Friday 2 April 2010

The End of Me-Made-March: Day 31!

So here it is people, the final me-made outfit from my Me-Made-March challenge:

Me-made sailor trousers, blouse, Saint cardigan (not worn in this pic, obviously) and pants. Yes, NO vest! The last day of March was officially the first day of Spring, if my vest wearing antics dictate such things (as they do round our way). I celebrated the final day by wearing a new blouse, hot off the sewing machine, which I will blog about in more detail soon.

Thanks very much those of you who have followed my little challenge. On a personal level, I think this challenge has succeeded in making my relationship with my handmade garments a more comfortable, forgiving and dependable one. I freely admit, most of my pants were a little small, the zip on my jeggings wouldn't always close due to over-use and my Saint cardigan has become bobbley, but by and large my garments have held up very well, possibly as well as mass-manufactured garments would have under similar stress.

I am now able to analyse which type of garments I have many of, and which I need to focus on producing in the future if I am to follow my aim of being increasingly self-sufficient in the items I consume. For example, I didn't realise I had so many skirts! I have never worn skirts as frequently as I have this month. I always felt a bit 'done-up' when wearing a skirt, and would rush to change out of it as soon as I returned home. In fact I didn't do any changing out of outfits when I got home all month, and learnt that skirts can actually be just as comfortable as trousers, if not more so. For example, I was pretty ill on Day 20, and it was my skirtain that I turned to in the absence of a cosy dressing gown or fluffy pyjamas.

The thing that has made me really happy though is all the lovely comments that I have received throughout the month, whether regarding a specific garment, or the project in general: they were all very much appreciated. I was particularly pleased when people commented that I had inspired them to wear more self-made items themselves. If everyone who can sew begins to increasingly rely on themselves to produce their clothing, I believe it would encourage more people to give sewing and making things by hand in general a whirl, and start to create a more viable and visible alternative to the excessive consumption 'Western' countries seem to be cureently trapped in. Sewing is a political activity people! Arm yourself with some nice fabric and cool patterns today!

19 comments:

Tilly said...

Woohoo! Yeah! Very well done, I'm so impressed. Looking forward to the time I can wear a week's worth of homemade clothes (a month is a bit too ambitious for me).

Pray tell, what are you going to wear tomorrow?

Debi said...

Congrats on a fabulous month of great clothes! I love the new blouse and can't wait to hear more about it :-)

Clare said...

Congratulations! I reckon the sewing-stuff-you'd-actually-wear lesson is one of the hard ones to learn as a sewer/sewist/seamstress - unsuccessful garments can always be stuffed to the back of the wardrobe and forgotten about unless you're actually forced to wear them!

Anonymous said...

'Sewing is a political activity, people.' Love it - and love your Me-Made March challenge. Congratulations on being very inspiring. I can't wait to hear more about the new blouse. The print looks intriguing.

Miss Lottie Lou said...

Yay congratulations :) Excellent job!
Lottie x

Anonymous said...

Hi Zoe

Congratulations! I can't believe you added a new item on the last day - well done.

I love your wool dress (the one you previously relegated). Could you post which pattern you made it from?

Thanks, and again - you've been an inspiration

Nicky

piccola samurai said...

I cannot agree more: sewing is definitely political and you are really an awesome ambassador to this cause! Congratulations, you are definitely an inspiration to me!

Camelia Crinoline said...

I really enjoyed following this project and I admire your dedication. The new blouse looks great.

Minnado said...

I love your comment that sewing is a political activity - I am wearing my own sewn tops and dresses frequently but need to move onto making some trousers if I am to wear a complete home sewn outfit! I have enjoyed catching up on your March outfits - our computer broke three weeks ago - only got back online two days ago!

Clare said...

wow, well done Zoe! My favourite outfit was the wedding ensemble - having said that you looked great every day and not home-made at all! congratulations on completing the challenge - it's made me think more about what I wear and where those clothes come from.

Lindsey M Nelson said...

Congratulations and well done! It was so wonderful and fun to follow you in this journey :)

Zoe said...

Thank you all so much!

Tilly, I tried to create a totally non-me-made outfit, but failed! I guess my favourite things to wear at the moment are my more recent wardrobe additions which have all been handmade.

Nicky, glad you like the wool dress, the pattern was a Burda magazine one, November 2008. It's a great pattern, but I'd recommend using a fabric that presses better than the thick wool blend I used.

Thanks Piccola, I accept the title of Amabassador most graciously!

Watch this blog for further campaigns and challenges to be revealed!

Hope you all have an awesome weekend of sewing and chocolate eating (or whatever's your poison!) xxx

naughty little pony said...

Very well done indeed! You have really shown how it can be done, and how women must have had similar experiences when cheap garments couldn't be bought so easily. It has been very inspirational. By the way, I LOVE your bird blouse! xxx

Rebecca said...

I've been following you Me-Made-March campaign with a of interest. It's really inspired me to explore sewing and to push myself in a new direction. I've started my own little version of Me-Made - I've picked my patterns and fabrics and I'm diving right in. So far so good :)

Thanks for the inspiration!

Stephanie said...

Congratulations! It was interesting to follow you through Me-Made-March!

Elly said...

Congratulations! Great to follow your progress, and definitely inspiring me to make some more clothing coming into summer. It'd be great to be able to wear things I made myself for even a few days in a row...

Ali said...

Congrats and thanks for the inspiration! Will be keeping an eye out for your future campaigns and challenges!

Your bird blouse is lovely, by the way. :)

Tasia said...

Congratulations! Your me-made challenge was really fun to read about and really inspirational. I also loved your orange dress the best. How fabulous to attend a wedding, and know that not one person will be dressed like you. More challenges you say? Can't wait to see what you dream up next!

Karin said...

Looking great! I really like the new blouse, and I always liked the pants...
I'm really impressed you made it, it takes so much time to sew everything you need for a whole month...!
Congratulations!

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