Me Made May ’18

I have been following other sewist’s Me Made May adventures for a few years but wasn’t brave enough to participate. This year I finally decided that it is time to take part! So…

I, Katja Kuitunen of withmyhandsdream.com and @katja.kuitunen, sign up as a participant in Me-Made-May ’18. I endeavour to wear a me-made top and a bottom or a dress everyday for the month of May. I will also try to create two whole outfits (top+bottom) and make one set of underwear for myself.

What is Me Made May ?

Me Made May challenge is in it’s 9th year now. It’s purpose is to challenge sewists, knitters etc. to wear the garments they have made and thus improve participants’ relationship with their handmade wardrobe. Every participant can choose the level of the challenge to suit their needs. Perhaps, you’ll want to find out the “holes” in your wardrobe or start wearing the garments that you have forgotten in your closet. Or perhaps you are willing to try to wear one hand-made garment every day, or finish (or start!) a challenging project.

I am a bit perfectionist, so before this year I did not feel that my hand-made wardrobe was up to my standard. And I know that showing off is not the purpose here, but last year I still thought that I should at least have a few pairs of trousers that I had made. For the last year I have worked to fill up so many holes that now wearing handmade outfits is nowadays more of a standard than exception for me. This is also why I added the other things to my pledge. Making two outfits in a month is not really a problem. What is a challenge is to create a set of underwear that I feel comfortable wearing. However, as my favourite set of bras are ridiculously expensive, I thought I could try to learn to make something similar.

Some preparations for the Me Made May

For the underwear challenge I have already made preparations for. I bought the book The Secrets of Sewing Lingerie by Katherine Sheers and Laura Stanford.

I have already browsed through the book that has just gorgeous images but I haven’t really read it or made any projects using the patterns and the instructions. The detailed technical explanations on how to make all the fiddly little details are going to be very carefully studied before the underwear set is ready!

I have also bought the Amanda Alyssa Foam Cup Bra Pattern and some supplies from Bra Maker’s suppy. I was a bit hesitant at first to order a paper pattern (plus supplies) all the way from Canada but to be honest, Bra Maker’s supply is practically the only place where one can get patterns to make a bra with seamless cups that I prefer.

For the other sewing projects there is no need for me to buy anything. While I was suffering of a bit of a loss of sewing motivation a while ago, I went for a fabric shopping spree. This not only inspired me but also filled my fabric cupboard.

I will be posting my outfits on my instagram account @katja.kuitunen and will make a some sort of summary on the blog at the end of May. Wish me luck!

Happy sewing!

 

Katja