Good morning & happy May, everyone! Today we are gonna talk about my tshirts! I briefly touched over this pattern in my last post (and also when I made this ~heart-on~ sweater), but I’ve done some more tweaking to my pattern so I thought I would share some updates.
My first renditions were pretty awesome as far as the fit of the body was concerned, but were quite lacking in the neckline department. I love a deep scoop neck, but something about that neckline was practically square and it just drove me way crazier than it should have. I ended up retracing my pattern and substituting the Briar neckline and binding, which I think makes for a much more flattering scoop neck. I also lengthened the body just a bit more and copied the hem off the Ensis Tee because I really loved that subtle curve.
Just to be clear – I did not do ANY drafting with this pattern. I’m not a pattern drafter; I’m a copier and a tracer and I loves me a good Frankenpattern. I copied the body and cap sleeves from the Lady Skater. Obviously this pattern is just for my personal use, but it’s pretty easy to hack out your own if you’ve got patterns on hand with elements that you like and want to mash up into one pattern 🙂
Soooo anyway, here are my finished tees as of these latest adjustments. I used a few different types of fabrics, so they’re all slightly different looking and feeling (probably not so much in the pictures, but definitely so much in real life).
THE PINK LADY: This is the first one I made – I used some fabric in my stash that I only sort of cared about (cared enough to wear if it worked out, cared little enough to not cry if it didn’t) to make sure my adjustments all translated into something cohesive at the end. I bought this fabric at Textile Discount Outlet when I was in Chicago like… 2 years ago. Eep. It’s a soft poly knit that was pretty inexpensive but has held up surprisingly well and resisted pilling. I actually bought enough to make a maxi dress – I 100% blame this on the girl who was cutting it, because she told me she would make a maxi with it and then that’s all I could see for the rest of the day – and then I cut said maxi dress and SOMEHOW LOST THE BACK PIECE. I honestly have noooo idea where that piece went. I literally crawled around on the floor of my sewing room like a dog in search of it. It disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle or something, idk. I’ve even purged my sewing room and moved since them, and still can’t find that damn back piece. No idea, y’all. No idea.
Also – green hair & different background! How old is this picture?! Ha! Before you get all up in arms about how bad my hair looks – I know it looks bad. This was during the very end of my green, when I was intentionally fading it so it would be easier to color correct at the salon.
Some flat shots:
To make these, I just whip them through my serger and use this method to apply the neck binding. The hem and sleeves are finished with a twin needle. Super easy!
THE WALDO: To be honest, this particular tshirt is 100% the reason why I was hacking around with this pattern so much. The fabric is an amazing rayon/spandex that I bought/splurged on at Cloth House during my big shopping day with Tilly (don’t ask me which Cloth House; we went to both but I can’t remember which one ended up taking my money haha). It was pretty pricy – I think around £18 per meter – but I only needed a small amount to make a tshirt, so I justified it. Also, it came in an adorable little bag that made me feel like I was carrying around a present, so that was nice haha. It’s a thin knit, but it’s not sheer. The added spandex gives the fabric a bit of heft, so it kind of sucks in and holds up and doesn’t really drape. It also holds it’s shape REALLY well. I wish I had more of this fabric in every color of the rainbow, it’s incredible.
ANYWAY, I have a similarly-striped vintage Henley that has 3/4 sleeves (well, long sleeves… but it’s child-sized, so 3/4 sleeves on me, ha) that I love wearing, but it’s falling apart so I’ve been looking for a replacement ever since. This is not an exact replacement – lack of Henley buttons and short sleeves and all that – but it’s a bit more appropriate for the climate I live in, as I can wear short sleeves almost year round. Awesome.
THE BLAQUE: I’ve been lacking a simple black tshirt (and white, for that matter) for a looong time, so obviously that was the next wardrobe filler to make. This fabric is from Metro Textile, and I bought it back in March. It’s another rayon/spandex, similar to the Cloth House fabric, but a little lesser quality (that’s not to say it’s bad quality – but nothing can compare to that striped dream above. Nothing.). It has the same sucking-in and holding-it’s-shape qualities as the striped rayon, but it has a little bit of a drape. The fact that it doesn’t bag out over the course of the day means that this one will get a lot of wear. Hate having clothing that grows 3 sizes by the end of the day.
Also, um, sorry bout the deo stain by the hem. Whoops. At least you know my pits smell fresh.
