Making for Me in May

Here she comes, your wordy opinionated Maker friend Samantha, back again to share some thoughts… It’s been a while.

Corduroy Pietra, Albini cardigan — Albini cardigan, Pietra pants

No Frills pullover, Cornell shirt, Shop pants

Recently I discovered myself blindly obsessing about sewing up some new-to-the-universe pattern. I was disappointed to recognize that I was spending so much energy thinking about a project that, as of yet, I was uncertain would be something I would actually wear. I am sure you have been in a similar place. Something flashy comes into view. Others look great in their versions. It is new, shiny, different. You don’t have one just like that in your closet. You are convinced you need to try it. You push other items out of your ‘queue’ in order to obsess over this new pattern. Sound familiar?

I have become aware that such an impulse has not served me in the past. It is not a full blown horrible habit. I am not at Magpie level. However I am as susceptible as the next Maker to the newest garment everyone is sewing up. I have a running list of patterns I would like to sew up taped above my sewing machine. It is actually a layered stack of small notes, an archeological dig of the last two years of sewing ideas. Some have been completed, others are still ideas. Some are thematic- all pants, or tops, or linen- others are holes in my wardrobe that need filling. Some of these notes are more fantastical than others, some more pragmatic. Certain items do make it onto multiple lists. Some drop by the wayside after just one appearance.

What jumps out at me from looking at the stack, and from my recent revelation, is that I have been a bit too distracted by new and shiny lately. I need to get back to the idea of Tried and True (TnT) patterns. I was talking to a young woman standing next to me at the Andrew Bird/Madison Cunningham show recently about sewing. (Because we sniff each other out like truffles. If you are in a room full of Muggles and there is another Maker there, you will work your way into each other's orbit and start talking Making…) She asked, correctly, if I had made my jacket, and then identified it as ‘that Wiksten pattern’- the Unfolding jacket (no longer in print and therefore un-linkable). While waiting for the show to begin we talked at length about the sizing on that pattern, how it runs large, but also how it is very wearable at many different sizes. I shared with her that I had made the pattern in almost every size it has. (Every size but the XS) She thanked me for the info and said it was most helpful and that she would be sewing one up for herself. Our talk was of fit, and ease, and purpose for the jacket. Being so caught up in the conversation I forgot to tell her about the blog post I had written about the pattern, and then couldn’t find her after the show. The encounter reminded me that I appreciate finding a pattern that I like the style and fit of, and then making multiples.

Uniform cardigan, Wiksten shift top, Bisque trousers

This is my Me Made May pledge. Yes, I have not participated in this phenomenon in a few years. I was feeling jaded by how my entire wardrobe is MeMade. How it wasn’t a novel concept to me anymore. I was supportive, but uninterested in participating. Though I will say the month would often catch me unawares, and I would feel wistful about not participating. This year, I have a plan to join in! I feeI happy and excited to be joining in on this generous month full of inspiration and creativity. I will be working on TnT patterns for the month. I need at least one more pair of Pietra pants. Same for the Bisque Trousers. I would like another Orchards dress, a Romey Gathered dress but in top form (step sister to the Remy Raglan), a pair of Lander shorts, or maybe Ginger jeans shorts.

I am not saying I will sew all these items up this month. Nor will they be the only patterns I will work on. (I may have already started a pair of Adams pants between when I first started writing this post and the time of publishing. Will they be a new version of my beloved Landers…?) But I am saying that I will be turning my attention to the TnT patterns I know and love. Turning my attention back to those gems, and using that knowledge to assess whether any of the other patterns I have recently had my eye on are real contenders, or just flashy distractions.

Some patterns I have been looking at, buying, and printing out lately include the following. The Ramona Noon top and the Regalia Blouse have elements in common with the Roscoe and the Orchards. The Adam pants share DNA with the Landers. The Weiland tank is similar to the Axis tank (which I often wear in place of a bra post BC treatment). The Verano dress is a cousin of the Orchards dress. The Donny shirt has real potential I can see as a warm weather button alternative to the Cornell shirt. Can I be a bit more critical, more considered, more thoughtful about what I sew up? I mean truly it’s not like I need any clothes. But I do have a stash to sew through. And sewing does save my sanity a bit. Keeps me out of trouble.

Since it is relevant, my changing size also bears mentioning. I am working on accepting my slow recovery from Breast Cancer and my difficulty getting motivated to exercise. I had a talk with my Mother recently that gave me some useful insight. She shared I would still be able to do all the things I had been doing when I was in my 50’s, but that I would probably be doing them slower. Sheesh…. More slow, amirite…? This felt like a light bulb moment. My age is a factor in my current energy level, of course it is. I am sixty after all. I sailed through my 50’s with no acknowledgement of my chronology. But sixty might be different. I am doing my best to factor this idea into my daily frustrations and be gentler with myself, for this reason. I have been whitewashing my entire future as restricted by my energy level. Where the truth is more likely that I will get back to my fighting strength in another year or so, but not by going full bore from day one. I do not need to ‘attack’ my exercise practice. I need to allow it to evolve at its own pace until I am doing things that make me feel good and strong. A small but critical distinction that is helping my mental outlook. A little. I’ll take it.

Navy Orchards top — Orchards top, Peppermint Pocket Skirt

No Frills pullover, Pietra pants — No Frills Sweater, Pietra pants

In the meantime, while I am figuring out what my 60’s are going to be like in my body, I still want to dress the way I want to dress. So that means I need to re-trace some patterns in a larger size and sew them up. Not an impossible task. A size 16 is just a number, different from a 12, but not better or worse. Just different. My upper half has not grown in size, just my lower half, luckily. So I don’t have to re-trace everything! Feeling like myself in a wardrobe that fits and reflects my style will help me feel better about myself, which just might help me get moving again. It might be a thin straw, but I am grasping at it, because all my other time worn techniques are not working.

Just the other day I had a moment where I realized how silly I was being- bemoaning my changing size. After another session of obsessively stalking a pattern (the Adams Pants) I realized that the important element of sewing anything is to make it fit the way you want it to. The way you want your body to look. And that is nothing (!) more than making any given sewing pattern conform to the dimensions of your own body. That is no mean feat, for sure, but honestly it is accessible to anyone who wants to put their energy to the task. It is trial and error, it is screwing up some beautiful fabric (hopefully not too much), it is taking the time to look critically and act on what you see. Fit itself is a very personal act. Something that ‘fits’ me might seem too big, or too small to another. How your clothes fit is not just whether they house your body properly. It is also whether you feel comfortable in them, if you can move through your life in them, if they represent who you are as you choose to be seen. When you make clothes that ‘fit’ you in these ways you feel good about yourself, subconsciously, and go about the rest of your life in content manner. This is what I am currently seeking to do. I need the psychic satisfaction of making garments that support my emotional well being. So I will be turning to patterns, and silhouettes, that I have had success with in the past for this month of May. If you are also participating in Me Made May on Instagram, I hope to see you there. It is a supportive and welcoming community.

And let me know what you think of the new website, huh….?

xoxo

Slow Fashion, process, garments, ideasSamantha HoytApril 30, 2023A Gathering of Stitches8 Comments

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Making for Me in May