Hey, there, buckaroos! Hope you all had a great weekend! I did, until the Blackhawks lost game 7 in OT, and now I’m a little crabby! 🙂
So, did you do Me-Made-May this year? If so, are you glad it’s over? For some reason it feels like such a difficulty to wear handmade clothes every day! I’m not much of a stylist, so I didn’t go to any great trouble putting together fancy outfits, but it still felt tough to wear something me-made all the time! I documented the month on my Instagram account, but I thought I’d share a quick pic roundup here on the blog now that it’s all over. Here’s what I wore!
Day 1: Megan Nielsen Briar Top
Day 2: Tilly and the Buttons Coco dress
Day 3: McCall’s 6553, v.2
Day 4: Deer & Doe Plantain T-Shirt + Style Arc Romy Anorak
Day 5: Sewaholic Renfrew top (unblogged)
Day 6: Papercut Patterns Bellatrix Blazer
Day 7: Knit skirt from Workroom Social‘s pop-up class
Day 8: Papercut Patterns Petrouchka Top… you’ll just have to take my word for it!
Day 9: Tessuti Anita Ponte Pants
Day 10: Colette Patterns Sorbetto hack
Day 11: Colette Patterns Laurel dress
Day 12: Colette Patterns Sorbetto top
Day 13: Sewaholic Renfrew top (again)
Day 14: Grainline Studio Scout Tee, v.2
Day 15: Plaintain tee (again)
Day 16: Grainline Studio Archer Shirt
Day 17: Colette Laurel, v.2 + Megan Nielsen Virginia Leggings, v.2 (both unblogged, whoops)
Day 18: Bellatrix Blazer (again) + Victory Patterns Lola dress
Day 19: Papercut Patterns Anima Pants
Day 20: Cation Designs Dolman Top
Day 21: Megan Nielsen Briar Top (again)
Day 22: Tessuti Anita Ponte pants (again)
Day 23: Sewaholic Renfrew top (AGAIN) + Style Arc Romy Anorak (again)
Day 24: Republique du Chiffon Michelle Blazer
Day 25: Grainline Studio Archer Shirt (again)
Day 26: Papercut Patterns Petrouchka Top (again)
Day 27: Colette Patterns Hazel dress
Day 28: Plantain Top (AGAIN)
Day 29: Cation Designs Dolman Top (again)
Day 30: Republique du Chiffon Michelle Blazer (again)
Day 31: McCall’s 6553, v.1
Some Observations:
- I wear jeans every day. Or rather, I wore them 21/31 days. I’ve never made a pair of jeans. I’ve been saying I need to sew a pair for a really, really long time now.
- Because I wear jeans, I wear tops. I prefer to wear woven tops. I wore woven tops 5/31 days. I only have 4 me-made woven tops! Need more of those.
- Related to that, I wear knit tops all the time, because they’re easy to wear with jeans. But I don’t like to wear them very much- I look over these photos, and the days that I really don’t like how I look, I’m wearing a knit top. If it wasn’t Me-Made-May, I’d probably be wearing a RTW buttondown with my jeans most days. So I find myself wearing things that I don’t feel that good in because they’re handmade. Hmm.
- Lots of the garments I wore this month were from patterns I’ve used more than once (10/31). That’s probably a good indicator that they’re wearable.
- Wow, I’m really not a skirt girl! I only wore one once! It was a bit colder than usual this May, or there probably would’ve been a few more dresses in the mix, but I really prefer them to skirts.
- This May I made four (4!) pairs of stretch/sweatpants (well, one went to my sister, so only three are in my wardrobe, but still!). This was partly because I was pattern testing, but also because I was tired of being dressed up on lazy/housecleaning days!
- Confession: I didn’t wear my favorite garment, my Victoria blazer, because it was dirty… the entire month. 😮
- I thought I have a fairly cohesive style, but looking over the pics, I’m not really seeing it! Weird!
Well, that’s about all the thought I can put into this for the time being. What are your thoughts on the Me-Made-May experience? Any new conclusions? What items are missing from your handmade wardrobe? What’s your favorite everyday look?
Ginger Makes... 
