My first ever "Me Made May" wasn't exactly a success... |

[@loriannpayne4483]

Dear Ruthie - you’re being too hard on yourself! I’m simply amazed at how far you’ve progressed in such a short time. Your makes are just great. Go ahead - make 5 of the jumpsuit in different fabrics! I made 11 Molly Tops from Sew Over It and now I’m making tank tops from the leftover fabrics. Precious girl - Think Happy.. BE HAPPY! You are making a difference in the world. Happy sewing.. Hugs from Oregon.

[@gayepaula]

Loved this video! I made a last minute MMM pledge as well, to wear at least one item of handmade clothing every day in May. I ended up giving up within a week as I simply don't have enough me made items in my wardrobe. I lost a lot of weight over the last couple of years so sewing new things hasn't been a priority. I did have a really good time sewing though, and made 3 new things. I think I will take part next year, but not choose to wear me made every day as I still don't think I'll have enough. Your comment about MMM being a wonderful celebration of handmade things is what I will try to focus on.

[@LiftingPinsandNeedles]

It's great that you pointed out that documenting everyday is not part of the challenge and shouldn't be an added pressure. I took some days, but it's not reasonable to do so many photos. I repeat my stuff all the time too. Great reflections.

[@aitcheymoo]

Your comments on the pressure of social media really struck a chord with me. None of us mean to put pressure on others but when so many people do things a certain way, the instinct is to join in. I got a little bit disheartened in March/april by so many sewists sharing their views on the sustainability of sewing. As a new sewer it made me feel incredibly wasteful every time I messed something up. So for mmm I made a pledge with myself simply to enjoy the work of others and celebrate what people were sharing.

[@MsSherrydarling]

Great post! Thanks for clarifying the purpose of the challenge and that it's not to put pressure on people. Do what works for you, right? Lessons learned for sure! If you like the jumpsuit/cardi outfit, you could make one or two more of them and be happy with what you're wearing. I hope to try it next year.

[@joli43]

Thank you as always. Photo shoots are only for those who want to share photos of themselves with others. My understanding of mmm is to just learn. And learn you did! (me too)

[@JoniBarrott]

Thanks for this video, I appreciate your thoughtful and pragmatic evaluation of your experience of Me-Made-May. While I always assumed it would not be a challenge for me because I don't want to take photos of myself and be "instagrammable"...I could use a month of photos (just for my own evaluation) to help me better understand what I grab to wear when I am in a rush, what I sew that I don't wear, and where I might really like a new jacket or raincoat. Social Media is hard to navigate, I could relate to what you said.

[@sagepreaumx9903]

I didn't take part in Me-Make-May because the challenge felt like it would just put me in overwhelm, not a place I want to go. I'm not really into challenges created by others. At first they sounded fun, to be a part of the sewing community but I felt more pressure than pleasure in trying to complete them. I find challenge in the new patterns I make or hacks that I incorporate. I'm a slow sewer and my latest is embellishing which takes more time. Like I tried free hand machine embroidery and hand embroidery on a couple of projects, and fabric painting another. I like S L O W makes, where the details matter and fits well.

[@andreanneabel3464]

I feel the same about taking pictures everyday. I did track my outfit in a journal so I can remember what works or not in my handmade wardrobe. Thanks for sharing so honestly :) Love your channel!

[@AdirondackRuby]

I've only been sewing since January of 2017, so because of that short span of time, paired with some things not being seasonally appropriate, I don't yet own enough Me-Made garments to make any sort of Wearing Pledge possible or successful. I made a non-wearing, non-photograph pledge to sew for a minimum of 2 hours a day. I'm lucky enough to have that sort of time to be able to do so. I actually went over that time on multiple days. At the end of May, I had 18 new garments. One was a dress that had been cut out and left unstarted last July, 3 aother garments had been started in January but left incomplete after I damaged my tailbone (and went on a 3 month sewing hiatus), all the rest were sewn up exclusively within the month (also, 16 of them were pairs of underwear. Acacia by Megan Nielsen & Maxine by Evie La Luve.) And while it's not a requirement, I really appreciate all the people who do share photos. I spent a lot of time this month looking through the hashtags and screencapping outfits I liked, to make note of a pattern or fabric used and what not.

[@Hide_and_silk]

Totally agree with your comments. I also don't understand this 'gaps in your wardrobe' thing. There aren't gaps if you have perfectly wearable RTW items - and ditching those items just to be completely 'me made' is as bad and as wasteful as fast fashion.

[@kelleyspoerl2138]

Eminently sensible remarks about this pledge. Really, is it the point to make it a burden? I don't think so. It's a consciousness-raising exercise. I think everyone should get credit and give herself credit for wearing ONE me-made garment or object (I would include handmade jewelry) a day - posting optional, wearing everything me-made optional. Really, it's supposed to be encouraging of fun and creativity, not a craft hairshirt that one must don every day just as a lot of us are coming out of hibernation in winter. Enter into the spirit of it, but not be crushed by the letter of the pledge, that's what I say. But leave it to you, as always, to bring some common sense and humanity to this issue. Well-done!

[@rhondaziman562]

Hi Ruthie, thank you for this video, I agree that lots of us interpret me made May as a challenge to post photos every day. I never intended to post every day, but I did start out trying to take photos everyday so I'd have a record, but soon got sick of pestering my family! Because I'm also a serial outfit repeater, taking photos on a few days meant I managed to capture my favourite outfits. I teamed up with a friend who is a stylist and she put together some fab outfits out of my memade clothes and taught me how to take nice pictures, that was so cool!

[@sallydingle321]

Hi Ruthie, great chat about Me Made May and something I might look into one day👍. My first challenge is to get on to Instagram which I still haven't had time to do, so I think that will take up quite a bit of my time first. I think I'm dragging my heels because I'm nervous about it taking up too much of my time but I know that it's something I should just get on with. It doesn't help that I'm not that tech savvy either 😏. I think this challenge is great for seeing what you are short off or finding out what suits you more, so definitely a challenge worth taking up but not putting too many criteria on your own challenges is the way to go I think 👍. Always a pleasure to watch your videos Ruthie and enjoy your sewing in June and looking forward to your next video 😊😘

[@littlesammyf7380]

What about a long mirror at the top of the stairs? Great retrospective of the month, it’s not right when folk feel bad for not being able to meet the pledge every day, it’s clothing no biggie 😄 PS that jumpsuit is fabulous