THE WHITE W(H)INE: My least favorite of the bunch, if only because of fabric choice. It’s funny how you can make the same freaking pattern and still have each finished garment look different depending on the fabric you used. This fabric was also from Metro Textiles, and it’s also a rayon, but it’s lacking that sweet, sweet spandex. As a result, the fabric is very lightweight, borderline sheer, and drapes like a dream. It also meant that the shirt was a bit too big, especially around the bicep. I tried it on before hemming and sucked in the side seams about 1/2″ on each side and took about 1″ off the sleeve circumference. It’s still a little loose – and the lack of elasticness in the fabric means this will grow over the course of the day – but I think it looks all right. Next time, though, I’m sticking with knits that have some spandex.
Couple of other things – my shorts are linen Thurlows from a couple of years ago. They’re a little big in the legs, but the looseness is ok for now because that is a pretty fresh tattoo you’re seeing on my thigh. No close-ups because it’s in the gross peeling stage right now, but here’s a shot taken immediately after it was finished.
So anyway, going back to the title of this post – Me-Made-May has just started, and my Instagram feed is delightfully full of endless selfies featuring handmades. To those of y’all who are unfamiliar with MMM, it’s a month-long challenge to get you wearing your handmades and figuring out wardrobe gaps (check out the link; Zo does a much better job of explaining it than I do). I have participated for a few years now – 2012, 2013 and 2014 – and I always enjoy it, except for the whole daily photo part 😛 This year, though, I have decided to opt-out.
For one, I make everything I wear now. I own very little RTW, and none of it is new – it’s just stuff that managed to survive several closet purges. Wearing handmade is something that I do daily, from my pajamas to my jeans to my tshirts to even my freaking underwear. It seems a bit silly and redundant to spend a month documenting it at this point. There’s nothing novel about it for me, it’s just my daily life. Also, I HATE taking daily photos. Gets old after about 3 days.
The bigger reason why I’m choosing to opt out is because my participation has given me this weird complex about repeating outfits. I don’t know why! Outfit repeats used to be a big part of my style (I like it and I latch onto it, ain’t no shame in that) – but something about spending a month documenting your wardrobe and trying to intentionally wear different outfits every day really started to make me feel like I *needed* to always have something fresh and new. That’s not really a sustainable way of dressing – and having a giant closet of things I only sorta like is surprisingly stressful. I went down a weird rabbit hole of not ever wearing my favorite pieces, because I wanted to “save” them for… something. Which is REALLY stupid! I wear (and make!) clothes because I like them and I feel good in them. If I want to wear the same dress three times in one week, I should just do it. If anyone notices that I’m wearing the same dress 3x in one week, then that’s their problem, not mine. Unless I smell, which in that case someone should definitely say something.
While I love and appreciate what Me-Made-May stands for and how it helps people get out of clothing ruts and determine wardrobe holes, it’s just not working for me. So I won’t be participating this year, and y’all can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that you don’t get blasted with 31 extra photos of my mug this month 🙂
On that note – how’s your Me-Made-May going? Are you participating? Have you opted out? Are you enjoying the daily updates of outfits as much as I am?
LLADYBIRD 
I actually feel pretty similarly about MMM; I don’t wear 100% me-made, yet, but I wear at least a couple me-made items a day. I also don’t have (or want to have) enough to rotate without repeating, which was sort of the next step in MMM-ness, so I decided to sit this one out. I’d say MMM accomplished what it was supposed to: I wear the things I make, with no shame or fear that it’s not *professional*.