Great round-up! I loved seeing all your MMM photos this month (I think I saw them on Pinterest?). I didn’t participate this year but it has totally inspired me to get thinking about sewing again! It’s obviously a great way to test the wearability of our projects.
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I’m so glad that it inspired you! It’s really interesting to see what constitutes a wearable handmade wardrobe for different people. 🙂
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You look like you’re having fun! That’s the main thing. You really are a jeans person – the opposite of me – I don’t even know where my jeans are!
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It’s so funny the way that works- seems like people either wear jeans all the time, or never! I can totally see you as a skirt/dress girl, though.
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I really enjoy watching your IG during MMM. I mostly wear jeans too and would love to make my own pair one day.
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That’s funny, I guess I would’ve thought of you as more of a dress wearer, maybe because I’ve seen you wear one IRL?
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I probably wear more skirts and dress during met up because of the whole wear your me-made garments unspoken rule. The only completed MM pants I own are dress pants. I need causal MM pants.
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I like the fact that you seem to be mostly wearing coffee 😉
You totally should start sewing jeans – you will never remember why you didn’t in the first place once you have started!
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Heeheeheee… it’s my preferred accessory! I need to, but I’m scared! Gonna bite the bullet and get started on a pair, though. 🙂
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what definitely is cohesive is your selfie style. love your pics!
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Hahahaha, true! Thanks, Annika!
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Brilliant photos. I found wearing a top to toe hand made outfit hard. I love prints so tended to wear my hand made tops with plainer RTW trousers/jeans/skirts.
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I’ve heard a few people say that MMM made them notice that they never sew anything in plain colors!
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Interesting round-up, and very in-depth analysis! I didn’t sign-up again this year, as I don’t feel that my handmade wardrobe is ready yet for a commitment like that… also as I had a work trip to Dubai for a week, so wasn’t sure whether my wardrobe would work well there (though as it turned out I wore handmade clothes 5 out of the 7 days there – was quite pleased with myself).
Although I have not taken part, I think MMM has made me think about where the gaps are in my handmade wardrobe. Who knows, maybe I’ll be ready next year!
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Wow, I’m impressed that you were able to find things to wear in Dubai! That does seem like a wardrobe challenge! You know, for MMM, you don’t have to wear something handmade- you can choose a pledge that works for you! The idea is just to challenge yourself to wear your handmades more than you usually would. 🙂
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Haha, I had commented that I thought the weather was nicer than last year for MMM.
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It’s really possible that it was! It felt like a seesaw this year, hot one day, cold the next… strange weather to dress for!
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See, I think you’ve got a very cohesive style. You always look chic without looking sweet, and perfectly comfortable in what you’re wearing. Plus, you’ve inspired blazer-envy in me.
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Oh man, once you go blazer, you don’t go back! Especially if you make one you can wear over dresses- they’re way more fun than cardigans!
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Now I see how you stay excited/motivated/energized COFFEE! It gets me going too! Really though This was the first Me Made May I have experienced and I knew I didn’t have enough garments to make it through the month. You inspire me to get sewing and prepare for next year!
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Yes, now you know my secret!!! This is definitely the most clothes I’ve ever had- my first MMM I only said I’d wear me-made a few days a week, and I still wore the same couple of garments over and over!
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Great job!! Thanks for sharing. I’m not sure I hit my MMM goal but I will do a roundup too.
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Looking forward to seeing your roundup!
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Impressive analysis! Looks like you consumed close to $200 worth of cafe, too.
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I know, it’s an addiction! Terrible!
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Brilliant round-up! I’m going to miss your coffee mug mug shots! 🙂 I definitely picked up some good lessons from doing MMM and much as I hated taking those selfies, I did enjoy the project!
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It’s such a great way to identify what works for you (and what doesn’t). I need to do a closet purge right away before I forget!
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I went straight for the instagram, I couldn’t see squat in those tiny thumbnails. I love how you did your photos and I think I need to meet your dogs ASAP!
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Oops, they’re pretty tiny, huh? The pugs would love to meet you!
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Love your crazy selfies!! And I do covet a lot of your me made wardrobe. Seriously. And you know most of all I covet your bellatrix. I promise to add it to my sewing list!!
