#memademay18 recap

We made it through an entire month of selfies and me-made treasures!  I loved seeing all the lovely photos on instagram, finding new makers to follow, and getting re-connected with my own handmade wardrobe - items both old and new.

I wore many iterations of my New Look 6305 oversized babydoll dress... including digging up the very first muslin I ever made of it.  I was never thrilled with the fabric, but it was nice to have something "new" to wear when I got near the end of the month and was into heavy outfit repeating territory. (More on that later - I have no shame in outfit repeating!)

I also wore my brick red sheet version of Tina Givens Madeline Slip 4 times, in 4 different ways. Another dress in heavy rotation was a new one that I made this month... refashioned from the yoke of an ill-fitting Old Navy peasant blouse in a gorgeous mustard yellow and a vintage linen table cloth, with vintage lace trim added.  It made it's debut on May 9th and I wore it again on the 13th, 19th, and 28th... all in slightly different styles or combinations.  I love it alone, over my white half-slip eyelet petticoat, over my ivory sheet version of the Madeline Slip, and over jeans.  I really got into wearing short sack dresses over jeans.

I loved what I was able to do with a relatively small number of me-made items. I wore 24 different things that I've made over the years. 20 were sewn and 4 knitted. 11 of the pieces I wore multiple times.

Tina Givens brick red Madeline Slip - 4 times
Mustard + Creme Upcycled dress - 4 times
White Eyelet half-slip - 4 times
New Look plaid - 3 times
New Look dark floral - 3 times
New Look linen patchwork tank - 2 times
Tina Givens ivory Madeline Slip - 2 times
Tina Givens patchwork flannel Madeline mini - 2 times
Upcycled navy silk and rayon print re-refashioned babydoll tunic - 2 times
Black Oasis Soy Silk knitted cardigan - 2 times
Tan Oasis Soy Silk knitted cardigan - 2 times (Day 19 was not pictured in photo)

I loved bonding with my relatively new me-made items, re-connecting with older items, and finding some that just aren't really a match, but still needed a little love and provided some variety throughout the month.

What did I learn?

1.) I really missed all the Megan Neilsen skirts I've made over the years.  I've become too pudgy to wear them any more. I thought maybe my style was changing away from skirts - but I miss having a few good skirts to get the most out of the possibilities of separates. I need to make some new go-to skirts.  Elastic waist is fine for underskirts, but I don't like it for regular skirts.  I also discovered that I have major fitting issues with half-elasticated waists... so I am working on a new TNT skirt that is a mash-up of the Kelly and Brumby.

2.) I like woven tops instead of knit tees and tanks.  They accomplish the same thing, are fun to make, and look nicely put-together.

3.) I love sack dresses - no shame.  I know I'm fat. I know they are boxy as f*uck and make me look even fatter... I don't care.  They are incredibly comfortable, practical, and happy-making to me. The End.

4.) While Mori Kei got me back into sewing... most days, I'm more into low-key lagenlook style layers than Mori fantasy extravaganza.  Mori is really fun for dressing up, though.  I like pieces like my new refashioned mustard/creme dress that can dress up with layered under skirts and lacy over-layers or down with jeans and oxfords.

5.) RTW thrifted pieces will always have a part in my wardrobe & I'm totally okay with that.

6.) Sustainable fashion is really important to me.  I learned a lot about and reflected more deeply on different approaches to sustainability that different people take - from thrifting to capsule wardrobes, upcycling to natural dying, 30 wears to laundering less - there is a lot to think about.  There is also a lot to think about in the production & sourcing of fabric.  And the paper and ink that goes into making a lot of different patterns (I never thought about TNT patterns being better for the environment until this month!)

Making & wearing clothes is a resource-rich pursuit.  I feel blessed to be fortunate enough to have time time and resources to reflect on it.  I want to honor that by making good decisions about my making - for the earth and for my fellow humans.

I have no shame in wearing the same clothes over again on fairly heavy rotation.  I also think that having a little bigger wardrobe lets things "air out" a bit between wears so that you can wear a lot of pieces more than once between washes, which has a huge impact on use of resources. (One thing this article recommends is wearing looser clothing - it doesn't sit as close to the body to get so dirty.  I find I can wear my baggy sack dresses a few times without even thinking about needing to wash them.  I also have been falling in love with jumpers, pinafores, or "slips" as Tina Givens calls them - they can be worn many times between washes with no stinky effects.

To this end, one of my June projects this month is the Metamorphic Dress, which is meant to be worn like a jumper.  I was really excited to see there is going to be a sew-along for this dress this month, hosted by Sew Happy Hippie. Also on my mind for June is to test the Peppermint Peplum top and the Ogden cami and planning my #summerofbasics items.

Happy stitching.