What I Learned from Participating in the #MeMadeMay Sewing Challenge of 2025

Another month has come and gone and I can hardly believe it. While I’m brainstorming my summer sewing plans, I’m taking the time to reflect on this years #MeMadeMay challenge. More specifically, my attempt at it.

If you’re unfamiliar, Me Made May is a sewist challenge that’s been going on for a number of years now. Participants follow daily prompts for styling clothes they’ve made throughout the month of May. Normally I don’t bother but at the very last minute, I chose to give it a try this year.

On May 1st, as I was scrolling my IG feed, I came across this post of a sewist sharing her take on #MeMadeMay. Unfortunately I didn’t save her post but I remember it stuck out because she talked about how doing the challenge in the past helped her evolve her personal style and how she sewed/sowed into it, literally and figuratively. 

It was this post that gave me permission to try the challenge out for myself, despite my hesitance in previous years. Yes, it can be enlightening but the challenge is actually a lot of work. It takes a lot of brain power to intentionally create looks for a whole month following someone else’s inspiration and relating it back to yourself somehow. There’s also the photos, the captions and the pressure not to miss a day. 

Ya’ll know me. I like to keep things light and easy whenever possible. To give me a better chance at staying with the challenge, I set my own guidelines.

My #MeMadeMay Guidelines:

1. Don’t worry about the prompts.

Prompts are someone else’s inspired idea that they had fun creating. The ideas lit that individual person up. Whereas when I read a prompt, I have no emotional connection with those words and I have to force inspiration and the energy to care. That can be creatively stifling. I decided I wouldn’t care about any prompts other creatives made and I’d focus on doing my own thing.

2. Wear a MeMade at least 2 days a week.

I don’t have a lot of me made items and I don’t have enough to last for a full thirty-one days of outfits. Because of this, and the whole keep it easy thing, I figured 2 days a week would be easy enough for me to keep up with while still offering enough reps for a creative challenge.

3. The whole outfit does not have to be handmade. 

Again, I don’t have a lot of me made things so forcing myself to create full outfits wouldn’t have gotten me far in the timeline. By focusing on one at a time, I drew out the length of my participation while challenging myself to create new outfit pairings.

4. In feed posts are not required. 

With my brain, in feed posts would require pre-planning, which I opted out of for this challenge from the beginning. My grid may not be aesthetically pleasing but a lot of - too much - thought goes into what I post and the order in which it’s posted. If I chose to have these looks on my feed each time I wore a me made outfit, I’d have to plan the day to wear the outfit, taking into account my schedule, the kids schedule, the time it takes to edit a reel and write a caption and chose where it fits in order of my current posting schedule… Ultimately, it’s a lot of logistics in my head with short deadlines so I said it’s not necessary. 

5. If needed, it’s okay to repeat items.

I often dress for a certain vibe or story. If I feel tired, I’ll go for an oversized outfit; If I’m feeling happy, I’ll go for a bright outfit. With me already putting a major limit on my closet and what I could wear, I didn’t want to jeopardize my mood for the day just because more items were off limits to me. So if my vibe called for me to re-wear an item during the month, the world would continue to spin and I’d do it.

6. Be aware.

Ultimately, the purpose of doing this challenge was to learn something about my wardrobe, and myself, through the me made item filter. In order to learn the lessons I had to pay attention to how I felt when putting together outfits in the moment. I had to take note of what I thought I was missing from my wardrobe that wouldn’t let my original visions come to life.

With these guidelines in place, I set out on my journey. For two days out of the week, I styled a me made item from my closet. 

MeMadeMay Outfits

I’m going to be honest, the challenge wasn’t difficult for me at all to maintain, which was the point. I found myself trying to push past my usual styling and uniforms in order to create some dynamic new outfits.

I did get a little nervous towards the last two weeks because I didn’t think I’d have enough warm-weather friendly items to finish the challenge. Luckily, maybe, I decided to take product shots for the PDF patterns I’m listing on the site, so for one week, my me made styled items were my bags and purses. Is that cheating…maybe…but I had to do what I had to do.