I was super-excited to make tons of t-shirts and ordered all this rayon fabric (after checking the fabric content of my favoritest RTW tee), and it’s ALL WRONG. Zero recovery, so it gets super baggy. I don’t have the slightest idea what to do with all this stuff, now, but I love the colors. Maybe I’ll just make workout tees, so when they bag out I can rock the one-shoulder eighties aerobics look. =/
Ohhhh I totally know that feeling of ordering too much of the wrong fabric! It’s REALLY hard when you can’t feel it irl to see if it’s right (and even when you can – sometimes you still don’t realize it’s wrong until you’ve actually sewn it up). Such a bummer! I always use that fabric to make things like workout wear and sleep shirts. It’s still getting used, but for instances where I don’t necessarily need to look pulled together 🙂
I think if I blogged as frequently as you do, I’d opt out too. I keep meaning to blog (and I have a domain and all that shizz) but I just never get around to actually doing it. So for me, it’s less about challenging myself to wear my me-made wardrobe (I do that pretty well) or even finding the holes in my me-made wardrobe (again, I spot that year round, no problem) and more about sharing my me-mades. Like I said, I don’t blog and most people I’m friends with don’t know if I’ve made what I’m wearing or not. A lot of my friends on FB don’t get a chance to see my daily outfits, so with MMM I get a chance to share all the nifty stuff I’ve made. The downside of MMM for me is that May is a transition month in Michigan. Winter’s been long enough that I’ve grown to hate my boots, tights and layers and am desperately craving bare legs and sundresses. So I end up documenting the same stuff over and over as I fall in love again with items I haven’t worn in six months. I did a lame “pledge” this year, but mostly because I wanted to have the excuse to document stuff I’ve been making. Hahaha
That’s actually the main reason why I participated in MMM the past 3 years – to share and document my makes (and I guess the reason why I started blogging as well!). Now it just seems redundant since I’m blogging this stuff anyway. But I understand wanting to share without actually having to write a bunch of stuff about it!
Totally agree about being sick of leggings! I don’t care if it only gets to 50 here, I’m DONE with them. Floral dresses FTW!
For the love of sanity, can you please move that pocket down so that the stripes match?!?
Ok, now that that’s out of my system, that’s a wicked collection of Tshirts. I love your blog. I’m incredibly envious of the sheer volume of stuff you get through and share. It’s actually my sewing-porn until this semester of uni (school) is over and I have time to finish my own projects. Sooo many UFOs loitering around out there in my sewing basket.
Haha sorry, I like the mismatched stripes. I cut it wrong on accident but I think it looks kind of cool. The pocket stays 😛
HAHAHAH.
I will “ARrrrgh” in the piece of my own little sewing-shed then 😉
I thought that too at first. At least it is exactly one stripe off – half and half would look really shoddy 🙂
I keep meaning to make basic t-shirts and then I get distracted with dresses. LOL. The Ts look great.
I’m participating in MMM this year for the first time. I sort of did a half-assed participation last year, but was tired of the pictures after a bit and hadn’t really built up my handmade wardrobe at all. I don’t have an issue repeating outfits, but I started wearing lipstick and blush, which I don’t wear usually, for the pictures and that annoys me. I feel such obligation to not look like a blood-drained vampire-victim… 😛 #canadianwinterpale
Haha i totally understand – I do the same thing. Then I get frustrated because I have no tshirts to go with my skirts/pants 🙂
Ooh I really like the bold stripes of that fabric, nice!! The red is my favorite. Totally with you on MMM. I don’t have an entirely me-made wardrobe like you, but I wear things I make several times a week and have no problem in doing so, and I don’t need to overcome struggles to try to put together outfits with the things I’ve made. So I really have no reason to join in. At this point it would just be documenting an outfit every single day just for the sake of documenting an outfit every single day and… um nope. lol
Yeah, people who want to document an outfit every since day are fine with me, but I am NOT a fashion blogger so you won’t be seeing that here! ha!
Nice tees! The Cloth House only have 1 (not 2) stores now – so if peops are after a visit they’d need to head to 47 Berwick Street, London 🙂
It’s my first ever MMM and I’m at the me-made point now where I’ve just enough stuff to wear 1-piece a day for the whole month (with a few washes LOL!). I’m hoping in 2-3 years time to be 80-90% RTW free in my wardrobe 🙂
Ohh, I didn’t realize they closed one of the shops. That must have had something to do with that epic sale they had a little whiles back (which I’m STILL jealous of all the fabrics people were snatching up, argh!).
Yup! I bought nearly 40m of stuff in their sale 😉
The tees look nice! I know some people get bored with sewing basics, but sometimes it’s nice to just be able to whip something immensely useable out.
I opted out of MMM, but for the opposite reason–being 6 weeks away from my due date means that I have very few me-mades (or clothes, period) that still fit, and all of them have been shown on my blog within the last couple of months. Honestly, I have way too much to still finish up to have to worry about outfit selfies right now.
Oh yeah, I don’t blame you one bit for opting out! You have some REALLY important stuff to get together/prepare for, which def takes some precedence over outfit selfies 🙂
Love your T’s! It is so hard and personal trying to find a basic t-shirt pattern that fits the way you want it to.