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Doooooo it! You know you wanna! 😉
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Your pictures are so happy and fun! I’m especially liking the one with the bottle of champagne 🙂 And I’m right with you on most of your observations – I wear jeans everyday and have never made a pair, never wear skirts, and prefer to wear woven tops…but they’re more work 😦 MMM really helps to point out these inconsistencies between our sewing and wearing!
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Why are woven shirts so much harder to make?! So annoying! I also think I need to find a knit top pattern that I really like. I wear the Renfrew and Plantain a lot, but I would never buy a RTW top that looks like either of them.
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I wear jeans A LOT as well, but it was kinda nice that MMMay forced me to be less lazy with my outfits! This was my first year participating and my first year that I’ve gotten back to sewing, so I hope to do even better next year.
Also, yay! You’re a hockey fan too! I’m a Flyers fan though, my disappointment came early in the playoffs.
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I’ve absolutely loved your MMMay pics this year! I definitely think you have a style that’s very ‘Sonja’. Some of my observations were very similar to yours, I need to make jeans and more woven tops!!!
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Really interesting reflections. I definitely had a few days where I was less comfortable because I was ‘forced’ to wear a me-made, but still there’s definitely something to be learned from that. I was surprised at how many days I wore jeans as well, but at least a lot of mine ‘counted’! I think you definitely have a cohesive style and I loved your MMM updates!
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It is so interesting to see what we wear in RTW and Me Made things. I am with you, jeans mostly and I need more tops. I thought I made lots of tops but I guess not. I think tend to try to sew dressier items but really just need to stick to casual.
I loved everything you made and your great pictures. Maybe we need to start a June or July sewalong with a catchy title from our Me-Made observations.
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I loved your coffee cup shots 🙂 In contrast to you I don’t wear jeans at all – maybe I’d feel more inclined if I did make a pair though!
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Loving the selfies and daily beverage updates 😉 My pattern is definitely
skirts or dresses every weekday, and jeans for weekends/ half terms messing around with my kids. A good balance, but jeans way out of my skills set at the moment.
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Hi love your round up. I came to similar conclusions I need to make trousers first, that seems a less scary conclusion than the need to make jeans!
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You had the best photos!
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it’s time to remedy the lack of me-made jeans lady! i plan on making up another pair soon, since i can hardly stand to wear my rtw ones anymore. style arc has some nice woven top patterns that you might like if you’re looking to add more to the wardrobe. it’s no fun wearing stuff you don’t really love just to fulfill a goal!
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Love your pics from MMM, I’m still kinda afraid to start my first (real) garment, but looking at your pics is pretty good inspiration to start! Oh, and the Kings winning in OT yesterday made me very happy 😛 It was a great game!
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I always like doing this challenge, and even thinking about it beforehand sometimes gives me ideas about my MM wardrobe. I’ve discovered that I like to wear skirts with more casual details, zip flies and lots of topstitching, but I never sew those! Clearly I should. My documentation also needs work. This year I kept a journal, and I really liked writing and drawing in it, but I often found that I didn’t have time to draw AND then to photograph and share the drawings, or I just didn’t want to. Clearly I should embrace selfies with coffee!
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Loved your MMMay photos! I want to make more woven tops too! I feel like, because they are dressier I feel a bit more put together!
You probably already know just how utterly in love I am with your orange dress (M6553, V. 2!) That mural you are standing infront of in the photo is also cool. Gah- so much amazing in one photo 😀
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Yay! It’s over! I am so sad to be losing your coffee and awesome outfit photos though – you have some beautiful clothes (& great expressions!). It was my first time doing it, but I’m so glad I did. Like you, I thought I had a style, but it turns out it is very different to what i imagined it to be. No more selfies! Hurray!
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Now you’ve had me clicking links for an hour, buying more patterns, and inspiring me further (as you always do)!….Lady! Loving this round up. Now I think it’s time you try your hand at the jeans pattern by Named–I think they’re called Jamie Jeans.;) I will miss your cray selfies on Instagram. XOXO
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Great job! You really make such cute, wearable things!
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I think you have a great style – coffee fuelled fashion!! Your photos were the most fun on instagram 🙂
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I loved seeing you pop up on my instagram feed during MMM, I think you have a very stylish wardrobe! I would love to make jeans but I’m just not sure I can dedicate the energy at the moment! Maybe next year…
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