Me Made May 2023 Recap

Yesterday was the final day of Me Made May 2023.  I successfully achieved my goal to wear at least one me-made, upcycled, mended, or modified garment every day.  This session was particularly educational for me.  I gained insight into how my fashion tastes have evolved and how that impacted my relationship with some of my oldest me-mades.   I came to appreciate my growth as a seamstress in regard to quality and durability.  One project, one technique at a time.  And repeat.  And repeat.   That's how skill develops, I think.  Any skill.  I still have so much to learn and refine, but reflecting on the journey left me feeling pleasantly accomplished. 

Wearing the Rose Dress as  I raise a toast to my sister, Lisa, with the fancy handblown glass she sent me for my birthday.  5/19/2023

I noticed a few themes and noted some highlights as I reflected on my month.

One, I strongly prefer wearing stretchy knit garments.  The Yoga Pants Bandwagon has won me over completely.  It started in 2015 when I dreamed of a garment that was the dress equivalent of sweatpants.  This desire has gained nothing but momentum since then.  Knits (both me-made and store-bought) have taken over my wardrobe.  That was an obvious trend in MMM23.  I wore me-made knit garments (as either my outfit or as pajamas) on 21 of the 31 days.  I love the comfort of all my stretchy knit stuff.

Wearing my t-shirt with the modified ruffle sleeve...and trying to make Ginger wear a tiny plastic sombrero I won at a salsa contest on campus.  5/5/2023

In a similar vein, I sure love rocking our hand-dyed tie-dye clothing.  Over the years this segment of my wardrobe has ebbed and flowed as I tried to figure out what was acceptable "professional wear" for an academic librarian.  For a while, I didn't wear tie-dye to work, especially when I still had dreadlocks.  Eventually, I started sneaking it in and now wear tie-dye at the library every week.  I especially like to pair a (stretchy, comfy, knit) tie-dye dress with a cardigan, solid-colored t-shirt, or blouse over the top.  I think that can help "tone it down" a little for work.  That was my outfit 13 out of 31 days this month--though sometimes I toned it up with my embroidered shirt.  Matt should really get an M in the title of the MMM challenge as a result.  It should be Me-and-Matt-Made-May because I certainly didn't make all the tie-dye I wore this month.  He did.  I wore something we tie-dyed 19 out of 31 days.

I embellished this shirt with some embroidery....most of which isn't visible because it's under my hair or that adorable little baby that I'm smoothing on.  Photo credit to his mom--and my "Taurus Twin"-- Kelly.  5/7/2023

A long-sleeved, green, button-down shirt that I embroidered was an unexpected star of Me Made May.  It made the rotation more than once a week.  I had grease-stained the shirt while cooking and so thought it would be a good place to try out some freehand embroidery.  If the embroidery turned out, perhaps I could salvage the shirt.  If not, well, it was "ruined" anyways.  Happily, the embroidery turned out!  I particularly like the flowering cactus on the sleeve and the radiant sun on the abdomen.  I'll keep adding to it as I want to practice new stitches.  I really liked that shirt and was bummed to stain it so badly.  This is the first time I've tried using embroidery to fix a ruined garment.  It had always been strictly decorative before.  This was both!

A close-up of my two favorite embroidered pieces on the green shirt.  5/31/2023

I came to the realization that many of my oldest me-made dresses are too high-necked for me now. (See the first photo for an example.)  They feel a bit too constricting and hot, especially with all my cycling.  The cotton ones especially.  I think there are two factors here.  Firstly, my body weight is consistently 10 lbs heavier than I was when I made these dresses a decade ago.  It is what it is.  Everything fits more snuggly.  Secondly, my learning to sew coincided with the most modest phase of my life.  (I was reading a lot about feminism and religion and didn't want to be ogled, what can I say?)  I thought the sweetheart neckline was too low-cut.  Meanwhile, the idea of making the higher-yet-notched neckline seemed too complicated to me as a new seamstress.  So I just kept all the necklines high and round.  As the years progressed I have decided that the sweetheart neckline works for me.  My collarbones are visible, but not my cleavage, and I'm comfortable with that.  Plus, they're easy to sew.  It makes me want to modify a few of the older dresses.  Maybe it's not too late to add a notch at the collar and give myself a little more air.

Having a fancy cocktail downtown with Matt and Lisa--in my Technicolor Party Coat since it was my birthday!  5/16/2023

On a related note, I noticed some of these oldest dresses are not holding up the best after all these years.  Especially the arm and neck facings--and the fusible interfacing, too.  I have to attribute it to my inexperience in sewing at the time they were created.  This has given me the idea that perhaps the solution is to transform a few of these old dresses into skirts.  I could keep the deep pockets and eliminate the neckline and/or facing issues all in one go.  I plan to try it on the Easter Dress since it has some particularly bothersome facing/interfacing problems.  

It's pretty cool to see how much more professional and clean my newer me-mades are.  Especially now that I can finish all the seams with my serger.  It made me feel proud of myself.  I've learned a lot and continue to grow in skill and confidence with time.

We set up a table in the shade and played several games in a row.  The tank top I am wearing is upcycled from two of my mom's old t-shirts--which pleases my sentimental heart.  The pattern is a free online one--here.  I've made three.  5/29/2023

I want to circle back to the old dresses though.  When I wore the Yellow Bedsheet Dress on May 11th I couldn't help but notice how worn out it is getting.  The fabric is spent and has picked up some irreversible stains.  Honestly, I'm surprised the latter took so long given me and my track record with light-colored garments.  The dress being polyester bedsheeting probably helped there.  The glorious golden floral print has been with me for a long time.  I bought it from a charity shop in my hometown when I got my first "big" (double) bed as a teen.  10+ years ago I transformed it into a dress.  It has had a good run.  MMM23 made me wonder how much longer it will keep running.  It is paper thin.

In contrast, when I wore the Grateful Dead-themed Rose Print Dress on May 18th I was reminded of how new and sturdy it is.  That dress is a very rare exception in that it is the only dress I've made where I went to the fabric store and bought new fabric specifically for the project.  I should wear it more, though it suffers from the drawbacks of the high collar mentioned previously.  Gotta do something about that.  It is too pretty and in perfect condition.  It should see more time out in the world.

Playing cards with my mom, Grandma, and Lisa on our visit up north for Mother's Day.  Once again the embroidered details of the green shirt are not readily visible.  :)  5/13/2023

All in all, a very solid Me Made May experience.