What is Me-Made-May?
I first became aware of Me-Made-May a few years ago. It’s an an Instagram phenomenon in the sewing and knitting community with makers posting pictures of themselves in handmade clothes each day in May. It was created by Zoe Edwards, a sewing teacher and writer who initially challenged herself to wear only self-made clothing for a month. Zoe encourages makers to use the challenge to improve their relationship with their hand-made wardrobe and to set their own pledge to use this in a way that works for them. This is very much in line with the ethos of our work at Creative Restoration, where we encourage makers to be intentional in creativity to meet their own needs.
What has stopped me from joining in with Me-Made-May in the past?
As someone who makes many of my own clothes, and loves wearing them on a daily basis, I have been tempted to join in with Me-Made-May in the past. However I haven’t ever made the leap. I think this is for a number of reasons:
- I don’t have a huge wardrobe and wear the same things several times a week
- Worry that the challenge would create pressure to post something when I don’t feel like it
- I don’t want to wear make up on a daily basis
- I am not great at taking pictures and often don’t have anyone to take them for me
- Like many people I don’t love taking pictures of myself
However something changed this year that made me take the leap and join in. I decided to follow Zoe’s intentions with Me-Made-May and use the challenge in a way that works for me.
What encouraged me to join in with Me-Made-May this year?
I recently attended a retreat for psychologists which included a mini photo-shoot with a professional photographer. This was great for me as I haven’t ever had professional photos taken for my websites. However I noticed in the run up to the retreat that I felt a pressure to make the ‘right’ choices about what to wear partly because I was aware that photos are expensive and I wanted to make the most of this opportunity, but I think if I am being honest it was also because I am not that used to, or comfortable with having my photo taken.
Before taking our photos, photographer Jess (Perspectives Photography) spoke to us about her drive to encourage more women to step in front of the camera. How, often as the documentarians of family life they end up being the ones to take the photographs, and are then rarely featured in them. Jess urged us all to acknowledge the importance of being part of the picture, for ourselves but also for the memories and legacy this leaves for our loved ones. It was really noticeable how this idea struck a chord in the room full of women.
How making my own clothes allows me to show up in photos
This made me reflect on the fact that I do actually share pictures of myself online, and the only reason I do this is because I made my own clothes. While I might otherwise have shared a picture of myself with friends or family, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable taking up the frame on my own. This all changed when I started making my clothes, because the purpose and meaning behind the picture changed. It was no longer a picture of ‘me’. It was about something I had made which reflected my skill, patience and creativity. I can happily pose for a photo, because the aim of it is to demonstrate something I am proud of and am the creative director of.
This isn’t so much about having negative feelings about how I look. It’s more just an acknowledgement that how we look is in large part a genetic lottery, and something that in my life growing up as a woman has been overemphasized in importance. Ultimately I feel it’s one of the least interesting things about me. My views about this have led me to place less and less emphasis on this over time, until making allowed me to reengage with clothing in a completely new way: as creative expression and celebration of skill, patience and knowledge that I am proud of, and IS some of the most interesting things about me.
The retreat ended just a few days before the start of Me-Made-May. Jess’s talk gave me the nudge I needed to devise a challenge that works for me and to give it a go.
My personal rules for Me-Made-May
- The goal: to see whether I do in fact wear me-made every day, and to document the longevity of my makes by recording when I made each garment.
- Photos are of my makes and not of me. It therefore doesn’t matter whether I look good in the photo. I may have glare on my glasses or a less than ideal angle or background. In all likelihood I won’t be wearing make up in a single one of them.
- Take a photo and post it within 5 minutes. I don’t actually have more time to spend on this!
- I can wear things more than once! I didn’t spend hours knitting and sewing my own clothes in order to wear them only once. In real life I wear the same sweater multiple times a month, and I want my Me-Made-May posts to reflect that. I have no interest in overproducing clothes that I wear infrequently. These pictures need to fit with my values.
- I might not post every day, and that’s ok. I will treat myself with compassion if some days it just doesn’t happen.
- It can just be for fun. I don’t need to have an important psychological message. Sometimes it can just be a great jumper, in a colour I love, that brings me joy. That’s enough.
Results and reflections
It is now 23rd of May, and I have posted a picture each day in May so far with handmade clothing. It has made me realise that I really do wear me-made clothes almost every day, and that some of my clothes have had a great lifespan so far, and are still going strong.
This includes one of my Flax Light Sweater which was one of my first ever sweaters, and a pattern I often recommend to beginners who are looking to embark on their first sweater project. I finished mine in 2017 and despite the colours fading a bit, I still love it and remember the thrill of wearing it to work for the first time. In my quest to wear different clothes I have also ended up digging out some of my lesser-worn makes (my blue Wren dress, and my grey Eventide cardigan) and have enjoyed putting them on again.
Taking part in the challenge hasn’t always been comfortable, I haven’t always liked the pictures I have taken, but I have just posted them anyway. I committed to taking and posting the pictures quickly, usually in the morning before I forget, and I focused on enjoying the process rather than worrying about how I looked in them! One day, I began in shop-bought exercise clothes and never changed. But later I realised that I WAS wearing me-made pyjamas, and it gave me a chance to share a glimpse of them, which I enjoyed because the fabric is lovely.
Inspiration to do more sewing
It has also inspired me to get my sewing machine out again, and to carve out some larger chunks of time for sewing, because I love wearing hand made clothes, and when there is a gap in my wardrobe I would always rather fill it with something I have made myself. I always say that I feel 20% happier on a day when I am wearing clothes I have made myself, and to have done that every day for a month just highlights how much this benefits my sense of well-being on a daily basis.