As far as MMM goes, for you there wouldn’t be a challenge anymore, which is the point. This is my second year participating but first attempting to document it with photo’s. Though I am not off to a great start with the photos I am still actively meeting my challenge, and to be honest who really wants to see basics or pajamas and repeats everyday? In spite of hating to take selfies (and my daughter laughing at me) I really enjoy just how encouraging and inspiring it is to see all the different outfits people have made and using the month of may to celebrate their efforts.
I also really like your blog. Its real and gritty and fun. So as long as we still get to see your makes and pattern interpretations I’m happy 🙂 I’ve bought several patterns based on your versions of them when I wouldn’t have considered them by the envelopes.
It’s definitely encouraging and inspiring to see everyone’s outfits from MMM 🙂 I am LOVING all the handmade in my feed 🙂 It’s nice to sit back and watch everyone else instead of participate, that’s for sure 🙂
And thank you! I’m so glad you enjoy my blog 😀
Love the red & white stripe shirt, too! And love your hair color. I am going to Chicago & would love to visit some of the fabric stores. Do you have a list of ones I should go to? Or maybe some of your readers can give me suggestions?
I wrote about my fabric shopping experiences in Chicago a couple times on this blog – you can read the posts here and here. Hope that helps 🙂
I would love to have a sewing meetup in Chicago! There are definitely some great places around here, but my favorite is when the Vogue Fabrics Warehouse has their sale twice a year. Next one’s coming up May 14-15, and although I’m supposed to be on a fabric diet, I think I’ll let myself splurge a little there.
I wish i could opt into me made may but i’m still working on the whole wardrobe thing. PLUS, i haven’t even LOOKED at that damn dress since I left your house. It’s those damn darts that I don’t want to figure out how the lining will match up. I’ll get to it once I finish up a few of these basics. 🙂
That red stripey shirt is so Where’s Waldo and I adore it. Perfect with a pair of jeans. I always want to make the flouncy things and I forget the basics, but you make them look really fun and cute. 😀
Flouncy things are fun, but there’s something super extra fun about making a boring basic and watching people’s eyes boggle when you tell them you made your boring white tshirt and boring jeans 🙂 At least, that’s what I tell myself when I’m in creating basics sweatshop mode, ha! And hey, I wouldn’t worry about putting off the dress for now – I mean, you’ve got, what, a whole year before your birthday? Oh yeah, dress can wait hahahah 😛
I love the red one! That’s definitely my favorite.
This is my first year of MMM but I can definitely understand why you opted out. I’m hoping to get to a point where my entire wardrobe is handmade, but it will be a while. What I have noticed is that I seem to be a dress-a-holic. Guess it’s time to sew some separates!
I think every dress-wearer goes through the dress-a-holic phase when they start sewing 🙂 I was there for a few good years haha! Eventually you burn out and realize there are other clothes you can make and wear 😀 haha
I’m doing MMM for the first time, but I don’t exactly have loads of hand made stuff so I’m only trying for 3 times a week. It’s hard to say if it’s serving it’s purpose for me just yet, although I’ve already combined a few pieces I hadn’t worn together before so it’s been helpful in getting me out of my outfit rut, I love repeating outfits.
That’s awesome! Just getting out of outfit ruts is a really beneficial part of MMM, I think 🙂
Great t-shirts! I love the red one and the peach coloured one. I haven’t commented on your blog before, but have been lurking for some time! I am trying to do Me Made May this year to get me to wear my me made clothes. I need to try and style them so that I actually wear them! I have made quite a few clothes now, but i still feel that they look handmade. I think playing about with the styling could help – well I hope so!!!
They might look handmade to you since you made them, but I promise you that anyone else looking at your stuff won’t think that 🙂 They’ll just be impressed that you made anything at all! Even my most cringe-inducing, super handmade ratty looking shit has totally blown minds when people found out I made them 🙂 Don’t be so hard on yourself! And yes, have fun playing with that styling!
I actually opted IN for MMM as a way to ease myself back into blogging following a 6 month hiatus. I still sew and knit most of my clothes but have been too lazy to document them. MMM gives me the push to do so!
Oh man, if I had a 6 month hiatus I think that would be enough to break my blogging habit for good haha. Good for you for getting back into the swing of things!
