Me Made May

It’s May and in the sewing world that means it’s #memademay. I struggled with this last year and this year I finally did some research to figure out what it is and what the intentions of the founder were when she started it all. It was really helpful for me to listen to a podcast that Zoe did where she explains what Me Made May is and isn’t.

Guess what? It has nothing to do with taking photos of yourself in your makes every day, contrary to what many, many people say. It’s also not about making loads of new things, contrary to the barrage of emails I’ve received about sales at various pattern companies and fabric shops. It’s a challenge where you set it up to work for you, creating your own guidelines with the goal of wearing the things you’ve made more. I love that it all started on blogs before social media and, quite honestly, would love to see more of it go back to blogs. But, alas, I have no idea what will ever knock makers of off Instagram, they are very into it even though it’s become harder and harder to see what you want to see there.

I haven’t made a pledge for Me Made May, which is what the founder recommends, instead I’ve pledged to get off Instagram for the month. Yesterday I deleted it from my phone. I don’t find it hard to wear the clothes I make, I wear them every day. At this point the clothes I’ve made now out number the ready to wear items I wear regularly. I make simple clothes that fit with my lifestyle; think jeans, comfy trousers, lots of knit tees, shorts, and the occasional dress. Nothing fancy, the fit isn’t perfect on everything I wear as I’m still learning, but it’s all comfortable and fits me better than ready to wear.

My pledge, if you can call it that, has been what I’ve been doing with my making in 2024, slowing down. I’m trying to be more thoughtful and really ensure that what I’m making I want to wear again and again. That doesn’t mean that fails won’t occur—a fail to me is making something that even if it fits great isn’t something I reach for when I’m getting dressed— it does mean I’m making less overall. It’s also meant that I’m looking at the things I’ve made that I don’t reach for and seeing if I can alter or change them to be something I want to wear.

I’m really glad that I researched Me Made May to see what it’s all about since pretty much everything I’d seen as explanations weren’t right. I’ve also found another blog to put in my feed reader along with a podcast on sewing that I’ve added to my queue that’s about sustainability as much as it’s about sewing.