Day 1

Cami: Handmade, Kiana Bonolo Cami in Charcoal Black Silk from Mood Fabrics

Top: FashionNova Graphic Tee

Skirt: Brown 2 Tiered Skirt from Takunda x Amazon The Drop

Shoes: Black Cat Jordan 4

Day 2

Top: Yellow T-shirt

Skirt: Handmade, Luma Wrap Skirt

Shoes: Yellow Ochre Air Jordan 1 Retro

Day 3

Top: Target Frida Kahlo x Modern Lux Hot Pink T-shirt

Skirt: Handmade, Red 2 tiered circle skirt

Shoes: Hot Pink Dr. Martens

Day 4

Top: Handmade Black and White Loose French Terry Short Sleeve Turtleneck T-shirt

Skirt: Old Navy Black Washed Denim Mini Skirt

Socs: Knee-length Black Socks

Shoes: Dr. Martens

Day 5

Top: My Black is Beautiful Merch T-shirt

Skirt: Handmade Black and White Jacquard Mini Skirt

Shoes: Black Cat Jordan 4

Day 6

Bag: Handmade The Knot Tote Bag with Various Flannel Fabric from Joann

Top: Yellow T-Shirt

Pants: Zara Distressed Boyfriend Jeans

Shoes: Yellow Ochre Air Jordan 1 Retro

Day 7

Bag: Handmade Accrue Tote Bag in Version B

Top: Oatmeal Heather T-shirt

Skirt: Brown 2 Tiered Skirt from Takunda x Amazon The Drop

Shoes: Brown Nike Blazer Mid ‘77

Day 8

Vest: Handmade Oversized Faux Leather Adjustable Vest

Top: FashionNova Hot Pink Bantu Knot Graphic T-shirt

Bottom: Bershka Hot Pink Cargo Pants

Shoes: Old Faux Patent Leather Alligator Print Embossed Boots

Day 9

Cardigan: Mimi G Alex Cardigan in Black and White Sweater Knit

Top: Burlington Mojo Jojo Graphic Tee

Pants: Cream Cargo KarenBritChic x Amazon the Drop

Shoes: Black Cat Jordan 4

Day 10

Shirt: Handmade Black and White Flannel Shirt

Top: Zara Black BodyCon Tank Top

Pants: Zara Distressed Boyfriend Jeans

Shoes: Pony Jordan 1

Day 11

Top: Handmade Black and White Jacquard Knit ¾ Sleeve Turtle Neck

Skirt: Light Blue 2 Tiered Skirt from Takunda x Amazon The Drop

Shoes: Pony Jordan 1

What I learned from the #MeMadeMay Challenge

The challenge has come to an end and I’d like to share what I’ve found from doing the #MeMadeMay challenge, my way.

1. I have more makes than I gave myself credit for.

It turns out I had more items to choose from than I gave myself credit for. Was it enough for 31 days, still no but I ended up having a couple extra pieces after what came to be my 10 day challenge.

2. I lack colors.

I’m in my color girl era right now and I’m loving wearing bright and bold colors. Unfortunately for me, the only bright and bold colored item I have is my red 2 tier maxi skirt. To scratch that itch, I had to pair a me made, usually in black or white or both colored item, with a colorful store bought item. 

3. I lack a range of silhouettes.

My choice of tops are primarily for cold weather with long sleeves or high necklines and I have a lot of skirts with no other bottom type to choose from. Not have a range of body types or options for layering really killed the depth of my me made outfits.

4. I sew too slowly.

What it comes down to is I’m not making enough to make a dent in my current selection. It’s taken me almost a year to finish a toile of a cargo vest. If I want to increase my choices and create outfits I can feel proud of next year, I need to step up my creation game.

5. There’s value in the quick sews.

The projects I enjoy doing are self drafted and complicated and it just so happens that I get easily distracted. This is why it’s taken me almost a year to finish a cargo vest. Within this same amount of time, I could’ve made a couple of things that require less effort. Things that could be cut and sewn in two or 3 days. Quick items can still be good quality and they give way for more options in outfit selections.

6. I wasn’t thinking about a cohesive wardrobe when making these items.

I mean, I was…until I wasn’t… My current stash of designed items served as the jumping off point of my youtube channel when I declared I was going to design my own capsule wardrobe. There was no real plan put in place so that quickly fizzled out. Luckily, the majority is black and white so the items coordinate together, but they don’t look like they belong together. They aren’t telling the same story.

7. Follow your own rules.

Because I made my own rules for #MeMadeMay, I can honestly say I enjoyed this experience. It was low pressure and a way for me to bond with my community through the month. This was a good reminder to not follow anything that doesn’t sit right with your soul.

Would you do the challenge again?

After only about 10 days of true participation, yes, I can say I’ll actually do it again. Maybe with a twist and different rules for myself but the challenge definitely has its value. I enjoyed putting the outfits together in a quicker rate than I normally would. It was a creative challenge to try and build dope outfits each time. Who knows, I may even come up with my own prompts next year. …I won’t.

What about you? Did you participate in MeMadeMay this year? What did you learn about your sewn style? Share in the comments.