My big Me-Made-May goal is to wear handmade items to work. Most of my items are for casual wear. I have to get pretty dressed up for work and my office clothes have a different personality from my “play clothes.” I did make a winter coat this past winter and wore it to work many times, so that inspired me. My M-M-M goal is to wear one piece of handmade clothing a week.
I think being able to wear your handmade clothes in a professional environment is a good sign that you’re really in it for the long haul 🙂 You’ve got this!
The pink lady is my fave! I need to make more tees too. Of course participating in my first MMM I realized this with only 6 days in….sigh. I think it will be good for me so I can assess where my handmade wardrobe is lacking. I LOVE spying on everyone’s outfits for MMM. Does that make me a creep? I am ok with that.
If it makes you a creep, then I guess I’m a creep too! Spying and lurking is my FAVORITE part of MMM, ha!
Nice! Love that new tattoo — it’s beautiful!
I’m skipping Me-Made May, too. I am a super re-wearer (ugh, one year my MMM was almost entirely me-made leggings and t-shirts because I was working at home, lol — soooo boring) and I wear SOMETHING me-made almost every day year round.
Love the pocket on the first one!!!!! xo
♥♥♥ !
Love your t-shirts! Actually I dig the unaligned pocket, it makes the t-shirt more quirky – and there’s nothing wrong with quirky!
I understand why you’re given MMM a miss, it does seem that it works best for those that have only just embarked on the me-made journey. I found it interesting last year (6 months into sewing my own wardrobe) and this year I’m participating again, but I think it will be less of a challenge, with more garments under my belt (or over it for that matter!) In my case, it is probably no bad thing to reflect on my wardrobe more. For many years, I ended up with a wardrobe of just RTW t-shirts and jeans, mostly as nothing else fitted / inspired me and I’m so glad I’ve now got an interest in what I wear, which has been a great self-esteem boost as well as a creative outlet.
Well done for wearing the clothes you like as much as you like too! I definitely agree no-one should feel they have to do a “no-repeats” thing. Who are we? Kate Middleton?
Actually, Kate Middleton does occasionally repeat garments, although maybe not entire outfits. I always find it funny when style articles talk about her repeats like she’s doing this big brave thing. Um, no, maybe she just wants to wear that dress a second time! 🙂
I’m participating for only the second year, but have decided not to take daily outfit photos. That part is definitely stressful! And Zo points out that it’s not really the point, so I’ve decided I won’t feel guilty about it. I’ll probably still post a little on IG, but won’t obsess about it. Last year was a little difficult, since I was a pretty new sewer. I have like 3x as many me-mades this year, so I don’t anticipate it being too hard. I do want to make an effort to wear everything at least once, though – if I don’t want to wear it again after that, then it needs to get out of my closet! I have many many wardrobe holes, but I just LOVE wearing dresses with flowers on them (wearing *another* one today that I just finished last night), so I’m okay with the holes. The idea of sewing jeans doesn’t really appeal to me, though I could probably use a couple of well-fitting t-shirts like yours.
Anyway, rambling over, lovely post as always!
Sewing jeans never appealed to me either, not for a looong time. Then something switched and I just can’t get enough of them! I wish I had I had a need for 3 dozen pairs of jeans in my wardrobe, because I’d definitely make the shit out of them if I thought I could get away with it 🙂 haha!
I have never participated in MMM, but I wear at least one me-made item every day and a lot of days it is getting to the point it is totally me-made, whether sewn or hand knit. The thought of documenting it is daunting to me. Some days I feel like it is a major accomplishment to get an outfit pulled together. Let alone it’s repeat factor or anything.
I’m gearing up for some total cake sewing — hard wearing basics that I just NEED in my wardrobe. But first! I have to get the patterns under control. That way I’m not dumping the overflow patterns from my cutting table on to my bed, then back again so i can sew and then go to sleep.
Oh man, I went through the pattern control phase a few months ago. It SUCKED trying to organize and manhandle all that shit (let alone buy the supplies needed to organize them – which I had to do, since I have over 300, ouch), but I’m so glad I did. They are still organized, they still look good, and I can actually find shit when I’m looking for it 🙂 It’s worth it! I promise!
I’m doing MMM for the first time this year, but I’m only documenting my new outfits — I have enough existing stuff to wear me-made stuff every day, but my wardrobe repeats every week.
