Tuesday 31 May 2011

Me-Made-June '11: Inventory and Aims

Here we are, on the very cusp of my fifth me-made/self-stitched challenge: Me-Made-June '11! I'm excited to see what all the other particpants are going to be rocking this time round, both the returnees and the newcomers. I love to see different peoples' personalities coming through in what they wear, and I really think it's more visable with garments that have been self-stitched. Because that individual was involved in lots of decisions along the way, rather than just whether or not they want to buy the garments, there's so much more creative involvement, even if the project wasn't something the sewer really invested much in.

Anyways, I just completed something that I didn't do for Self-Stitched September or Me-Made-March '11: a me-made clothing inventory. Although it wasn't a conscious decision to avoid doing so, I don't think I bothered in September because I was fresh my clothing cull. Looking at my depleated ranks of garments compared to my Me-Made-May's inventory, in which I found a lot of pride, would have been a bit depressing. And March was just cold. My aim was just to get through the month without wearing the exact same outfit (that outfit consisting of most my clothes all layered up) each day.

But over the last few months I've been steadily beavering away at the sewing machine, churning out garments whilst motivated purely by whim rather than identifying holes in my wardrobe. I thought it'd be interesting to see how things are shaping up. With a high percentage currently in the laundry and not possessing sufficient hangers, I decided not to physically collate my me-mades, like I did back in April '10. Instead, I can offer some stats:

  • 4 pairs of trousers
  • 7 skirts
  • 3 shorts
  • 6 blouses/woven tops
  • 7 t-shirts/jersey tops
  • 6 me-made or refashioned sweatshirts/knitwear
  • 5 dresses
  • 3 coats/jackets
  • 3 vests (for layering under my outfits during the day or as part of my sleepy-time wear)
  • enough pants (undies) if I keep up with the laundry
  • 2 pyjama bottoms
  • 2 jersey tops for sleeping in

So there we have it. It sounds like a decent amount, but I'm not sure if it's all particularly mix and match-able, in terms of silhouette, style or colour. Looking at my stock in the flesh, I can see some gaps already, but I'll see how I get on. It's going to be a learning curve for sure, which of course is the whole point of these shenanigans!

Aside from my pledge to wear both pairs of high-waisted shorts this month in the hope that I will begin to feel comfortable in them, what other aims do I have for MMJune '11? Well, I feel I ought to get some wear from my expanding range of dresses and skirts, or just stop frikkin' making them! I'd like to come up with some new combos of garments rather than relying on my tried and tested set patterns. Plus, identifying those gaps, as previously mentioned, and hopefully filling a couple of them up by sewing some things during the month. And after my free time analysis/revelation yesterday, I really should aim to spend more time blogging this month, as those documentation posts tend to push the other stuff I like to write about here out the way a bit.

If you are participating in this challenge(or even if you are not!), what are your aims for June? I wish you all a very happy and enlightening month! xxx

15 comments:

Kestrel said...

I'm excited and a little nervous about Me Made June - will I have enough clothing to last the course without hating every single self made item by the end of the month? I'm interested to see how I will feel about my wardrobe at the end of the month, and hope that I will see the gaps in my wardrobe and be able to address them.

Vintage Girl said...

Great post. You have a lot of clothes. I don't have much right now , but my aim for June is to keep filling the gaps in my wardrobe and get matching tops and bottoms. Problem is I have a lot of material that doesn't coordinate well together .Another aim for June is to make my first pair of shorts. Tomorrow is the big day, Good luck everyone!

Stacy aka Stacybeads said...

I've been thinking about those wardrobe gaps, too. I have lots of me-made clothes, but I'd like them to be more mix and matchable so I have more outfit options. I'm hoping that after Me-Made-June, the holes in my wardrobe will be very apparent and I can spend some focused time and energy on filling them.

Urban Rustic said...

I am quietly looking forward to this challenge but don't think I have enough stuff so will have to have a couple of double up days!!I tend to make things just because I like them so I very rarely have anything that matches to make a decent "ensemble!!!the other big fear is the photo aspect...

Sharon said...

Well "Down Under" it is 1 June and I have had my photo taken but won't display until I get home tonight.

I haven't really done an inventory of my me-made clothing and this would be interesting to do. I do have a quite a few, and I am aware that there are gaps which I need to fill/replace with me-made garments.

I suppose my biggest challenge during the month of June is that I don't show the same outfit twice.

acandiedapple said...

This is my second Me-Made challenge. I am so excited! My goal this month is to feel more comfortable in the clothes I've made. I want to wear them with pride and know that I look cute. I also want to sew a few more things throughout the month to get me through to the end! Good Luck!

Leah Franqui said...

I'm so excited, this is my first time doing a me made event and I hope that it's supper illuminative. I feel like I've made a lot of prints and almost no solid colors, and that's probably going to turn around and bite me, but let's see how it goes! And I'm planning on making a few things this month, so hopefully if I'm totally screwed I will have time to make that basic black item to keep it all together! And I've made a bunch of headbands, so if all else fails....
strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com.

Helena said...

I will be going back to work on June 7 and my challenge will be to dress appropriately for work. It is in the corporate world, but still casual, but I'm not sure how I will feel in all my summer skirts and dresses. We'll see when that day happens, dressing for leisure will start out my month.

Shelly said...

I'm a little, no.., a lot nervous about this challenge. I committed to this without thinking and have realized that I, in no way have enough items to wear. None the less I have been stitching during the last week in a vain effort to fulfil my commitment. I have a wardrobe full of clothes most of which is not made by me but there are gaps and I will endeavour to fill them during this challenge. Not an easy task as it is the first day of winter here and winter clothing seems to take so much longer to stitch.

Good luck everyone!

Minnado said...

My challenge at the moment is to stay warm enough! Hopefully it will warm up here soon. I would like to see grown up,wearable outfits from my me made clothes with not too much of my tendency to dress like a clown or to fall back on wearing jeans. Your inventory sounds great, I recognise what you say about not everything going together in terms of colours or shapes.

Anonymous said...

It's my first me-made month and I have only started sewing again this year, so I have very little me-made or refashioned clothing compared to more experienced sewists/refashionistas. But I don't mind wearing the same outfits twice and I'll still be creating some additional garments during June. I also did a huge purge of my closet last week and now am stripped down (ha ha) to the essentials, whether RTW or me-made. I hope this month helps me to be confident wearing my makes out and about. I also hope it shows me what's working in what I've made and what the gaps are (well, some are blindingly obvious, but still). Happy MMJ all!

Eugenia said...

Your clothing inventory is very impressive. I think you're going to be very well dressed throughout the month of June!

Kylie said...

There is no way that I am going to pull of a MM in the winter months (all of MMades are summer wear and it is little too cold for that here now)
I am wearing a MM today though and have blogged and linked back to you.
http://mealyandi.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-im-wearing-on-this-winter.html

Good luck with feeling more comfortable in your pants:)

Dilly said...

Hmm, the challenge is pretty daunting - I was inventorying my me-mades over the last couple of days, and have discovered some major gaps, so I need to get busy sewing some things to fill those up (mainly tops and cardies). I've been procrastinating over the last few days, so I need to get going on those before my insanely busy summer starts...

I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else is wearing - off to join the Flickr group now :)

BlueBetty said...

I definitely have gaps, but that is because I have an addiction to dresses and haven't made pants at all. I think it is about time I try.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...