Thanks for joining me during Me-Made-May! I really enjoyed the challenge and being able to share my projects here. On the 30th, I wore a couple of garments you’ve already seen and we had a photo shoot ‘on location’:

(When we chose our new apartment, we tried really hard to be walking distance from at least something, and that something turned out to include ice cream! We’ve been there at least once a week since we arrived. Milk is good for you when you’re pregnant, right?!)

It’s common to share final thoughts on the me-made month after it ends, so I thought I would relate a few points here.

First of all, I thought the challenge would be harder than it was. Granted, my definition of having ‘made’ something was pretty broad, including pretty much anything I sewed a stitch on, but by the end of the month I was almost forgetting about the challenge and yet still adhering to it without much effort.

I did find myself hankering, however, to make something really nice from scratch, since most of my maternity wardrobe is refashioned rather than fully made by me. Especially as I followed the Flickr group every day and saw what everyone else had made, I really wanted to take on a real sewing project. Well, I did finish one that I am quite proud of but didn’t include in my daily photos – a new nightgown. The wonky hem is a mystery to me because I don’t know how it happened, but otherwise I’m very proud of my work here and I’m claiming that I just bought into the hi-lo hem trend! I made a pattern from an existing nightgown – the only set of pyjamas I can now fit into! – and altered it to fit better. I also tried some new techniques, including lingerie straps and lace-edged elastic.

One thing I did this time which I haven’t done before is follow the Flickr group for Me-Made-May, which got me thinking about the social aspect of the challenge. The organiser, Zoe, said in a newspaper interview that participants always found the online, social aspect of the month surprisingly supportive for what is essentially a fashion event. I realised that, indeed, I’d never seen any sort of negative comments on anyone’s photos posted online. I think it’s really refreshing for that to be possible. I also notice that how I feel about what I wear and how I look is directly related to the kind of fashion images I look at. When I immerse myself in something like the Me-Made-May Flickr stream, where the focus is ‘Look what I made!’, I stop worrying whether what I wear is weird (though I know it’s often out of the mainstream) and instead feel proud of my creations (quirks, flaws and all) and also more inspired to be creative.

And knowing that such online ‘fashion’ communities do lead directly to how I feel about myself, I do want to say that it’s that creative side of ‘fashion’ I always hope I can emphasise whenever I talk about clothing on my blog. I’ve always loved clothes, but tried to keep away from saying that I’m ‘into fashion’ simply because it’s easy to associate the fashion industry with superficiality, unrealism, and often causing damage to women by a weird body-obsession. So on my blog I do try to approach fashion from the angle of creativity. In fact, that’s why I also refuse to apologise for ‘bad photos’ or even obsess over whether my photos are perfect or perfectly flattering. I personally always find the rough-and-ready aspects of many sewing blogs one of their best features, because the focus shouldn’t be on a perfect work of photographic art or on the model looking ideal, but on the fun, skill and learning embodied in the outfit.

So that’s all for Me-Made-May this year. Maybe I’ll be back for the challenge next year having learned all kinds of things about making clothes that are nursing-friendly…