I love your t-shirts! I actually thought you did the opposite-striped pocket on purpose. 😀
Well, I didn’t cut it that way on purpose, but I liked the way it looked so I sewed it like that on purpose 😀 Does that count? 😉
I hope that someday I am a Me-Made-Everyday girl. I’m getting closer each year. I haven’t quite amassed an appropriate arsenal yet. I do think it’s funny that so many people feel pressured to wear different garments everyday for the entire month of May- they’re the ones making their own challenge. LOL. Silly rabbits! Part of my personal challenge this year is to do sort of the opposite. I’m capsule wardrobing. I’m allowing myself 21 pieces and then remixing in different combinations them to get to the end of the month. The last two years, I found myself digging into the back of my closet and wearing things I’ve made but never wear, which is rad, except, I don’t wear them for a reason. Some of them aren’t ‘me’, some of them fit poorly, etc… My everyday life is very monotonous and boring. I’m a total normcore dresser, and I’m really at peace with it, so I’m giving myself permission to get rid of a lot of those clothes. I feel like this month will give me the confidence I need to finally purge my closet of all the rest.
Ha, well, I’m the one who decided that challenge for myself a couple of years ago! I wanted to find new ways to mix up my handmades, but it just kind of spiraled out of control to the point where I felt that I couldn’t repeat anything. LAME.
I love the idea behind your challenge! I wish I could commit to a capsule wardrobe, but I’m way too distracted by the new and shiny (which I’m working on not being like that, ha). I compromise by capsuling my wardrobe when I travel hahaha 🙂
Hi Lauren, all that tee-pattern-modifying has paid off! Great tees! I’m with you on the MMM pressure, I feel the same and I wear me-made most of the time too! I’ve decided to go off on a tangent this time and only post things I’ve made with organic fabrics. I’ve spouted off about organics on my blog often enough so thought it was time to put my money where my mouth is and show ’em what I’ve got! And if we’re talking repetition – for 3 of the past 5 days I’ve worn a Linden!
Ohhh, that’s such a good spin to the challenge! I LOVE organic fabrics – wish I had enough to be able to wear them for an entire month 🙂 Lucky! 🙂
The t-shirts look so well fitted!!!
Do I spy some new ink?
How did I miss a whole sentence about getting a new tat, I need me some glasses!
Haha yep, it’s new 🙂 Officially a week old now, woohoo! 😀
The perfect tee is like a quest for the holy grail. Still looking. I will try pattern hacking too, to see if I crack it. I’m with you about how fabric changes a pattern. I’ve made loads of plantains and they are all different.
Hurray for European packaging!! I bought fabric and little sewing gifts for a couple friends at Brin de Cousette in Paris on my adventure last year, we also felt the same way about the way they were packaged, between the paper and tape, didn’t want to open it up… This is my first year of MMM with a 5 day a week commitment and there are just too many other important things for insta besides what I’m wearing and my wardrobe is not 100% homemade. So long as we inspire a few others to start sewing or at least thinking about sewing and how and where our clothes are made, that’s good I think. I’m coveting those stripes by the way, so difficult to find quality knit fabric in San Diego…. Cheers!
That’s awesome that you have reached a wardrobe of that level! I’m very jealous. If I actually made what I wore…well, it would be boring (tanks or a long sleeve with shorts/jeans with a cardigan is really all I wear), but I think it is a route I need to take. I think I’ll find it more satisfying than a closet of kooky dresses.
I definitely get a lot more wear out of my basics than I do my kooky dresses. BUT. I love sewing kooky dresses too! (and wearing them, for that matter). I just try to balance the two 🙂
Love all the T’s. I’ve had mixed success with them, and you’re so right, the fabric can make it seem ratty and boring or sleek and classic. I humbly suggest that “The Waldo” be renamed “The Wally” since the fabric is from England, and that’s where Waldo is from, and it’s what he’s called there haha.
Ah, I like Wally much better than Waldo anyway! Good suggestion 😀
I’m in as I really started sewing again last summer and I thought it a great way to figure out how the
clothes I’ve made really work. I’m sure there’ll be lots of repeats….
There’s no way I could participate in a MMM. I work full time outside the home and then I play full time outside the home. Honestly, I’m lucky to get a button back on one of Hub’s shirts. But I adore sewing and I’m working my way through professional dresses for work. I’ve done the skirt & top gig for years and I’m now addicted to dresses…mostly because I don’t have to match anything. And I kind of feel superior knowing I look fab only wearing 3 items of clothing …and shoes. And taking a comfort break is so much easier than when I’m dressed in slacks. I’m ISO tricot now for old-time half slips. I h-a-t-e the new microfiber ones. No matter what they say, they ride up.
