Musings on Me Made May

I fully intended to write this post much more quickly following the end of Me Made May, but I forgot all about it until Jacq wrote a similar post at A Good Talking To... yesterday.   Now it looks like I've copied her... which I suppose I have really!

Anyway, I'm a bit of a spread sheet nerd, so I did some charts for you!   Here's the first one, showing the different Me Made items I wore and the number of times I wore them.



I wore 28 different garments over the course of the month.   7 of them only got one wear each, but my (then) newly completed Afternoon Cardigan got a massive 5 wears.  It might have been more, several days it was so cold I added a cardigan or other extra layer part way through the day.

The next chart shows the number of each type of garment included during the month.  I wore 6 different tops, 5 different items of knitwear, 3 different dresses and only one pair of trousers.  That's because I only have one pair of Me Made trousers! 





You can see from this chart that the most worn type of garment was tops.  I would normally wear a much higher percentage of dresses than I did in May, but the weather was so awful I spent a lot of time in jeans or leggings with a Me Made top and/or cardigan (usually both).

Trousers formed the smallest percentage, which is not surprising because as mentioned above I only have one Me Made pair of trousers.

So, what have I learned from participating in Me Made May for the first time?

  1. Wearing a Me Made wardrobe takes planning.   To a certain extent any wardrobe takes planning, but when I sew I tend to just make things that take my fancy, rather than considering whether they go with anything else I've already got.  Consequently I need to plan outfits a bit more carefully, particularly as my Me Made wardrobe isn't that large.
  2. This May was unseasonably (and unreasonably!) cold and wet in the UK, so I was less inclined to wear my nice dresses and ended up in the same jersey tops over and over again.  I need a better variety of items that can be layered against inclement weather.  This may be in the form of knitted cardigans that go with more things I already own. 
  3. I need to appreciate that my lifestyle doesn't warrant lots and lots of dresses.  Although I love to wear them and love to make them, dresses aren't always the most appropriate garment.
  4. I definitely need more Me Made skirts and trousers.  I didn't wear ANY skirts, as I only have a couple of Me Made ones and neither were appropriate for the weather or what I fancied wearing.  I also missed having a pair of narrow legged trousers to wear.
  5. With the exception of the spotty top I knocked up the day before we went on holiday, the items I enjoyed wearing the most were the ones I'd taken my time with and fitted and finished properly.   Thinking "that will do" when I'm making something equates to it not being worn much once it's finished.
All in all I enjoyed Me Made May.  I got bored with wearing the same things over and over, but that was partly because of the dreadful weather.

I think it was an excellent way of getting to know my Me Made wardrobe a bit better and identifying gaps. 

I'll never be the sort of person who makes ALL their clothes (for example I have absolutely no desire to make underwear, leggings or jeans) but I do enjoy wearing my Me Mades.

What have you learnt from wearing your handmade items?  I'd love to know!



7 comments

  1. Although I didn't actually participate - I spent a large part of the month wearing bits I'd made and like you, tend towards trousers even though I love skirts. I wear skirts with long boots in the winter but it wasn't really cold enough for that was it?
    My most worn items are definitely cardigans. No many how many I knit, I always could do with more ... well, that's my excuse ;)

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    1. Yes, I love a good cardigan too! I think I've knitted more cardigans than anything else, and am always on the lookout for more.

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  2. Oh I love a good spreadsheet! Isn't it amazing the impact the terrible weather had in May? I've worn me-made every day this week without any difficulty at all - just because the weather is better! I really love all your knit wear, so stylish :)

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    1. I've found it much easier to wear me mades this week as well. Thank you for the compliment on my knitwear. :-)

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  3. I missed out on Me Made May this year but I am definitely joining next year! I think everyone has an item that they wear more than others. For me, it is a really simple skirt I made a year ago.

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    1. This year was my first Me Made May, and it was fun. I would do it again.

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  4. I love the charts you made-what a great way to organize your thoughts and maybe plan some items to sew. I did not do Me Made this year and it has been fun to read about everyone's reactions to it. It is a very helpful way to experience the strengths and the weaknesses of our personal wardrobes.

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