Friday 10 June 2016

Me-Made-May 2016: The End?

Am I the only one who went to take yet another mirror selfie on June 1st, before realizing that is wasn't Me-Made-May anymore??

Despite easing up on my Me-Made-May goals a little this year, I actually did manage to wear something I made every day, and documented it on Instagram rather than doing a weekly blog post. I missed a couple days, but all those days I was wearing an repeat outfit anyways!

These are some of my favourites - but you can see them all on Instagram!


My main (vague) goal was to find more ways to work my me-mades into my wardrobe, especially my wardrobe for working in the lab. I thought about this a lot, and I did find some new ways to wear things!

A photo posted by Shannon (@youngseamstress) on

This Pendrell blouse that I made from vintage fabric (that belonged to my great-grandma!) has sat unworn for a very long because it just felt too over-the-top cutesy, but with these casual linen shorts that my friend passed on to me (rather than a full skirt), it dresses it down and feels way more wearable!

Another top that I played with some new ways to wear was my recent Sarah Shirt, which I love, but maybe isn't the most flattering on me. I realized that I really like wearing it open, though! The top is buttoned in this photo to stop it blowing open on my bike, but I later unbuttoned it. Worn over a tank top, it's still swingy and fun but not quite as overwhelming on my small frame!


A photo posted by Shannon (@youngseamstress) on

That said, I definitely fell back on a few favourites when I didn't really want to think about putting an outfit together. My most worn piece was definitely my Sutton blouse (on the left below), which didn't surprise me at all! I wore it at least four times (one undocumented), and I may have even worn it on a fifth day that I also forgot to take a picture of. It's the perfect top to just throw on over jeans, or tuck into a skirt, and it can be dressed up or down!

A photo posted by Shannon (@youngseamstress) on

It's funny, because the only reason I made that pattern was because it was chosen for me as part of the Super Online Sewing Match! I never would have picked it out on my own, but I wear it so often and really should make another.

As for my other goals, I wanted to finish my alterations, focus on wearing and making (or planning to make) separates, and learn to copy patterns.

So... I sort of achieved those. I did get through a few alterations, but I still have quite a few to go. I shortened both my floral Moneta dress and my purple Peter Pan collar Moneta dress, which makes them both a little more wearable somehow. I wore both a couple times, and I also realized that I can wear my floral boatneck backwards to make into a scoopneck, which makes it a little less dressy! Here I wore it for a picnic in the park, with my wool Jenna cardi because it was still a little cool that day.

A photo posted by Shannon (@youngseamstress) on

I definitely focused on wearing separates for the lab, because I have to wear pants for safety and practicality. I wore skirts with tights at the beginning of May when it was cool, but I hate wearing tights in hot weather!

A photo posted by Shannon (@youngseamstress) on

(Quick side note: another piece that I never would have imagined that I would wear so much is the denim jacket I'm wearing above! I bought it second-hand from a Facebook group where McGill students buy and sell clothes, and it seems to go with everything I own. It's a perfect spring or summer jacket, and great for dressing down some of my old clothes! Not me-made, but I know that if I ever make a denim jacket, I'll wear it tons.)

Lastly, I wanted to learn to copy patterns and draft some simple ones! I'm still working on this - I have a couple patterns that I've copied, but I haven't made them yet so I still don't know how good a job I did....

Overall, I can't say I actually learned a ton from Me-Made-May this year that I didn't know already. I learned that I'm much more drawn to loose, more casual shapes now, but I knew that already. I also figured out some new ways to wear old pieces that I haven't worn in a long time, which was something I've been trying to do for ages and this gave me a bit of a push to actually do it!

On the other hand, I'm realizing now that there were a lot of pieces I never wore once, like my denim Hollyburn skirt (even after shortening it, I feel like I'm 7 years old when I wear it!), both pairs of Smooth Sailing Trousers (my black pair needs re-hemming after stretching, and my teal pair... I just never really reach for them, I guess), my linen culottes and my green Moneta dress (these I forgot to unpack when the weather got nice - I actually do wear them in the summer!), my Davie dress, and my Natalie dress (both of these were great work dresses last summer, but just don't feel like they're my style anymore!).

Some other pieces that are still in my mending pile are both my Cambie dresses (to shorten), my picnic blanket skirt (also to shorten), the top from my Miz Mozelle set, and some other thrifted pieces.

I thought that I would finish this post and feel like I'd gotten somewhere or had some sort of revelation about my handmade wardrobe, but I'm not sure I learned that much that I hadn't figured out already. My wardrobe is definitely in a bit of a transition state, and that's okay! I'm figuring out what works for me and my lifestyle right now, and filling some gaps both with sewing and thrifting.

The main gaps are practical, comfortable pants; loose, casual tops that I can wear for summer and layer over in the winter; and basically anything that doesn't make me feel like I'm five!

So, this wasn't exactly the insightful post that I thought it would be, but nonetheless, I had fun participating in Me-Made-May, even though I got a little sick of all the selfies by the end!

How about you? if you participated this year, did you find any gaps in your wardrobe, or learn anything new about your style!

10 comments:

  1. I'm a lot like you-- I didn't really learn anything except that I like to wear black, grey and white ! It really was fun, though, and I'm glad I did it.

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    1. I'm finding that I'm more drawn to neutrals lately, too! A lot of my older pieces are more colourful, but I've always worn a lot of black.

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  2. I really like that denim Hollyburn skirt. It seems so versatile. I'm surprised you don't like to wear it.

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    1. In theory, it's a great and versatile skirt! It's just one of those things I take off every time I put on. Maybe I just need to play around with how I wear it a little more!

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  3. I've never participated in MMM (I wear at least one handmade thing each day all year, so it seems a bit pointless) but I enjoy seeing everyone else join in! Do you think your Hollyburn skirt would feel a bit more mature if you distressed it?

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    1. I'm getting to that point too, so I was considering not participating, but when I realized that I wasn't wearing a lot of my handmades, I decided to give it another try, and I'm glad I did. It's also really fun to follow on social media!

      I like the suggestion of distressing it - I'd have to experiment a little with the fabric though, because it's a pretty lightweight denim (almost a shirting weight), and it wasn't the greatest fabric so it's already pulling apart at the seams with hardly any wear. I'm not sure how it would handle distressing, but it's worth trying on some leftover fabric!

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  4. La bonne nouvelle pour toi, c'est que ton style évolue. Puis c'est super de pouvoir coudre et modifier ce qui ne te convient plus! Bravo pour ton MMM.

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    1. Merci Hélène! Je le trouve gratifiant de modifier mes vieux vêtements, mais c'est parfois difficile à savoir où commencer. C'est pourquoi j'ai encore beaucoup qui reste à modifier!

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  5. I didn't take part, because I realised I may have bought patterns and fabric for versatile separates, but really I only have me-made-sundresses. If it were me-made-july I could shine, but alas! So, even without taking part, I realised, in a country with only three months of summer, my sewing should clearly not be focused only on those...

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    1. I was in the same place the first year that knew about MMM (although at that point I didn't have a blog) - all I'd ever made was dresses! As much as I love dresses, I'm finding separates so much more practical. I used to live in Vancouver where it's not even that hot over the summer, so my handmade wardrobe was pretty disproportionate to what I actually wore!

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