Made Me May

In previous years I've watched Made Me May from the sidelines and often thought I should join in the fun because I wear something I've made almost every day. Every day if you count jewellery and bags. 

This year I thought I'd play along too. After all, I'm a huge fan of handmade clothes and bags and ... well, everything! It felt especially relevant this year since I've been doing lots of talking about creating a handmade wardrobe in my monthly newsletters and so many of you have told me how inspired you're feeling about knitting and sewing things for yourselves.

Made Me May was an idea dreamed up by Zoe on her blog So, Zo... What do you know? in 2012. The idea is to wear handmade clothes through the month of May and wear them frequently and with pride. Sounds great doesn't it? It isn't a competition or cause to become stressed and worried that you've not got enough handmade clothes. It's a celebration of handmade and the things you've already made and I love that idea.

I haven't made a specific pledge although I guess I'm secretly aiming to wear handmade clothes every single day in May. I'm documenting my progress with photos that I'm posting to Facebook and Instagram and so far I'm enjoying myself immensely. It's great to take a fresh look at clothes I've made myself and think about how I'll wear them together, how I'll style them and what else I fancy making.

I'm loving seeing what other people are wearing too - it's super inspiring. Check out two hashtags on Instagram: #mmmay15 and #madememay to see all the handmade goodness. It's wonderful how many people are joining in.

It's day 5 today (well it is here in New Zealand - It might still be day 4 where you are!) so you've still got loads of time to join in too. Pull out those handmade bits from your wardrobe and pop them on! Don't forget to wear them with pride!

I've noticing a lack of wintery things in my wardrobe with the weather turning a little cooler and me determined to wear all my handmade things, so I've decided to make a special effort to finish the sweater in my photos (See my Ravelry page for details) and get behind my sewing machine.

I've developed a terrible habit lately of rummaging through my fabric stash and pulling out pieces of fabric I'd like to use, washing them and then folding them in piles near my sewing machine. The piles are starting to get a little out of control! These two bits are on top of my most recent pile. Some gorgeous plum/pink stretch knit that will make a fantastic sweatshirt and some beautiful Marimekko linen that's crying out to be used. I'm thinking it might become a Scout Tee.

So, tell me - are you playing Made Me May?