeans: Capri length (Made)
- Peplum top: black rayon; Misty Jeans: Capri length (Made)
Bottom Row:
- Burda Cowl Neck Top: lightweight jersey (to buy); Oceanside Pants: Chambray (to buy)
- Winslow Culottes: Linen or Chambray (to buy); Concord T: Made or planned above
- Burda Keyhole Dress: White rayon with navy polkadots
- Burda Kimono Robe: Silk or Satin (to buy); PJ Pants: flannel; Concord T: Made or planned above
- Springfield top: Flannel hacked into a babydoll sleeping top; PJ Shorts (Barton or 5 out of 4 short length pjs): Flannel
That is 24 things to sew. Not all of this will happen and I am not giving myself a deadline on these plans. Some of them will work for early fall, too. I’m not stressing over finishing this list. But, if I have the energy and motivation to sew, I tend to get a lot done and it is possible that I will get it done. Only a few of these will require the muslin process (the Simplicity blazer, the peplum top, the Burda keyhole dress, Barton shorts). Everything else is either meant to fit big or has been fitted previously. I only need to do an FBA on M5050 and M7094 needs a narrow shoulder adjustment likely. It will be interesting to see what I get done, but I am excited for a bit more variety, versatility and sophistication in my wardrobe.
Andie Wells Studio 
A very productive month for you, and good insights on focus areas. Here’s to you feeling well enough to tackle your to do list! You are very inspiring so thanks for your honest posts.
Thanks so much, Chris. 🙂
Andie, you’ve done so well. Hats off to you 😊 you’ve done a tremendous amount of work and so soon after being so ill. I know that you must’ve worked damn hard, pacing and rehabilitating yourself in order to do all that. You’re an inspiration in beautifully patterned and co ordinated stripes (seriously need a zebra emoji!) Your outfits are gorgeous. I’ve got a wedding to go to too, in October, I haven’t got clue what to wear either. I’m setting up a Pin board for some patterns and ideas to help me (and when it comes to dresses, I really DON’T have a clue!!!) So seeing yours has been a help and a half. Will cruise CSC and other sewing sites in the coming days, going to go back through your posts too I do want to make the effort and effort = a dress! My brothers are everything to me, I’m very close to them both. The older of the two is the groom, the younger the best man. I’m crafter in cheif- invites, jewellery, decorations. All but a very small bit of my crafty time is devoted to that so if I do me make a dress it must be after that’s all done so something that is pretty easy and quick is a must.
Must go. Have to watch technology time as it has knock one. More time to use the hands though!
Great big stripey hugs to you and all the Zebras, Spoonies and Sewers who read your blog too
I hope we can both figure out the wedding outfit! 🙂 stripey hugs back!
These are great goals Andie! I swear sometimes it’s just plain good to sit and brainstorm especially on those days when you have no idea what to do next. I know I need to get back to making some t-shirts. A lot of my older ones have worn out (out of too much love or having used not so great fabric), and I need a couple pairs of shorts too. I still can’t get the idea of the stretch peach brocade fancy pants out of my head, and this is the summer!!
Ooh stretch peach brocade fancy pants sound amaaaaaaaazing!
Dude, I gotta get on it.
You got a ton of stuff done. That’s amazing.
Odd but true: every time I go fabric shopping and see eyelet fabric I look for mint, seriously because of that one time we went fabric shopping and you said you wanted to make a mint cotton eyelet dress. Weird, yes? Did you ever find some or is it still on your shopping list?
That’s awesome! I did find mint eyelet. I had to order it from fabric.com. I always want more though. Haha.
First, I really liked your slide show format for showing your garments you wore in May, much better for me than a whole page of tiny pictures. I think what struck me the most is the variety of colors in your wardrobe. I really think most of us just stick to a few of our favorite colors, but I really like your willingness to use so many different ones, You’ve inspired me to branch out a little more where color is concerned. I wish you the best is tackling your sewing plans, but more importantly I hope you find lot of enjoyment in sewing them,
Thanks so much, Nadine! 🙂 I used to stick to a specific colour palette, but I find it so restrictive. I know there are colours that do not look good near my face, but that I can wear them in a skirt or use colourblocking or pattern placement to help that. But I never ban a colour from my wardrobe. I like the rainbow too much! 🙂 I hope you branch out and enjoy playing with colour!