Me Made May 2016 Week 1

This year I knew Me Made May was going to be a bit more challenging since my usual cute spring dresses aren’t super great at the dog park.  I mean, odds are a dog (perhaps mine perhaps not) will jump up on me.  Naturally a huge golden retriever did this on the day I wore a white tank top… Regardless I wanted to try and not dress like I’m pre or post dog park all times.
 

Day 1

·         Deer & Doe Plantain tee
·         Deer & Doe Chardon skirt

Stuck to capris with my tee at the dog park – Toohey loves to go in the water and I always end up getting splashed.  The Chardon has good sized pockets on it which made it easier to carry all the extra stuff I need when walking the dog around the neighborhood later in the day.

Day 2

·         Sewaholic Thurlow shorts
·         Jamie Christina Mission Maxi tank
·         Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono tee

Naturally this is what I wore when a gigantic dog jumped up on me.  Luckily its’ been dry at the dog park so he only left a small dirty spot by the neckline of the tank.  I was going to change my top anyways to teach.

Day 3

·         Megan Nielsen Briar Tee

The day started off warm at the dog park, hence the shorts but started cooling down in the afternoon. Oh well, the shorts are a bit too short for an elementary school so the pants were going to come out regardless.

Day 4

·         Deer & Doe Bruyere

Today was chilly so I pulled out my plaid flannel Bruyere.  Very appropriate for a fickle Seattle day in May.

Day 5

·         Hey June Lane Raglan

This is my first Lane Raglan and the rayon jersey was just warm enough that in the afternoon I could ditch the jacket. Although it's not the best with the belt I'm wearing - the buckle is just big enough that it sticks out in an unattractive bump but I couldn't be bothered to switch belts half way through the day. As a bonus it doesn't look that bad in photos or possibly real life but I know it's there.

Day 6

·         Sewaholic Renfrew
·         Tilly & the Buttons Bettine dress

A total wardrobe change today between the dog park and teaching.  Later on I had to change out of the dress to walk the dog due to a lack of pockets.

Day 7

·         Jamie Christina Mission Maxi tank

I had intended to change after 2+ hours at the dog park but it ended up being an all about the puppy day.  Toohey and I went to a total of three different parks and he didn’t end up as tired as I hoped he would be.  This was my first Mission Maxi tank and I’ve never gotten around to hemming it.  At this point I doubt I ever will.

It's just week one but so far I think Me Made May is going well.  Yes, I wear the same shoes every day to the dog park but they’re made out of Gore-Tex so my feet stay nice and dry down on the beach. Some days I enjoy the wardrobe changes but obviously there are other days I can’t be bothered.  Also I've been busy sewing another pair of shorts since I seem to be wearing them most days for at least part of the time.  I hope everyone else is starting the month off strong!

Me Made May Week 5 & Wrap Up

Whew!  Another Me-Made-May is over and done with.  I hope everyone had as enjoyable a month as I have.  Seattle had some great weather which allowed me to wear more of my summer clothes which I definitely prefer in both my me-mades and RTW.  First up is my final week of outfits.

 Day 26

Sewaholic Crescent

It’s Memorial Day and I was feeling patriotic so my seersucker Crescent seemed appropriate.  It was a little too warm for my red ¾ sleeved Renfrew so I went with an old red tee I’ve had forever.  As a bonus it was a lot easier to tuck in and show off the shaped waist of the skirt.

Day 27

Sewaholic Alma

Last summer on the Anthropologie website I saw a yellow top paired with jean shorts & a floral statement necklace.  It immediately reminded me of my yellow eyelet Alma and this similar necklace I really liked but didn’t wear too often.  This is also the top that started me wearing yellow again.  (I was so glad I took this picture in front of this rhododendron bush because just a few days later about half the flowers had fallen off)

Day 28

Sewaholic Renfrew

Today was another cool day that caused me to dip into my cold weather wardrobe.  Despite really liking this top I hope this will be the last time I wear it until fall.  This is one of those fabrics that made me ignore fiber content – I loved the navy & green wide stripes with silver threads separating them so much that I ignored that it’s 98% poly.

Day 29

Deer & Doe Chardon

I normally don’t wear a lot of black and sew even less but I really like this skirt.  I think it’s because despite being a black chambray, the white cross-threads makes it appear grey.  I have a couple of Andi Satterlund’s cropped sweaters planned that will be perfect to pair with this skirt come fall.  Assuming of course, that they’re done in time!

Day 30

Deer & Doe Sureau

This was one of those makes that after wearing it I immediately wanted to wear it again.  Always a good sign for my closet, but not so great for my pledge this year.  I managed to restrain myself until today and see this getting a lot of wear this summer.

Day 31

Sewaholic Renfrew & Jamie Christina Mission Maxi

Finally the weather warmed up enough to wear my latest dress!  In my mind a bright orange print requires lots of sunshine and high temperatures, or at least Seattle high, to be worn.  But when headed off to class in the morning I wasn’t sure how the day would turn out so I threw a Renfrew over it.  Briefly during the afternoon the dress was perfect on its own but I was glad to have the tee for most of the day.

Overall I’d call Me-Made-May 2014 a success.  In fact during the first few days of June I automatically went for me mades while getting dressed.  Sure, I had to check photos a couple times to check I didn’t wear the exact same thing twice but there were also some past favorites that didn’t get to come out and play.  Sometimes it just comes down to what’s newest and shiniest.  As for my hope to finish a couple pairs of jeans… that’s what Jeans June & July is for.  I did get work done on my Jamie’s but got ahead of myself and topstitched when I should have basted to check for fit. I debated including a photo but I fear there’s too much excess fabric in the crotch for the internet.

Separates & Jeans

Last year I felt I needed more non-Renfrew tops and I think over the last year I improved that.  I would like to continue in this direction.  That said when wearing separates they were usually paired with RTW.  Despite being pretty satisfied with my RTW jeans, I want to make finish some of my own.  Some of the pairs I have are pretty old and those styles stopped being made years ago. During my last duplication class at school I copied a pair but I’m not sure if I’ll get around to making/finishing three pairs in June and July!

 

Deer & Doe & Indies

Last year I wore lots of Sewaholic so it made sense that those were the patterns I wore most this year - 13 times.  The #2 pattern company did surprise me as I only tried a Deer & Doe pattern last fall and yet wore one 10 times this month.  Clearly I’ve found another favorite!  In general I seem to wear more indie patterns than the Big 4, partially because I find those are the patterns I tend to make (or plan to make) multiples of.  I guess it’s my way of justifying the higher cost compared to the 99¢ sales at the big box stores. 

In general I’m happy to see that I wear a high percentage of what I make which when it all boils down spells out success.  I didn’t include any me-made PJs this year because they’d be my most worn garments and would totally skew any results.  It’s been a long time since I’ve bought any RTW and haven’t felt like I’m missing out.  (The only exception was my much loved Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl Championship locker room tee.  Not exactly something I could make on my own or as a proud member of the 12^th Man miss out on!)  That’s not to say I don’t wear RTW anymore, I just have really high standards and often run in to problems with things fitting correctly.  All reasons why I started sewing my own clothes in the first place!  I hope everyone achieved their goals for the month and got tons of inspiration for future makes, I know I did!