are you participating in Me Made May? do you even know what it is? or perhaps more importantly, do you know what it is NOT? there seem to be a lot of misconceptions about this annual celebration of handmade clothing, but the reality is, it can be whatever you want it to be! it’s a personal wardrobe challenge created by Zoe Edwards of the excellent Check Your Thread podcast (i’m a huge fan) to get people wearing their handmade clothes. it’s not about photos or social media, or making new things (unless you want to include any of those in your challenge) and you can participate even if you have only ONE handmade garment in your closet! if you’re curious, you can learn more in Zoe’s explanatory blog post about this year’s challenge.
i always get really excited when MMM rolls around, because obviously making and wearing me-made clothes is my jam! but then i’m never really sure how i can participate, since i wear my self-made wardrobe every day, all year long. so i end up sitting back and watching the handmade parade go by, cheering everyone on and beaming with pride when some of you tag me as having played a part in your makes. nothing makes me happier!
what i might love most about this month is that it inspires many to learn how to sew clothes, or to up their game. my pals over at Creativebug thought it would make sense to put together a curriculum of all of my video classes on garment sewing and pattern drafting. i had actually been meaning to do this for ages, so i was thrilled to comply! i have 14 classes, starting with an intro to sewing called Market Tote, and guiding you through pattern drafting and sewing a skirt, leggings, boxy top, T-shirt, pants, a shift dress plus way, way more, because every pattern can spin off to become dozens of variations! and then i have a few bonus classes like Seam Finishing 101, Hand Sew A Shirt, and How to Mend Clothing. this is essentially like taking a college course in garment design and construction!
and if that’s not enough, i’ve picked out a list of my favorite garment sewing classes from other teachers, like Sonya Philip, Rae Hoekstra, Liesl Gibson, and Jaime and Amber of Fancy Tiger. many of these classes even include the PDF pattern!
Creativebug is having a special right now where you get 60 days free, and then half price for life (so that’s $4.95/month) for access to ALL of the incredible classes and teachers. and for every month you get a credit to download one class of your choice to download and keep forever. what a deal! you really could get the equivalent of a fashion degree, because i didn’t even mention that there are classes on fashion drawing, understanding fabrics, not to mention knitting, crochet, embroidery and so many other textile arts. if you follow my links above, i will get a small commission, which is a wonderful way to support me (thank you if you choose to do that!) and to give yourself the gift of a lifetime of creativity!