I can’t blame you for opting out this year. Sounds like you need a challenge! I saw the most AMAZING pink biker jacket on Pattern Review today. OMG, it was gorgeous and had you written all over it. Well, maybe not pink, but red or grape-purple? Def. The Ziggy Biker Jacket from Ilonka. It’s an indie pattern and she’s in the Netherlands. You. Need. This. And after that Star Trek coat you made last fall, I’m sure you’re up for it! HA http://sewing.patternreview.com/patterns/63445
Oh, that is awesome!! I’m not really a biker jacket kinda girl, though – more into denim jackets. So it probably wouldn’t get much use in my closet. But MAN that looks fun to make!!
Love your tees, especially the stripes. It’s my first me made may. I’m doing it just to start documenting what I’ve made but am having much more fun getting addicted to Instagram and looking at everyone’s outfits!
I’m taking part in MMM for the second year.
I now wear me made everyday so I’ve challenged myself to 2 pieces each day.
So far so good for a photo each day.
I do normally repeat outfits during the week so I’ll keep this up just as usual in May. Mainly because I don’t want to make to much unnecessary laundry.
I wore the same outfit – Jeans and Coco top 3 days in a row last week and I don’t care!
Hey lady! I shit you not, I’m currently cutting out a top in the exact same red and white striped Waldo/Wally knit! Although not exact because mine’s really drapey for a Dolores batwing top, not stable like yours. Your t-shirts are beyond perfect.
I totally agree, there’s no point in you taking part in MMM now! I’m sad because I love seeing which of your gorgeous handmades you wear day-to-day, but if there’s nothing new to learn then why bother? You have the beautiful and functional handmade wardrobe AND the positive relationship with that wardrobe that most of us who sew clothing are trying to achieve and are using MMM to step closer towards.
Lots of love and hugs
Zoe xxx
Haha that’s awesome! We are gonna kinda sorta match, I love it 😀
I love MMM and I’m a little sad to not be participating this year (minus the daily photos, ha), but I am enjoying watching everyone else from the sidelines 🙂 Thank you so much for manhandling this yearly event and being all our personal cheerleaders. Much love right back to you! ♥
I just had to comment because I literally laughed out loud at work here when I pictured you looking for the missing back of the maxi dress… seriously, I totally understand. We live in a little apartment, and my shit goes missing ALL THE TIME… where, you ask? I agree – I think it’s the Bermuda Triangle of My Stuff ^__^
This is my first time participating in MMM, and I’m not doing daily photos either. Bathroom selfies are not my thing, and frankly, I wear the same outfits all the time as well, so it would hardly be interesting to anyone else – it’s really a personal challenge for me to see what I learn 🙂
Your tees are beyond awesome – I wonder all the time why people make t-shirts when they are so easy to buy but then I see your perfect ones and I think i get it a little more 😉
I always wonder why I bother to make tshirts when I can buy them, but then I try to buy one and they are ALL WRONG. At least when I make one, it can be perfect from the get-go (or a fun learning experience if it’s not! ha!). I’m sure that someday I’ll go back to buying basics like that when my sewing time isn’t quite so lavish, but I’m enjoying it for now 🙂
I bet our stuff is hanging out in the same Bermuda Triangle and conspiring against us!
Bahaha! Probably 😛
I know it’s inevitable that one day I’ll notice my RTW tees’ shortcomings… and when that happens I’ll of course have to quit my job because then I’ll be forced to make proper ones 😛
I’m SUCH a wardrobe repeater that I almost ditched it this year, but I figured that almost everyone is probably a wardrobe repeater so I’m rolling with it! I’m only posting the first time I wear a thing on Instagram, but I’m making grids of all the repeats so I feel like it’s going to be hilariously awesome at the end of the month. Or weird but whatever. Just gonna represent the repeat wearing masses 😉
Hell yes you are!! 😀
I’m making tshirts at the moment! Or trying to! I wanna get some that look good tucked in that balance out my bewbs & waist… so testing cheaper fabrics now… I’m very keen on all the different tshirt patterns out there, so will click through and look at your links. Think I’ll write a blog post too to find some more.
