Me Made May 2022
Me Made May logo courtesy of So Zo Blog
Oh hello May! My favourite month (the best month), the last month of autumn (my favourite season), New Zealand music month (a big part of my youth), the month I was born (cough cough, hello 35!) and… Me Made May.
So what is Me Made May? Me Made May was started 13 years ago by the wonderful sewing blogger Zoe of So Zo What Do You Know. It is a challenge, personal to the participant to create an awareness of your hand made garments, improve your relationship with them, and step outside the conventional in application. I highly recommend you check out Zoe’s blog and also listen to her wonderful podcast - Check your thread, sewing more sustainably.
My wardrobe is predominantly hand made, partly because it has been more cost effective to sew clothes to fill wardrobe vacancies when needed, and also because I enjoy the active relaxation of creation. I wear clothing for years on end, many in excess of 10 years, so my making speed is slow but also the way I wear, and my relationship with my clothes does not radically change. I have been struggling with ongoing pressure to keep up with play, making the newly released patterns and posting my makes, social media for me is more of a burden than an inspirer when it comes to my relationship with sewing.
Me Made May for me this year is not about showing my hand made wardrobe for social media, but more for me to thoughtfully evaluate how my clothing can contribute to this period of my life, the needs (staples) and how my method of creating serves a sustainable life. I am keen to investigate how I wear my clothing, and if this and the founding head space can evolve, can I form a method of expressing myself through my hand made wardrobe rather than the utilitarian application currently adopted. I will also be dwelling on what sewing means to me, how it contributes to my life and what the joy of creating is founded in.
I plan of checking back in mid month with an update on my thought process, reflection and also how my hand made wardrobe wearing is going. I hope you too embark on Me Made May in a way that best suits you, whether it be wearing one hand made item more than once over the month, or critically analysing your environmental impact in the world of making.
