Me Made May 2013 - Week Five, and Some Final Thoughts...

'Tis done, 'tis finished, 'tis finished, 'tis done! My first Me Made May is complete, and I've loved it. First things first; here's the week's round up:

Day 25:

Winter Trails Beanie.
Everything else: RTW.
This felt like a bit of a cop out, but it is an item and it is made by me. So it does fit my pledge :) Plus, I was trying to wear some as yet unworn makes this week. And my head was roasty toasty warm all day...


Day 26:

Cold. Out comes the Beatnik!
Everything else: RTW.
I think I just adhered to the mid-way no-repeat outfits pledge here, but it's pretty much Day 20's outfit. In real life the mauve top brought out the purplish tones of the wool, but the photo doesn't really show that. Think I prefer a white top underneath, in any case.

Day 27:

Colette Ginger skirt

Everything else: RTW.

Very happy day, this! Spent it fabric shopping with a dear friend in Melbourne. New projects in the pipeline...

Day 28:

Refashioned jacket, made from thrifted A-line skirt.

Everything else: RTW.

Another as-yet-unworn item :)  I really want to love this, but it doesn't quite do it for me. There's nothing really wrong with it, I think I'm just not friendly enough with pink. Mind you, the necklace, which I'd forgotten I had, was a perfect colour match - brought out the tweedy tones nicely.  Burda 7494 was the starting point.

Day 29:

Dress: Very much modified version of Burda 7494. Also not previously worn :)

Everything else: RTW.

This is really a summer dress, but the broderie anglais is fairly heavy, and it's lined. (It can actually be a bit too warm for an Australian summer.) So with a few layers it transitions to winter wear pretty well. Wouldn't have discovered that without MMM!

It probably wasn't an ideal outfit to wear to the pool however...

Day 30:

Colette Ginger skirt. Same as Day 13.
Everything else: RTW.
It's been interesting to see how the daily photos pick up different colours/tones in clothes. This fabric is a navy, scarlet, yellow and white stripe. The scarf is the exact red of the fabric, but because the yellow and red stripes blend together, the coral top is a better match with the skirt. Funny how you can see what you expect to see sometimes, rather than what's actually there...


Day 31:

Style Arc ponte leggings. Love, love, love!
Shirt: secondhand.
Everything else: RTW.
I really thought the scarf was a better match than that. Hopefully it's just the camera!

So there we are! 31 days of me made goodness, and no outfit repeats - pretty happy with that. And I did complete four queued projects, just not the ones I was planning. I just realised I still have a top, skirt and a dress that didn't get worn too (should have taken advantage of the pseudo-summer weather early on in the month!).

And what have we learned from MMM?

1. I definitely need to make more comfy, casual stuff. The weekends were actually the hardest days to pull off. Judging by how often the Beatnik jumper was pulled on (many, many evenings!) I must knit a few things before MMM14.

2.  Making sewing plans during May, I noticed I was starting to think more about how a garment would fit into my existing wardrobe, rather than just sewing up a pattern or fabric I loved. There's nothing wrong with doing that of course, but I just think I need to be a lot more considered about how I use my sewing time.

3.  I think I've finally gotten over outfit self-consciousness! (Giant leap forward in personal growth) It was really satisfying wearing my own makes, and going back over the photos, I'm happy with how they all look. I think I've lost that "vulnerable" feeling I used to have when I wore something I made myself - and that feels great!

4.  The online sewing community is wonderful! I knew this before, but there was something so uplifting about knowing there were were hundreds of women (were there any men??) all in this challenge together, cheering one another on. And the creative talent out there is astounding.

5. MMM has got me thinking about "enough"; specifically, how big does my wardrobe need to be? I started this year of no RTW for lots of reasons, but a significant one was to slow down my consumption, and my frenetic, unconsidered buying of stuff. I do love clothes and the whole process of making them, but I don't want to just swap one type of consumption for another. There's always another pattern, or bolt of fabric, or blog post to inspire, and that's wonderful, but I guess I'm just wondering, when is enough enough - and how can you tell?

I don't have the answers; these are just questions that MMM has raised for me. Is anyone else wrestling with this? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for a wonderful MMM13!

Danielle oxo