MMM 15 is actually helping me find my wardrobe gaps quite clearly already. I haven’t usually done the full months… I think I did a self stitched September one year … but like you, I used to have an entirely handmade wardrobe so wore my stuff all the time apart from a few vintage pieces here and there. But after my move, and baby era, I need it again. Instagram totally helps document MMM though, I might do a round up blog post at the end of the month, but I get sick of looking at myself all the time…
xoxo
haha that’s the WORST part of MMM! I hated looking at myself all the time in my weekly round-ups, it felt a bit embarrassing at times hahaha
I think I’m the sort of person that would really benefit to do MMM, especially this year when I’m unemployed and have lots of time on my hands. I really need the motivation to fill some gaps in my wardrobe. But I just…don’t want to do the daily photos, and I really don’t have that many wearable me-made garments right now. I mean, I could probably live in some of my knitted sweaters, but that gets boring after a while.
I agree that MMM isn’t really necessary for you anymore, since you live it every month! It’s fun to see everyone doing it still though, so I hope you enjoy watching as much as I am. 😀
I really love that black tee. Just cannot go wrong!
I love MMM and never understand why people think they HAVE to do it daily or that they CANT do repeats. I get what you’re saying, it’s a little inside niggling voice kinda thing…
But hey, we all “do us” and do what works.
I’m just getting in to sewing for myself. I literally have 3 me-made dresses and 2 blouses. That would be a very overdressed and repetitive month for me. I do a lot of sewing for my daughter, but scarcely enough to make a month of nothing but mom-mades. It’s harder when you’re big most of the time before I even start cutting I have to broadly adjust the pattern, then muslin, then adjust the muslin, then sew the real garment and hope the adjustments I worked for the muslin yield a well-fitting garment which doesn’t always happen.
My current goal is to make a week’s worth of clothes for myself whether sewn or knitted. Then I might consider participating in one of these things.
I’ve only been sewing my own clothes a few months so would run out pretty quickly. I may take part next year. Also right now being unemployed I spend all day sulking in pajamas, so unless I make 30 pairs of pjs I don’t have a whole lot to show.
Dude, I’m so sorry about your father. I am sending him loads of good energy. He looks like he has loads of spirit – well – he must be kick-ass to be your dad – and that makes all the difference in the battle! cyber hugs
♥ Thank you so much. He’s doing pretty well post-surgery, although he stared running a fever today so he’s back in the hospital running some tests (the doctors don’t seem to be terribly concerned so I’m not letting myself get worried yet!). He has an AMAZING spirit and refuses to go down! Even after all this he’s all talk about how he’ll be running a marathon in a couple of weeks. Ha! 🙂
I’m not participating in MMM because all the things I make are for cold weather! A thousand sweaters, or dresses that I wear with tights. My summer wardrobe is all pretty much RTW, and with the temps in the 80s here in Michigan this week there’s no way I’m wearing a sweater. Not. Doing. It.
I’m participating again in Mmm but I’m thinking of opting out almost everyday for the same reasons you gave. When the weather is not very warm (as it often happens in May) I wear my AngelaWolf jeans again and again. It’s like my uniform. I work from home and just dress up a bit to go to the grocery store, so I putting on a nice dress just for that is a bit stupid. I love my jeans uniform, but it also feels weird making pics of it everyday.
I really enjoy reading every word of your posts! And I cackled at the deo stain, I didn’t notice it until you said something! You make a a great point on how sewing the same pattern with different fabric can have big differences. I’ve recently figured out that whole “my knits need a little spandex” trick, too. I need all the suckage I can get! Great post!
Oh and thanks for a summary of MMM. I’ve been seeing posts about it, but didn’t know exactly what it was.
Have a great weekend!
http://www.StyleSewMe.com
Ha, I was having some similar worries about Me Made May. In real life if I love an outfit I will definitely wear it at least twice in one week, and my goal is to have a small edited closet of things that I only love. So I am trying to be more “real” with my outfits and not pretend that I would actually wear 31 different outfits in a month.
That said, I am joining this year because once again I am limited in my clothing choices (from having just had a baby) and Me Made May always inspires me to sew again and try to fill wardrobe gaps (more like wardrobe chasms, really).
AND I am using Me Made May to figure out if my less-loved me-mades can actually be worn or should just be ditched — like am I not wearing them because I forgot about them and haven’t tried hard enough, or do they just need to go? I’ve already ditched quite a few so far this month.
I love this kind of shirt, the colors are simple and suits any occasion especially black.